it about 1058, but it is uncertain how long they kept it. Andrey I. began his reign 1158, and laid the foundation of Mofcow. About 1200 of the Mungls Tartars conquered it, and held it in fubjection to them till 1540, when John Bafilowitz reftored it to independency. About the middle of the fixteenth century, the Ruffians difcovered and conquered Siberia. It became an empire 1721, when Peter I. affumed the title of emperor of all the Ruffias, which was admitted by the powers of Europe to be obferved in future negociations with the court of Petersburg.

The reign of Elizabeth, in the courfe of the prefent century, is remarkable, on account of her abolishing the ufe of torture, and governing her fubjects for twenty years without inflicting a fingle capital punishment.

The prefent emprefs is actually employed in founding a number of fchools, for the education of the lower claffes of her fubjects, throughout the best inhabited parts of the empire; an inftitution of the moft beneficial tendency, which, if rightly executed, will entitle the great Catharine, more than any of her predeceffors, to the gratitude of the Ruffian nation.

SWEDE N.

Miles.
Length 1300

Breadth 600 Between $500 and 700 North Latitude.

10° and 30° Eaft Longitude.

Boundaries.]B fia; fouth, by Denmark and the Baltic; weft, by Nor

OUNDED north, by the Frozen Ocean; eaft, by Ruf

way. The whole kingdom of Sweden contains 104 towns, 80,250 villages, and 1,200 estates of the nobility.

Square miles. Population.

Cap. Towns.
Stockholm.

80,000 inhabitants.

Divifions.

Sweden Proper,

2 Gothland,

3 Nordland,

4 Lapland,

5 Finland,

6 Swedish Pomerania,

1,440

100,550

Bergen.

7 In the Weft-Indies, Sweden obtained from France, in the year 1785,

the island of Barthelemi.

Climate, exports and imports.] Sweden has an inhofpitable climate, and the greater part of the foil is barren, upwards of 110,000 fquare miles lie uncultivated. Yet the industry of the inhabitants in arts and agriculture, has raised it to the rank of a fecondary European power. Sweden imports 300,000 tons of corn, and 4,535 hogfheads of fpiritous liquors, befides hemp, fax, falt, wine, beef, filk, paper, leather, and Eaft and Weft-India goods. The exports of Sweden confift chiefly of wood, pitch, tar, fifh, furs, copper, iron, fome gold and filver, and other minerals, to the amount, in the year 1768, of upwards of 13 millions of dollars; and their

imports

imports in the fame year amounted to little more than 10 millions of dollars. The Swedes trade to all parts of Europe, to the Levante, the Eaft and Weft-Indies, to Africa and China.

Government.] Since the memorable revolution in 1772, Sweden may be called a monarchy. The fenate ftill claim fome share in the adminiftration, but its members are chosen by the king. The king has the abfolute difpofal of the army, and has the power of calling and of diffolving the affembly of the states; but he cannot impofe any new tax, without confulting the diet. The fenate is the highest court or council in the kingdom, and is composed of 17 fenators, or fupreme counfellors. The provinces are under governors, called provincial captains.

Religion.] The religion established in Sweden is the Lutheran, which the fovereign muft profefs, and is engaged to maintain in the kingdom. Calvinifts, Roman Catholics and Jews are tolerated. The fuperior clergy of Sweden have preferved the dignities of the Roman Catholic church; it is compofed of the archbishop of Upfal, of 14 bifhops, and of 192 prefidents. The jurifdiction in ecclefiaftical matters is in the hands of 19 confiftories. The number of the inferior clergy, comprehending the minifters of parishes, &c. amounts only to 1387.

Hiftory.] We have no account of this country till the reign of Bornio III. A. D. 714. Margaret, queen of Denmark and Norway, was called to the throne of Sweden, on the forced refignation of Albert, their king, A. D. 1387. It remained united to the Danish crown till 1523, when the famous Guftavus Vafa expelled the Danes, and ever fince it has remained independent; but was made an absolute monarchy by the present king in 1772.

Poffeffions of DENMARK in Europe.

