h
century, a voyage from Marseilles to the Baltic and back again, was thought
by French navigators an impracticable undertaking in the course of one
year; and yet a century earlier, viz. in 1699, Venice sent at least one
ship annually for Archangel: the first instance we believe of a direct
commercial intercourse between the northern and southern extreme seas of
Europe.

We must turn to the northern nations of Europe, Sweden, Denmark and Russia,
and glean what few important materials we can respecting their commerce
during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. We have already seen that
the commerce of the Scandinavian nations of the middle ages was by no means
despicable, though it was chiefly confined to Britain and Iceland, and
among themselves: the establishment of the Hanseatic League, some of the
cities composing which lay in the Baltic, gradually made the Scandinavian
nations better known, and by creating a demand for their produce,
stimulated them to industry and commerce. In a poor country, however, with
a sterile soil and ungenial climate; where winter prevented intercourse by
sea, for several months every year, capital must increase very slowly, and
commerce, reciprocally the cause and effect of capital, equally slow.
Besides the piratical habits of the early Scandinavians, were adverse to
trade; and these habits shed their influence even after they were
discontinued. But though the Scandinavian nations were long in entering
into any commercial transactions of importance, yet they contributed
indirectly to its advancement by the improvements they made in
ship-building, as well as by the ample materials for this purpose which
their country supplied. Their ships indeed were constructed for warfare,
but improvements in this description of ships naturally, and almost
unavoidably, led to improvements in vessels designed for trade. In 1449, a
considerable commerce was carried on between Bristol, and Iceland, and
Finmark, in vessels of 400, 500, and even 900 tons burden, all of which,
there is reason to believe, were built in the Baltic; and, about six years
afterwards, the king of Sweden was the owner of a ship of nearly 1000 tons
burden, which he sent to England, with a request that she might be
permitted to trade.

Gustavus I. who reigned about the beginning of the sixteenth century, seems
to have been the first Swedish king who directed the attention and industry
of his subjects to manufactures and commerce;