There are few countries where the balance of trade is more favourable than in Bohemia, for its commerce almost entirely of exportation. Besides the cheapness and excellent quality of its home manufac tures, the commerce of importation is extremely li :mited in this country by the want of capital, and the .severe prohibition against the introduction of foreign commodities, or the heavy duties to which they are liable. There is one circumstance, however, extreme ly prejudicial to the interests of the natives ; and that is, the disproportionate number of Jews, and, in some districts, of Greeks and Armenians, }olio have en grossed almost all the trade of the country. " It is ,a demonstrable and notorious fact," say Schreyer, in his work on the commerce and manufactures of Bo hemia, " that in every town, and in every place ,where the Jews arc established, the Christian trades men are reduced to the most wretched condition, and ,that the Jews have enriched themselves at their ex .pense." The countries with which Bohemia carries on the most extensive traffic, are Austria, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Turkey. Of the quantity and .value of its trade, some idea may be formed from the statement which we have already given of its manu factures. The superior elegance which the Bohe mians have attained in cutting and polishing flint glass, occasions such a demand for their glass vessels, that they are sent not only to most of the European nations, but even to America.
The administration of commerce in Bohemia is en trusted to a chamber of commerce, resident at Prague, and subordinate to that of Vienna. This chamber consists of a president, who is, at the same time, a privy counsellor, of six counsellors, and some other officers. Subordinate to them are eight inspectors of the provinces, who make regular tours through the districts assigned them, to examine the various factories, and give in a report of them to the cham :her. In cases of importance, such as the advance of funds, the nomination of commissaries and factors, granting new privileges, erecting new manufactures, B the interdiction of. foreign commodities, the raising or lowering customs and imposts, &c. The cham ber of commerce can decree nothing without first consulting the board at Vienna, and receiving its di rections. The exchequer of commerce has consider able revenues, and, in case of being exhausted, is supplied by that of Vienna. The interior commerce of Bohemia is much facilitated by the excellence of the roads. Ten grand roads issue from Prague, and run through the whole country in an invariable line. In many places they are supported by mason work ; and there are deep ditches on both sides, to facilitate the flow of the waters. These roads were completed at the expense of several millions of florins, though the tenantry were obliged to give their labour with. out hire. Two creutzers, equivalent to about ls. 11d. are paid at every stage, for. defraying the expense of making and repairing them. The Empress and Queen Maria Theresa, established, in 1749, a regular mail to run from Vienna to Prague, and another from Prague to Vienna, both to favour commerce, by the facility of intercourse between the two capitals, and to fur nish travellers with proper accommodation.
The name Bohemia is derived from the German Boehman, which signifies the residence of the Boii. The Boii were a branch of the Celts, who, under the command of Sigovesus, passed over from Gaul into Germany, about 600 years before the Christian xra. Proceeding as far as the frontiers of the Quadi and Sarmatians, they settled in that part of the Her cynian forest which then covered Bohemia. In the reign of Augustus they were invaded by the Marco manni, who expelled them, and took possession of their territory. Some of the conquered nation, how ever, still cantoned in Bohemia, though the greater part of them took refuge in Noricum, the modern Bavaria. The Marcomanni remained in possession of Bohemia till the 6th century, when they were, in their turn, attacked and dispossessed by the Sclavo nians, under the command of Czechow. This leader governed with such clemency and moderation, that his name is still cherished with reverence by the Bohe mians, who take particular pride in the appellation of Czechs, or Czechowians. In those countries, indeed, where the Sclavoniaii language is spoken, they are known by no other name. Czechow found the coun try almost in a state of nature, covered with wood, and occupied by herds of wild cattle, which no owner could claim. He taught the savage inhabitants to .cultivate the ground, and to rear crops of corn, and thus rendered them acquainted with some of the com forts of life, and prepared them for the restrictions and the advantages of regular government. We have no means of ascertaining what particular form of go vernment was established by Czechow, or what title he assumed ; but the title of duke was first adopted in Bohemia by Premislaus, who flourished about the commencement of the eighth century. Premislaus is said to have founded the city of Prague, and to have distributed his subjects into different ranks : the go vernment was transmitted to his descendants ; one of whom, named Borzivori, embraced the Christian re ligion about the close of ninth century, and found means, not without some violent struggles, to csta.
blish it throughout his dominions. Upon the death of his son %adslaus, his widow, Drahomira, an in veterate enemy to the Christians, massacred about 300 of them in one night, burnt their temples, and compelled them to surrender their arms. Her son, Wenceslaus II. was a zealous friend of the Christians, but had not reigned many years when he was mur dered by his brother, Boleslaus I. surnamed the Cruel, who persecuted the Christians with unrelent ing rigour, and forced` them to abandon the kingdom. They were again protected and cherished by his son, Boleslaus II. surnamed the Pious, who founded and endowed a number of churches, and obtained leave from Pope John IX. to create a bishop at Prague.
