The arrival of the Portuguese revolutionized the trade. It was not only that a stop was put by their discovery to the Venetian and Genoese trade uith India, but its effect was very nearly to drive away from the coast of Africa the Indian and Arab traders who had carried on commerce in this region. Vasco da Gama and the early Portuguese traders describe in these regions a state of things much superior to what we have since known of them. They describe the region near the coast north of the limits of Cape Colony as occupied by well settled kingdoms, some ruled over by Arabs, some by natives, and all enjoying a tolerably advanced state of civilisation. The European traders did not contribute to the peace and happiness of this region. The stronghold of Captain Kyd is shown still in the neighbourhood of Johanna, and his castle was certainly built about that time. A system of plunder prevailed. The power of the Portuguese was much crippled by their rivals, but when they were on the mainland they did nothing but turn their attention to the capture and sale of slaves ; commerce dwindled, and the country sank. The early Portuguese maps show that the country which in those older maps was represented as filled with towns, has in the later ones been set down as almost unknown.
The people who have now the most influence in commerce, and carry on by far the largest trade, are the Asiatics from the north-west coast of India. They are of different tribes. None of them can tell very accurately when they began to come to Africa to trade. They do not bring their wives and families with them, but are generally young men who trade on the coast for some years, and return to India to manage the same trade in its home branches. During the Portuguese domi nation, they were very nearly expelled. The Bhattia and Banya, who form a large number of these traders, are Hindus, and are very strict ones ; yet it is remarkable that they may leave India and live in Africa for years, without incurring the penalty of loss of caste which is enforced against Hindus leaving India in any other direction.
Several land routes through Central and High Asia continue to be followed. The present channels of trade between Afghanistan, Persia, Western Turkestan and India arethe passes of the Snlimani range and' those lea:ding to and from Peshawur. The Moolla pass near Gandava, level throughout, may be traversed in all seasons. Through the Bolan pass the trade passes from Kandahar into Sind, a distance of 400 miles. The Guleri pass, opposite Dehra Ismail Khan, is the chief trade route between Afghanistan and the Paujab ; the trade through it is in the hands of Povindah, a hereditary clan of merchants. The Tatara 0,nd Abkhana passes, leading from Kabul to Peshawur, are practicable all the year. The Suliman moun tains form the western frontier of the Panjab and Sind. The Bolan pass collects the trade both of Kandahar and Kalat, and debouches upon Sind at the important mart of Shikarpur, whose merchants have direct dealings with the remote cities of Central Asia. The Gomal pass, leading
from Ghazni to Dehra Ismail Khan, is followed by the half-military, half-trading clan of Povindahs, who bring their own caravans of camels into the heart of India. The Khaibar pass leads from Kabul to Peshawur. The aggregate value of the annual trade with Afghanistan cannot be less than one million sterling each way, or a total of two millions. In 1875-76 the total imports from Ka,bul were valued at 1914,000, consisting chiefly of raw silk, dried fruits and nuts, manjit or madder, and other dyes, charras (au intoxicating preparation of hemp), and other drugs, wool, and furs. The total exports were valued at £816,000, chiefly cotton goods both of native and European manufacture, Indian tett, indigo, and salt.
The Paniab also conducts a considerable busi ness, via Kashmir, with Yarkand, Kashgar, and Chinese Tibet, estimated at about ono million sterling altogether. The chief marts on the side of India are Amritsar and Jullundhur, from whidt latter place the route runs northwards past Kangra and Palampur to Leh, where a Bntish official has been stationed since 1867, in which year also a fair was established at Palampur, to attract the Yarkandi merchants. Merchandise is usually conveyed across the Himalayan passes on the backs of sheep mid yaks ; but British enterprise has suc cessfully taken mules as far as Leh. In 1875-76, the total imports from Kashmir were valued at £484,000, chiefly pashmina or shawl-wool , charras, raw silk, gold dust, silver ingots, and borax ; the exports were valued at £342,000, chiefly cotton goods, food-grains, metals, salt, tea, and indigo.
In this land traffic the difficulties to contend with are partly from the social and political state of the nations through which the trade passes, and partly the physical difficulties of the countries which it has to traverse. Every skein of Bokhara silk in tho market of Amritsar, has to traverse upwards of 1000 miles over unbridged rivers and mountain passes, one of them 11,700 feet above the level of the sea ; every fabric frthn Europe .ex.posed in the bazar at Yarkand, has to perform a Journey of 525 miles from the Panjab, over passes of 11,300, 12,570, 13,446 feet in height, to Leh, thence over still loftier mountains and through an inhospitable route for 575 miles more. Neverthe less, to combat theso difficulties, we find in exist ence an indomitable mercantile energy, hereditary in certain tribes as the Babi of South Afghanistan, the Porindah of the Guleri puss, the Paracha of Turkestan, and the Kiryakash of Yttikand. Year after year their caravans stream into the Panjab from Mashed, Kabul, Bokbara, and Yarkand, bring ing tales of perils overcome • native ballads bewail the hardships of the travelling merchant, but they still stream on.