LL the Danish provinces contain 182,400 fquare miles, and, including the colonies, 2,500,000 inhabitants. Divifions. Square miles. Population. Chief Towns.

1 Denmark Proper, on the Baltic Sea,

2 Dutchy of Hol

ftein in Germany, 3 Norway, which has the Atlantic weft,

4 Faroe iflands,

5 Iceland,

Inhab.

The whole of Denmark contains 68 towns, 22 boroughs, 15 earldoms, 16 baronies, 932 eftates of the inferior nobility, 7000 villages.

Norway contains only 18 towns, two earldoms, and 27 eftates of the other nobility.

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The

The Danes have fettlements at Coromandel in Afia, on the coaft of Guinea and other places in Africa, and in Greenland in America. Greenland is divided into East and West Greenland, a very extenfive country, but thinly inhabited. Crantz reckons only 957 ftated, and 7000 wander. ing inhabitants in Weft Greenland. The Danes are the only nation whe have fettlements in Weft Greenland; where, under their protection, the Moravian brethren have miffionaries, and very ufeful establishments.

Wealth and commerce.] If the cold and barren kingdom of Norway did not require large fupplies of corn from Denmark, the latter could export a confiderable quantity of it. Slefwic, Jutland, Seeland and Leland, are very rich corn countries, and abound in black cattle. The chief produce of Norway is wood, timber, and a great variety of peltry. The mines of Norway are very valuable, as well as its fifheries. Only one fourteenth part of it is fit for agriculture. The balance of trade is in favour of Norway, and againft Denmark. The whole of the exports of Denmark and Holstein amounted, in 1768, to 1,382,681 rix-dollars; the im ports to 1,976,800. The exports of Norway, to 1,711,369, and the imports to 1,238,284 dollars. Manufactures do not thrive in Denmark. Religion.] The fame as in Sweden.

Government.] Denmark is an hereditary kingdom, and governed in an abfolute manner; but the Danish kings are legal fovereigns, and perhaps the only legal fovereigns in the world; for the fenators, nobility, clergy, and commons divefted themfelves of their right as well as power, in the year 1661, and made a formal surrender of their liberties to the then king Frederick III.

Hiftory.] Denmark, the ancient kingdom of the Goths, was little known till the year 714, when Gormo was king. Chriftian VII. is the prefent fovereign; he vifited England in 1768. His queen, the youngeft fifter of George III. king of Great-Britain, was fuddenly feized, confined in a caftle as a state prifoner, and afterwards banished the kingdom*. The Counts Struenfee and Brandt (the first prime minifter and the queen's phyfician) were feized at the fame time, January 1772, and beheaded the fame year.

Bartholinus, celebrated for his knowledge of anatomy, and Tycho Brahe, the famous aftronomer, were natives of this country.

* For a faithful account of this tragical event, the reader is referred to a true and interefting work, intituled, An authentic Elucidation of the Hiftory of Counts Struenfee and Brandt, and of the Revolution in Denmark in the year 1772. Printed privately, but not published, by a Perfonage principally interefled. Tranflated from the German by B. H. Latrobe, Printed for J. STOCKDALE.

GREAT

GREAT-BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

Lies between 49° and 58° 50° North Latitude, and 2o East and 6° 20′ Weft Longitude.

The English poffefs the fortrefs of Gibraltar, and valuable fettlements in Afia, Africa and America.

Wealth and commerce.]* The two divifions of Great Britain, England and Scotland, differ widely with refpect to their natural fertility, and to the wealth of their inhabitants. South Britain, or England, abounds with all the ufeful productions of those countries of Europe, which are in parallel latitudes, wine, filk, and fome wild animals excepted. Agriculture, gardening, the cultivation of all thofe plants which are moft ufeful for feeding cattle, and breeding horses and theep, are carried on in England to an astonishing height. Of about 42,000,000 acres, which England contains, only 8,500,000 produce corn; the reft is either covered with wood, or laid out in meadows, gardens, parks, &c. and a confiderable part is ftill wafte land. Yet out of the crops obtained from the fifth part of the lands, there have been exported, during the space of five years, from 1745 to 1750, quantities of corn to the value of £.7,600,000 fterling, The nett produce of the English corn-land is estimated at £.9,000,000 fterling. The rents of pafture-ground, meadows, &c. at £7,000,000. The number of people engaged in, and maintained by farming, is fuppofed to be 2,800,000. England abounds in excellent cattle and fheep. In the beginning of the prefent century, there were supposed to be 12 millions of fheep, and their number has fince been increafing. In the years 1769, 1770 and 177, the value of the woollens exported from England, including thofe of Yorkshire, amounted to upwards of £.13,500,000 terling.

