Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 1).djvu/14

 CHAPTER VIII.

Constantinople, 718-1453: its increased prosperity—Manufactures of Greece—System of taxation, and of expenditure—Fleets and mode of warfare—Struggle for maritime supremacy—Scandinavians—Muscovites, their trade and ships—Russians; their early commerce, and attempts to capture Constantinople—Their ships—The Normans, and their expeditions—Establish themselves in Italy, 1016—Amalfi—Futile attempts of the Normans to take Constantinople, 1081-1084—Rise of Venice—The cause of its prosperity—Spread of the Scythians, Huns, or Turks, 997-1028—The Crusades, 1095-1099—Siege of Acre,  1189—Armistice, 1192—Fourth Crusade, 1202—The effect of the Crusades on the commerce of Constantinople, and on its fall—Power of Venice, 1202; her ships join in the Crusade, which was afterwards altered from its original design—They besiege and take Constantinople, 1204—Commerce declines under the Latins, but revives on the restoration of the Empire, 1261—Genoa—Genoese settlement at Galata and Pera—Arrogance of the Genoese, who at last rebel,. 1348, and declare war, 1349—The progress of the Turks, 1341-47—Their fleet—First use of gunpowder and of large cannon—The Turks finally become masters of the Eastern capital, 1453       Pages 222-252

CHAPTER IX.

Ancient galleys—Different descriptions—Their outfit—Beaks—Stern—Masts and sails—Oars—Mode of rowing—Single-banked galleys—French galley—General Melvill's theory—Charnock's theory—Vossius's views—Mr. Howell's plan—Plan of Rev. J. O. W. Haweis (Appendix No. 1)—Our own views—Biremes—Triremes—Quadriremes—Quinqueremes—Hexiremes and larger galleys—Suggested plan of placing the rowers—Summary     253-297

CHAPTER X.

Britain: its maritime position, and limited extent of over-sea trade—The vessels of the ancient Britons, and the larger kind used by the Veneti—Encouragement by law to construct superior vessels—Britain and its inhabitants little known—Cæsar's reasons for invading Britain—First invasion, 55—Size of his transports—Second invasion, 54—Cæsar's preference for small vessels—Violent storm, and great loss of ships—Final action on the banks of the Thames—Cæsar makes terms with the Britons, and re-embarks his legions—Advantages derived by the Britons from their intercourse with the Romans—Conquest of Britain, 43: its state of civilization—Speech of Caractacus—The course of commerce with