Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 14.djvu/860

 830 LONDON [COMMEKCE. Present trade. become of some importance in the 15th century, soon largely extended, and commercial intercourse was also opened up with Barbary, Guinea, and Brazil. After the abolition of the special privileges of the Steelyard merchants, the trade in wool was transferred almost entirely to the Merchant Adventurers, the annual export of English wool and drapery to Antwerp and Bruges in 1566 being esti mated at over 2,000,000. The close of the 16th century was marked by the rapid extension of maritime discovery, and the spirit of enterprise was stimulated by the grant of monopolies to those companies which should first open up communication with undiscovered countries. One of the earliest and most successful of the great maritime companies was the Russian, incorporated in 1553, which, besides estab lishing an extensive commerce with the ports of Russia, had an overland trade with Persia. The foundation of the Royal Exchange by Gresham in 1566 marked an era in the commercial history of London ; and the destruction of Antwerp by the duke of Parma in 1585 left it without a rival as the emporium of Europe. The settlement of many of the Flanders merchants in England gave a great impetus to the manufacture of silks, damasks, andotber fine cloths, but from the time of the expulsion of the Steelyard merchants by Elizabeth in 1597 the development of the maritime trade of London was solely in the hands of English companies. The incorporation of the Turkey Company in 1579, of the East India Company in 1600, of the Virginia Company in 1606, and of the Hudson s Bay Company in 1670 must be regarded, not only as the most important events connected with the growth of the port in the 17th and 18th centuries, but as of prime consequence in relation to the social and political history of England. In the trade of London there is a large excess of imports over exports, arising from the fact that it is specially a mart, and is removed from proximity to any large manufacturing district. The value in 1880 of the total trade of Liverpool, 191,489,838, was nearly equal to that of London, which was 194,043,836, but the value of the imports of London exceeded those of Liverpool by nearly 34,000,000, while the exports of Liverpool exceeded those of London by about 31,000,000. London has almost a monopoly of the trade with the East Indies and China, and has thus become the chief emporium for tea, coffee, sugar, spices, and indigo, and for silks and Eastern manufactures. A great part of the overland trade of London with India has till quite recently been carried on via Southampton, which, and also Folkestone, Newhaven, and Dover, may be regarded as virtually ports of London. The value of the imports of Folkestone, Newhaven, and Dover in 1880 amounted together to 24,485,034, and their exports to only 4,432,244 ; the imports of Southampton were valued at 9,205,183, and its exports at 9,306,326. In the Mediterranean and Levant trade London has now a powerful rival in Liverpool. From European and Asiatic Turkey London imports corn, dried fruits, madder, and various other special products ; from Greece currants and olive oil ; from Italy olive oil, wine, sumach, oranges, and lemons ; from Spain wine and dried fruits ; from Portugal and the Azores oranges and wine. Nearly the whole of the French trade with England is con centrated in London, the imports including all the special French manufactures, and large quantities of butter, eggs, vegetables, and corn. It is, however, largely carried on through the southern ports, the value of the imports of silk to Folkestone in 1880 being 3,614,014, and those of Lon don only 260,646, while the imports of eggs at Newhaven greatly exceed those of London, as do also the imports of butter and eggs at Southampton. London absorbs the greater part of the Baltic imports to England, especially timber, corn, cattle, wool, and provisions, the tonnage of the shipping that entered from Germany in 1 88 1 being 634,741 , from Belgium 249,161, from Sweden 416,997, from Norway 201,056, from the northern ports of Russia 401,076, and from Denmark 135,634. The tonnage that entered from the southern ports of Russia only amounted to 50,883, but much of this trade is carried on via Southampton. The chief imports from Russia are corn, tallow, timber, hemp, linseed, and wool. The fact that the staple manu facture of Lancashire is cotton has enabled Liverpool to gain a superiority over London in the United States trade, with the exception of imports of tobacco from Virginia ; but the shipping that entered London from the Atlantic ports of the United States in 1881 had a burden of 670,079 tons, and from the Pacific ports of 3248 tons. From Central America London obtains its chief supply of the finer woods, and also jalap, sarsaparilla, indigo, coffee, and Peruvian bark, and from South America sugar, hides, india- rubber, coffee, diamonds, and various drugs. From Canada the port receives timber, corn, cattle, and provisions, from the Australian islands wool, oil, gold, copper, tin, provi sions, and cattle ; and it possesses more than half the trade of England with the West Indies, the principal imports being sugar and molasses, fruit, rum, coffee, cocoa, fine woods, pimento, and ginger. On account of the burning of the records at the custom-house, and Foreig the absence of regular parliamentary returns, it is impossible to give and a continuous summary of the progress of the shipping before 1816, colonial but the following table (XV.) gives the returns of the shipping trade, engaged in the foreign and colonial trade in various years from 1693 to that date, and the yearly average for subsequent periods : Entered Inwards. Cleared. Vessels. Tonnage. Vessels. Tonnage, i 1 1698 117,387 104,662 1694 135,972 81,148 1750 511,680 179,8CO 1790, 581,095 348,098 1800 796.632 729.554 1IH 3;ii~9 629,050 3,077 618,823 lfilO-20 4,416 804,481 3,604 681,293 1821-30 4,840 888,431 3,623 726,954 1831-40 5,538 1.047,862 4,630 928,744 1841-50 8,018 1,596,453 5,706 1,124,793 1851-60 10,650 2.627,280 7,746 2,030,432 1S61-70 11,249 3,938-069 7,909 2.641,745 1871-80 11,435 5,135,225 8,618 4,029,938 1881 10, 7 63 5,810,043 8,081 4,478,960 Since 1873 vessels with ashes and manure have been included Coastin in the coasting trade, and therefore the figures after that date show trade, much greater progress than has actually taken place. In 1750 the number employed was 6396, and in 1795 it was 11,964 of 1,176,400 tons. The following table (XVI.) gives details from 1855 : Entered. Cleared. Vessels. Tonnage. Vessels. Tonnage. 1855 1860 1865 1870 1874 1881 19.040 18.305 14,923 12,793 30.828 36,112 2,852,223 3,154,561 3,065,380 2,849,872 3,505.449 4,239,663 8,483 8,818 8,035 9,125 9,882 10,470 878.182 1,077,004 1,121,864 1,203,592 1,247,548 1,453,715 The following table (XVII.) gives the number of vessels registered Eegis- in the port of London in various years from 1701 : tered shippii Sailing Vessels. Steam Vessels. Total. Vessels. Tonnage. Vessels. Tonnage. Vessels. Tonnage. 1701 560 84.882 10,165 1850 2,719 573,427 333 67,916 3,052 641,343 1791 1,842 378,516 30,860 1860 2,411 680,392 527 189,199 2.938 869.591 1800 2,666 J 568,262 41,402 1870 2,2 -&amp;gt;l 774,531 690 294,056 2,911 1,068,587 1819 4,760 894,027 56,948 1881 1,637 506,865 1,072 611,714 2,709 1,118,579