PUBLISHED IN JULY, 1798..

fame.

25 6d.

THE

ANALYTICAL REVIEW.

FOR JULY, 1798.

HISTORY.

ART. I. A Survey of the Turkish Empire. In which are cons fidered, I. Its Government, Finances, military and naval Force, Religion, Hiftory, Arts, Sciences, Manners, Commerce, and Popu lation. II. The State of the Provinces, including the ancient Government of the Crim Tatars, the Subjection of the Greeks, their Efforts toward Emancipation, and the Intereft of other Nations, particularly of Great Britain, in their Succefs. III. The Caufes of the Decline of Turkey, and thofe which tend to the Prolongation of its Existence, with a Developement of the Political Syftem of the late Empress of Ruffia. IV. The british Commerce with Turkey,. the Neceffity of abolishing the Levant Company, and the Danger of our quarantine Regulations. With many other important Particulars. By W. Eton, Efq. many Years refident in Turkey and in Ruffia. 8vo. 544 pages. Price 8s. in boards. Cadell and Davies. 1798.

THE grand fubjects of contention and theatres of war, among modern nations, have been different at different times. To the invaders of the roman empire every country and province became fucceffively the fcene of rapine and the fubject of conqueft: and fubfequent quarrels among the conquering chiefs agitated every part of Europe. The nations, fomewhat humanized and foftened by the prevalence of the civil law, and the progrefs of the chriftian religion with all it's corruptions, had begun in fome measure to draw breath in peace, when a fpirit of religious enthufiafm called them, in prodigious numbers, to redeem the holy land from the poffeffion of the faracens. In the progrefs of knowledge, and the intercourfe of men and nations, a fpirit arofe of difcovering new regions of the globe, of navigation, and colonization, as the best ally and hand-maid of commerce. For a period of near two hundred years, in all difputes between the great maritime powers of Europe, the great objects were, certain poffeffions in the East and West-Indies.

In our day, fo pregnant with revolution, the views of contending powers are called again to the fcenes of the croifades, by a different principle. The ambitious and the bufy world now turns it's attention to Syria and Egypt, not from fentiments of religion, not calculations of commerce and finance, the great finews, in this age of improvement, both of war and political power. A genius has arifen, formed for the accomplishment, at leaft for the attempt of grand defigns by extraordinary means; and who opens his mind to fuch combinations and fuch plans as were conceived and executed by the Cæfars and Alexanders of former ages. Buonaparte, finding it impoffible to reduce Great Britain by difcord and invafion, has formed a plan of reducing her power, by cutting off the channels of her commerce at home. Whatever farther views he may entertain, which will either be extended or circumfcribed by events, it appears very probable, in the prefent conjuncture, that he has formed a concert with the divan, as an ally against the ruffians; and that he is to take poffeffion of the caftles of the Dardanelles, in this character, on the one fide, while he is at the fame time to make a fettlement in Egypt, as a half-way flation to India, on the other. In thefe circumftances a furvey of the turkifh empire, by one who had fo good an opportunity of information, is a very feafonable, and, we doubt not, will be a very acceptable prefent to the public. In Turkey, as he tells us very properly, in juftice to the credibility of his reports, he has been a conful; he has had indirect concerns in trade; as a traveller, he has visited moft parts of the turkish empire; in Ruffia he was, for feveral years, in the confidence of the late prince Potemkin, and in a fituation to know more of the fecrets of the cabinet than most foreigners."

A custom which prevailed very much in the business of publication about a century ago, and which had been generally laid -afide as equally inelegant and oftentatious, has been of late revived: namely, to give a very copious account of the defign and principal contents of a book in the title page. Mr. E.'s title page is fo copious as to fave us, in a great meafure, the labour of farther analyfis. The most prominent feature in his book is, that it reprefents the turks in a much more unfavourable light than that in which they have been exhibited by certain writers of travels, and particularly by lady Mary Wortley Montagu. In the hiftory of the world there have been frequent inftances of mighty nations, who, after conquering their opponents by force of arms, have received from their captives, the fofter yoke of fcience. Nor have there been wanting examples of the introduction of arts by the conqueror himfelf. The turks, however, like barbarians invaded Greece, and fwept before them the mighty monuments of antient fcience; and, like barbarians, they hold their captives, to the prefent day, under the benumbing yoke of ignorance and flavery. Inftead of promoting the mutual advantage of both nations, by an intercourfe of knowledge and benevolence, they ufe the privilege of conqueft only to the extinction of the common powers of intellect. This conduct our author contrasts with that of the arabs in Spain, who intermarried with

the

the conquered chriftians, and promoted the arts and fciences. But the haughty turk, Mr. E. obferves, is not only exalted above his fubject greek as a conqueror: he confiders himself still more highly elevated as the favourite of heaven, and the greater part of his ferocity as a tyrant is owing to the arrogant and barbarous dictates of his religion. The fentiments expreffed by the fultans and muftis are fo repugnant to juftice, to humanity, and to every principle of virtue, and to thofe laws which all civilized nations have refpected, that nothing can be faid worfe of them. The effects produced by this monstrous government in the provinces are fhocking to behold. Every raja (that is, every fubject who is not of the mohammedan religion) is allowed only the cruel alternative of death or tribute; and even this is arbitrary in the breast of the conqueror. The very words of the formulary, given to their christian subjects on paying the capitation tax, import, that the fum of money received, is taken as a compenfation for being permitted to wear their heads that year.'

