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labourers; who soon leave them for the same reason that they left

their first master。 The liberal reward of labour encourages

marriage。 The children; during the tender years of infancy; are

well fed and properly taken care of; and when they are grown up;

the value of their labour greatly overpays their maintenance。

When arrived at maturity; the high price of labour; and the low

price of land; enable them to establish themselves in the same

manner as their fathers did before them。

     In other countries; rent and profit eat up wages; and the

two superior orders of people oppress the inferior one。 But in

new colonies the interest of the two superior orders obliges them

to treat the inferior one with more generosity and humanity; at

least where that inferior one is not in a state of slavery。 Waste

lands of the greatest natural fertility are to be had for a

trifle。 The increase of revenue which the proprietor; who is

always the undertaker; expects from their improvement;

constitutes his profit which in these circumstances is commonly

very great。 But this great profit cannot be made without

employing the labour of other people in clearing and cultivating

the land; and the disproportion between the great extent of the

land and the small number of the people; which commonly takes

place in new colonies; makes it difficult for him to get this

labour。 He does not; therefore; dispute about wages; but is

willing to employ labour at any price。 The high wages of labour

encourage population。 The cheapness and plenty of good land

encourage improvement; and enable the proprietor to pay those

high wages。 In those wages consists almost the whole price of the

land; and though they are high considered as the wages of labour;

they are low considered as the price of what is so very valuable。

What encourages the progress of population and improvement

encourages that of real wealth and greatness。

     The progress of many of the ancient Greek colonies towards

wealth and greatness seems accordingly to have been very rapid。

In the course of a century or two; several of them appear to have

rivalled; and even to have surpassed their mother cities。

Syracuse and Agrigentum in Sicily; Tarentum and Locri in Italy;

Ephesus and Miletus in Lesser Asia; appear by all accounts to

have been at least equal to any of the cities of ancient Greece。

Though posterior in their establishment; yet all the arts of

refinement; philosophy; poetry; and eloquence seem to have been

cultivated as early; and to have been improved as highly in them

as in any part of the mother country。 The schools of the two

oldest Greek philosophers; those of Thales and Pythagoras; were

established; it is remarkable; not in ancient Greece; but the one

in an Asiatic; the other in an Italian colony。 All those colonies

had established themselves in countries inhabited by savage and

barbarous nations; who easily gave place to the new settlers。

They had plenty of good land; and as they were altogether

independent of the mother city; they were at liberty to manage

their own affairs in the way that they judged was most suitable

to their own interest。

     The history of the Roman colonies is by no means so

brilliant。 Some of them; indeed; such as Florence; have in the

course of many ages; and after the fall of the mother city; grown

up to be considerable states。 But the progress of no one of them

seems ever to have been very rapid。 They were all established in

conquered provinces; which in most cases had been fully inhabited

before。 The quantity of land assigned to each colonist was seldom

very considerable; and as the colony was not independent; they

were not always at liberty to manage their own affairs in the way

they judged was most suitable to their own interest。

     In the plenty of good land; the European colonies

established in America and the West Indies resemble; and even

greatly surpass; those of ancient Greece。 In their dependency

upon the mother state; they resemble those of ancient Rome; but

their great distance from Europe has in all of them alleviated

more or less the effects of this dependency。 Their situation has

placed them less in the view and less in the power of their

mother country。 In pursuing their interest their own way; their

conduct has; upon many occasions; been overlooked; either because

not known or not understood in Europe; and upon some occasions it

has been fairly suffered and submitted to; because their distance

rendered it difficult to restrain it。 Even the violent and

arbitrary government of Spain has; upon many occasions; been

obliged to recall or soften the orders which had been given for

the government of her colonies for fear of a general

insurrection。 The progress of all the European colonies in

wealth; population; and improvement; has accordingly been very

great。

     The crown of Spain; by its share of the gold and silver;

derived some revenue from its colonies from the moment of their

first establishment。 It was a revenue; too; of a nature to excite

in human avidity the most extravagant expectations of still

greater riches。 The Spanish colonies; therefore; from the moment

of their first establishment; attracted very much the attention

of their mother country; while those of the other European

nations were for a long time in a great measure neglected。 The

former did not; perhaps; thrive the better in consequence of this

attention; nor the latter the worse in consequence of this

neglect。 In proportion to the extent of the country which they in

some measure possess; the Spanish colonies are considered as less

populous and thriving than those of almost any other European

nation。 The progress even of the Spanish colonies; however; in

population and improvement; has certainly been very rapid and

very great。 The city of Lima; founded since the conquest; is

represented by Ulloa as containing fifty thousand inhabitants

near thirty years ago。 Quito; which had been but a miserable

hamlet of Indians; is represented by the same author as in his

time equally populous。 Gemelli Carreri; a pretended traveller; it

is said; indeed; but who seems everywhere to have written upon

extremely good information; represents the city of Mexico as

containing a hundred thousand inhabitants; a number which; in

spite of all the exaggerations of the Spanish writers; is;

probably; more than five times greater than what it contained in

the time of Montezuma。 These numbers exceed greatly those of

Boston; New York; and Philadelphia; the three greatest cities of

the English colonies。 Before the conquest of the Spaniards there

were no cattle fit for draught either in Mexico or Peru。 The

llama was their only beast of burden; and its strength seems to

have been a good deal inferior to that of a common ass。 The

plough was unknown among them。 They were ignorant of the use of

iron。 They had no coined money; nor any established instrument of

commerce of any kind。 Their commerce was carried on by barter。 A

sort of wooden spade was their principal instrument of

agriculture。 Sharp stones served them for knives and hatchets to

cut with; fish bones and the hard sinews of certain animals

served them for needles to sew with; and these seem to have been

their principal instruments of trade。 In this state of things; it

seems impossible that either of those empires could have been so

much improved or so well cultivated as at present; when they are

plentifully furnished with all sorts of European cattle; and when

the use of iron; of the plough; and of many of the arts of

Europe; has been introduced among them。 But the populousness of

every country must be in proportion to the degree of its

improvement and cultivation。 In spite of the cruel destruction of

the natives which followed the conquest; these two great empires

are; probably; more populous now than they ever were before: and

the people are surely very different; for we must acknowledge; I

apprehend; that the Spanish creoles are in many respects superior

to the ancient Indians。

     After the settlements of the Spaniards; that of the

Portuguese in Brazil is the oldest of any European nation in

America。 But as for a long time after the first discovery neither

gold nor silver mines were found in it; and as it afforded; upon

that account; little or no revenue to the crown; it was for a

long time in a great measure neglected; and during this state of

neglect it grew up to be a great and powerful colony。 While

Portugal was under the dominion of Spain; Brazil was attacked by

the Dutch; who got possession of seven of the fourteen provinces

into which it is divided。 They expected soon to conquer the other

seven; when Portugal recovered its independency by the elevation

of the family of Braganza to the throne。 The Dutch then; as

enemies to the Spaniards; became friends to the Portuguese; who

were likewise the enemies of the Spaniards。 They agreed;

therefore; to leave that part of Brazil; which they had not

conquered; to the King of Portugal; who agreed to leave that part

which they had conquer

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