Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/203

 ASIATIC NATIONS. 187 voured to point out the nature and extent of the intercourse which subsisted in ancient times be- tween them and the Hindus. The history of com- merce affords us one important fact to enable us to approximate towards ascertaining the era wlien this intercourse began. Among the materials of the an- cient commerce of the Indies, those which alone are peculiar to the Indian islands are the produce of the clove and nutmeg tree, and perhaps gold. Pepper it has in common with Malabar ; frankincense in common with Arabia. Cinnamon is not a produc- tion of the Archipelago, and tin has not been a staple above a century. In the earlier periods of the commerce of the east, the clove and nutmeg, which, in later times, were the most esteemed and sought after of all the productions of the East, are never mentioned. Cinnamon was known in the very earliest times, and even black pepper, fine cottons, and silk, were long known in the markets of the western world before we hear of the clove and nutmeg. * The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, supposed to be written in the tenth year of the reign of Nero, or about the year 63 of the Christian era, although it gives a minute catalogue of the articles of the commerce of the east, found in the markets of Egypt, Arabia, and the coasts of • In attempting to ofiFer some illustration of this period of ancient commerce, I have principally dtpended for my facts on a judicious and faithful guide, the learned Dr Vincent.