The infulting distinction of chriftian and mohammedan is carried to fo great a length, that even the minutiæ of drefs are rendered fubjects of restriction: a christian must wear only clothes and headdreffes of dark colours, and fuch as turks never wear, with flippers of black leather, and muft paint his houfe black or dark brown. The leaft violation of thefe frivolous and difgufting regulations is punifhed with death and it is not at all uncommon for a christian to have his head truck off in the ftreet, for indulging in a little more foppery of drefs than the fultan or vizir, whom he may meet incognito, approves.

If a chriftian frike a mohammedan, he is most commonly put to death on the fpot, or, at leaft, ruined by fines, and fevercly baftinadoed; if he ftrike, though by accident, one of the fherifs (or emirs, as they are called in turkish, i. e. defcendants of Mohammed, who wear green turbands) of which there are a thousand in fome cities, it is death without remiffion. The teftimony of chriftians is little regarded in courts of justice; at beft, two teftimonies are but confidered as one, and are even overborn by that of a fingle mohammedan, if reputed at all an honest man.

It is no wonder, under fuch a government, to find depopulated provinces, and the country, in fo many places, literally a defert. We feek in vain for a population, fufficient to compose those numerous kingdoms and tates, which flourished when the turks ufurped their dominion. We find vaft cities reduced to beggarly villages, and of many hundreds no traces remain.'

The account that Mr. E. gives of the government and manners of the turks coincides entirely with that given by the baron de Tott, who had fo many and long continued opportunities of acquiring information. The picture which he exhibits of the turks has been confidered by many as fevere and calumnious: but we believe it to be accurately drawn from the life.

Mr. E. fhows in a clear light the degeneracy of the fultauns, the enervation of the people, the relaxation of military difcipline, and, on the whole, the weakness of the government; which, it would, in his opinion, be eafy to overthrow, and drive the turks out of Europe;

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Europe; an event, which he thinks, will come to pass, the first campaign of the firt war in which they fhall be engaged. The expulfion of the turks from Europe, and the re-establishment of the greek empire,' he fays, is more the advantage of Britain than even of Ruffia itfelt. So far from being an ufurpation, it is an act of justice. According to the laws of nations, the turks have not, by length of poffeflion, acquired a right to the dominion of the countries they conquered *. The importance of the alliance of Ruflia with Britain appears every day more ftrongly. The falvation of Europe depends on engaging that power as a principal in the prefent war. The views of the french, with regard to Greece, now too plainly appear, and the emperor of Ruffia is in danger of being attacked in the Black Sea by a french fleet.

If it be faid, that we ought, as much as may depend on us, to prevent the increate of naval power in every other nation, without denying the propofition, I affirm, that it is not applicable to the prefcut cafe Rufha never can be formidable in the Baltic; nature has forbid it. In the Black Sea fhe may, and fhe will, in fpite of all we can do to prevent it. The question then is, fince we cannot prevent it, which is the mode of it's exiftence which will be leaft hurtful to us? that the greeks will emancipate themfelves from the yoke of Turkey is equally certain. If this event take place by the affiftance of the French, we fhall certainly have an enemy in Grece if through Ruffia, and with our concur rence, a friend. There is, indeed, a poffibility, but not the leath probability, that we may fometime or other quarrel with them, but not for a length of time, as there will exift a mutual intereft in friendship. Why make a vain attempt, which will cer fainly create us enemies, when at leaft, we ftand a fair chance of procuring friends?'

Mr. E. has added to his furvey fome mifcellaneous papers, which fhow, in part, how far the emprefs's vait views of aggrandizement extended-they went to the entire conquest of all European Turkey, a part of which was to be given to the houfe of Aaltria: the re-establifhent of the greek empire, and placing her grandfon Conftantine on the throne of Constantinople; of making Egypt an independant ftate; of giving to Poland a ruffian for a fovereign, and ultimately incorporating it into her own empire; of making a conquest of Japan and a part of China, and establishing a naval power in thofe feas.

Great events are for the most part preceded by a general expectation and predictions tend to hasten their accomplishment. The revolution in America was foretold for many years before it happened. The revolution of France was foretold, fo early as the reign of Lewis xv, by the abbé St. Pierre, afterwards by RoufTeau, Voltaire, and many others. The fall of the papal power was foretold for ages: yet, one circumftance relating to the whole,

This may feem to be found morality, on the principles of abfrict reafoning; but it is dangerous doctrine if applied to ftates. What, other right to dominion is in general to be recognized, than that of poffeffion?

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