An insurrection of hissubjects, occasioned by their dislike to some reforms which he attempted to intro duce, was quelled by the Christians, aided by the Jews, who, in return for this service, were allowed to build a synagogue in the capital. The ducal form of government continued till the year 1086, when Wra tislaus II. was invested with the dignity of king by the Emperor Henry IV. who at the same time gave him possession of Lusatia,•Moravia, and Silesia. The regal title, however, was at this time confined to Wratislaus himself ; and it was not till the close of the twelfth century, or the commencement of the thirteenth, that the sovereigns of Bohemia were per manently honoured with the appellation of kings. From their attachment to the interest of the Empe ror Otho, Premislaus II. who began to reign in /199, and his immediate successors, were styled Otho gari. Premislaus Othogar III. who succeeded to the throne in 1255, obtained possession by conquest of Austria, Carinthia, Stiria, and other southern pro vinces, and, marching into Prussia for the defence of the Christians, defeated his opposers in several en gagements, and prevailed on many of the people to embrace the Christian faith. On his return to Bo hemia, the imperial crown was tendered to him, but lie rejected it with disdain. It was afterwards given to Rodolph, count of Hapsburgh, to whom Pre mislaus refused to do homage, or to receive from him the investiture of his estates. He was at length compelled, however, to submit, and to deliver five standards to Rodolph, for the five fiefs which he held. A reconciliation took place between these rival monarchs, and Othogar was invested in Bohe mia and Moravia, on condition of renouncing Austria, Stiria, and Carinthia. Premislaus was succeeded, in 1278, by Wenceslaus V. who was likewise elected king of Poland, and was offered the sceptre of Hun gary, which he refused in favour of his son. In 1310, this dynasty became extinct ; and the Bohe mian sceptre fell to John, son of the Emperor Henry VII. of the family of Luxembourg, who had mar. tied the youngest sister of Wenceslaus VI. John resigned the kingdom of Bohemia to his son Charles, and, having procured for him the imperial dignity, proceeded with him to France to assist Philip against the English. He fell in the battle of Cressy, in 1346. The Emperor Charles IV. created his bro ther John, Marquis of Moravia ; established an univer sity, at Prague, upon the plan of that at Paris ;. and engaged Pope Clement VI. to erect the see of Prague into an archbishopric, assigning to the the official privilege of crowning the king of Bohe mia. This public spirited monarch enlarged his ca pital by the addition of the new city, in which lie founded the college of Carlstein ; reduced the laws of the kingdom into a written code, known by the name of the Caroline Constitutions ; and projected the junction of the Moldau and the Danube by means of a canal, which was begun before his death, but the completion of which has been found imprac ticable. He was succeeded- by his son Wenceslaus VII. a profligate and tyrannical prince, during whose reign the doctrines of reformation were introduced into Bohemia by John Huss and Jerome of Prague. On the sudden death of Wenceslaus, the Hussites, headed by John Zisca, acquired considerable strength ; and when Sigismund, who succeeded his brother as king of Bohemia and emperor of Germany, advanced from Hungary to take possession of the throne, he was met by their deputies, who entreated that he would allow them to worship God according to their conscience. Their petition was rejected ; and a civil war ensued, in which the troops of Sigismund were frequently defeated. At length, after an oppo sition of sixteen years, he made several important. concessions in favour of the Hussites, and was ad mitted into the capital with great solemnity, and' much apparent joy. Sigismund was succeeded, in 1438, by his son-in-law, Albert of Austria, who continued in possession of the crown, though not without considerable oppositiOn, for 33 years, when Uladislaus, already king of Poland, was elected by a majority of the sates, and soon after invested by. the emperor. His son Lewis, who succeeded him in. 1516, had reigned only ten years, when he was de feated by the Turks at Mohatz, and was drowned ia. the Danube, in endeavouring to make his escape. The sceptres of Bohemia and of Hungary now passed into the hands of Ferdinand, archduke of Austria, and infant of Spain, who had married Anne, the only daughter of Uladislaus. He was afterwards . elected emperor, and, at a diet of the states, held ia 1547, he declared the kingdom hereditary and abso lute. Since that time, both the imperial crown and that of Bohemia have continued in the house of Aus tria. The immediate successors of Ferdinand made no unwarrantable abuse of their arbitrary power ; , but the cruel and violent proceedings of Ferdinand II. roused the Bohemians to revolt, and induced the Protestant princes to combine for his destruction. The crown was torn froth his head, and presented to the elector palatine. A civil war continued for 30 years to distract Bohemia, and so dreadful were its horrors, that more than 30,000 families are said to have taken refuge at this time in foreign countries. -Some idea may be formed of the desolations occa sioned by this revolution, from this striking fact, that, in the reign of Rodolphus, scarcely two cen turies ago, the population of Bohemia amounted to three millions of souls, whereas, after the civil wars, it did not exceed four hundred thousand. After the peace of Westphalia, Ferdinand III. and his succes sors remained in tranquil possession of the throne of Bohemia, till the death of Charles VI. in 1740, when the elector of Bavaria preferred his claim to the sovereignty of that country. This claim gave rite.