The commerce of the Black Sea, in ancient times, was successively in the possession of the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. From the last it passed to the Greeks of the Lower Empire ; from them to the Venetians and the Genoese. Caffa was the principal city of the commerce of the Genoese with•the east ; and the port at which was deposited all the merchandize which had been transported to the Black Sea. By the capture of Constantinople in 1453, this commerce was nearly destroyed ; and by the capture of Caffa, in 1476, it was completely annihilated. One of the favourite objects of Peter the Great was to obtain a share in the commerce of this sea, which the subjects of the Porte alone were permitted to navigate. In 1699, he succeeded in subduing Azoph and the country round it ; but, by the unfortunate battle of Pruth, in 1711, he was compelled to relinquish his conquests. His succes sors, and especially Catherine II. aimed at the same object. This enterprising sovereign, by the treaty of Kainardgy, in 1774, and afterwards by the treaty of Jassy, in 1791, completely accomplished her ob ject ; the Turks being obliged to surrender a part of Lesser Tartary and the Crimea, to allow the R118108118 to establish a navy in the Black Sea, and to per mit their flag a freethrough the Darda nelles. In 1784, the the privilege of navigating the Black Sea to the Court of Vienna. No other European nation obtained this privilege, though the French carried on a considerable trade under the Russian and Imperial flags, till after the conquest of Egypt by the French, when a treaty was concluded between the French government and the Porte, by which the latter granted the free na vigation of this Sea. At the peace of Amiens, the navigation was 'opened to the Prussian, Spanish, Neapolitan, Dutch, Ragusan, and English merchant flags ; and all these nations were allowed to have resident Consuls in the Turkish ports of this Sea. The English, however, by secret treaties with the Turks, in the reign of James I. and Charles, were granted the navigation of this Sea ; and, in 1799, it was again granted.
Soon after the peace of kniens, the commerce of this Sea increased considerably : so that, in nos, 815 vessels entered the Russian ports from the Me diterranean. • Most of them came in ballast, and re- • turned with corn. Of these 815 vessels, there were, From these 815, the 210 which loaded at Tagan rock ought to be deducted, in order to give an ac curate view of the commerce of the Black Sea at this period.
The Russian exports from and imports to this Sea were, in Exports. Imports.
1202 3,000,000 rubles 2,055,000 1804 5,000,000 4,200,000 1803 7,400,000 5,356,000 In the year 1802, 86 vessels,. and 266 small craft, were employed by Russia, in the coasting trade of this Sea. There is also a considerable trade be tween the Russian ports and Constantinople and Smyrna, carried on entirely by Greek vessels under Russian colours.
In 1807, the Russian Black Sea fleet consisted of 12 sail of the line, 4 frigates, 7 brigs and cutters, and 18 small craft ; and the Black Sea flotilla con sisted of 40 gunboats and 80 falconets.
The principal articles of commerce afforded by the countries on the Black Sea, are wheat, rice, tobacco, hides, tallow, iron, hare-skins, honey, wax, and yel low grains for dyeing, from lioumelia and Bulgaria, by the ports of Varna and Burgos. The same ar ticles, with the addition of wool, butter, hemp, masts, ship-timber, and pitch, from Moldavia and Wallachia, by Rudjuk and Galatz on the Danube. From Bessarabia, by Ovidopel, and from the pro vince of Cherson, by Odessa, and Cherson, corn, oak-timber, hides, tallow, tar, shagreen, wax, honey, hemp, sail-cloth, and wool.• From the Cri mea, by the ports of Actiar, Kosloff, and Caffa, corn, wool, wax, honey, dried and salted hides, deer skins, morocco-leather; sheep-skins, salted and dried fish, potash, felt, caviar, wine, 'silk, and saltpetre. From Anatolia, by the ports of Erekli, Amasrah, and Sinope, hides, dried fruits, linens, linen-thread, wax, honey, hemp, copper, and ship-timber. From the countries of the Lasiens sad Gurions, princi pally by Trebizond, all the above articles, except ship-timber. From Mingrelia, and the country of the Abuses, principally by Sudjuk and Anaffa, slaves, timber, box-woed, wool, silk, furs, butter, hides, wax, honey, &c. The trade to these coasts is entirely carried on by a few Greeks of Constan tinople, and is very insignificant.
See Essai sur Is Commerce, &c. de la Mer Noire, Paris, 1805; Oddy's European Commerce, p. 169 ; Clarke's Travels, Vol. L 4to edition; Macgill's Travels in Turkey, &c. Vol. I.; Coxe's Travels, Vol. IIt. 8vo edition ; Tuckey's Maritime Statistics, Vol. II. (c.)