Copper, tin, lead and iron are found in great abundance in Great-Britain, where there is made every year 50-60,000 tons of pig-iron, and 20-30,000 tons of bar-iron.

England poffefies a great treasure in its inexhaustible coal-mines, which are worked chiefly in the northern counties, whence the coal is conveyed by fea, and by the inland canals, to every part of the kingdom. The mines of Northumberland alone, fend every year upwards of 600,00Q

For the wealth and refources of this country, we refer the reader to an incomparable work, intituled, An Eftimate of the comparative Strength of Great-Britain. By George Chalmers, Efq. Published by Stockdale.

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chaldrons

chaldrons of coals to London, and 1500 veffels are employed in carrying them along the eastern coaft of England.

SCOTLAND'S natural productions are greatly inferior to thofe of England, both with refpect to plenty and variety. It produces chiefly, flax, hemp, coals, fome iron and much lead. The trade of this country confifts chiefly in linen, thread and coals; they have lately begun to manufacture cloth, carpets, fugar, &c. *

IRELAND is, in moft of its provinces, not inferior in fertility to England, but very far behind it in point of civilization and industry. This inferiority must be partly attributed to the idlenefs, ignorance, and oppreffion of its inhabitants; and partly to the commercial jealousy of the British legiflation, from which Ireland has at length been emancipated. The chief articles of its produce are cattle, fheep, hogs and flax; large quantities of excellent falted pork, beef and butter, are annually exported.

The Irish wool is very fine. The principal manfacture of Ireland is that of linen, which, at prefent, is a very valuable article of exportation. Fifteen hundred perfons are employed in the filk manufactures at Dublin. With the increase of liberty and induftry, this kingdom will foon rife to the commercial confequence to which it is intitled by its fertility and.

fituation.

The total value of the exports from Ireland to Great-Britain, in 1779 and 1780, at an average, was £.2,300,000. The balance is greatly in favour of Ireland †.

The manufactures in England are confeffedly, with very few exceptions, fuperior to thofe of other countries. For this fuperiority they are nearly equally indebted to national character, to the fituation of their country, and to their excellent conftitution.

The English government, favourable to liberty and to every exertion of genius, has provided, by wife and equitable laws, for the fecure enjoyment of property acquired by ingenuity and labour, and has removed obftacles to induftry, by prohibiting the importation of fuch articles from abroad which could be manufactured at home ‡.

*Scotland, from the time of its (a) union with England in 1707, has been gradually rifing in wealth, commerce and agriculture.

+ For one of the best books relating to Ireland. we cannot refrain from referring our readers to a volume in 8vo. of Historical Tracts, by Sir John Davies, Attorney-General, and Speaker of the House of Commons in Ireland. Confifting of, ft. A Difcovery of the true Caufe why Ireland was never brought under Obedience to the Crown of England. 2d. A Letter to the Earl of Salis bury on the State of Ireland in 1607. 3d. A Letter to the Earl of Salisbury in 1610, giving an Account of the Plantations in Ulfter. 4th. A Speech to the Lord Deputy in 1613, tracing the ancient Conftitution of Ireland. To which is prefixed, A new Life of the Author, from authentic Documents. By George Chalmers, Efq. Printed for Stockdale.

See A Collection of Treaties between Great-Britain and other Powers. By George Chalmers, Efq. Printed for Stockdale.

(a) For this great national event, fee The Hiftory of the Union between England ond Scotland, by Daniel De Foe; with An Introduction to a fimilar Union with Ireland. By J. L. De Lolme. Printed for Stockdale.

The