This is a reproduction of a library book that was digitized by Google as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the information in books and make it universally accessible. https://books.google.com s s I I UNIVERSAL HISTORY AMERICANISED ; AN HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE WORLD, FROM THE EARLIEST RECORDS TO THE YEAR 1808. WITH A PARTICULAR REFERENCE To THE STATE OF SOCIETY, LITERATURE, RELIGION, AND FORM OF GOVERNMENT, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. BY DAVID RAMSAY, M. D. To which is APPENDED; A SUPPLEMENT, containing A BRIEF VIEW OF HISTORY, FROM THE YEAR 1808 TO THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. --- “Life is so short, and time so valuable, that it were happy for us if all “great works were reduced to their quintessence.” Sir William Jones. “Primaque ab origine mundi “Ad mea perpetuum deducite tempora carmen.” Ovid. º --- IN £volumEs. WOL. VI. --- + O #. copy-RIGHT SECURED, roR THE BENEFIT or TRE FAMILY or nocton RAMsAr; AND PRINTED BY Assign MENT FROM THEM, BY M. CAREY & SON, PHILADELPHIA. 1819. --" H 3 2. 17 3 - //, / cº-º. * ". 3644-6-4 …’ * Yºo---. Čáza. ~~~~~< * , (*.*.*.*, ey DIETRICT OF SOUTH C.:FOLLY.i. BE IT REMEMBERED, that, on the twenty-fifth day of October, Anne Domini one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, and in the forty-fourt: year of the Independence of the United States of America, Eleanor H. L. Ramsay, Marha H. L. Rzz say, Catherine H. L. Ramsay, Sabina E. Ramsay, David Ramsay, James Ramsay, Nathaniel Raisay, and William Ramsay, de posited in this office the title of a Book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words following, to wit: “ Universal History Americanised; or, an Historical View of the World, “from the earliest records to the year 1838. With a particular reference “to the State of Society, Literature, Religion, and Form of Government, in “ the United States of America. By David Ramsay, M. D. To which is * appended, a supplement, containing a brief View of History, from the “ year 1803 to the battle of Waterloo.” * * Life is so short, and time so valuable, that it were happy for us if all “‘great works were reduced to their quintessence.” Sir Wiian Jºnes. * “Primaque ab origine mundi ** Ad mea perpetuum deducite tempora carmen.” Otid * In twelve volumes.” in conformity to the Act of Congress of the United States, entitled, “An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned,” and also an act entitled “An act supplementary to an act entitled, “An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned,” and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving and etching historical and other prints.” º JAMES JERVEY, District Clerk, South Carolina District. tº "... it I * * * * * * * * CONTENTS OF VOL. VI. Ptge. ENGLAND, - 8 Historical View, - 30 Scotland, ... 247 Scottish Islands, 255 General History, .... - 262 HAMSAY'S UNIVERSAL HISTORY. ENGLAND. ENGLAND, derives its name from the Angles, one of the most powerful of the Saxon nations by whom it was con quered. Its ancient names were Britannia and Albion. It is situated between 50° and 56° north latitude ; and extends in length, from south to north, about 400, and in breadth, from east to west, about 350 miles. Its area is computed at 49,450 square miles, and the population, being estimated at 8,400,000, gives the number of 169 inhabitants to a square mile. The face of the country is, in general, variegated and beau tiful. In some parts verdant plains, extending as far as the eye can reach, covered with numerous flocks and herds, ex hibit a scene of rural opulence ; in others, gently swelling hills and bending vales, fertile in corn or waviag with wood, regale the eye with delightful landscapes. There are several mountains in England, but none of them remarkable for their height. Wales is a mountainous country. The rivers of England are numerous, but the principal are the Thames, the Severn, and the Humber ; which contribute exceedingly to its inland navigation and commerce. , Canals, which serve as a substitute for rivers, are interest ing, not only to the geographer and trader, but also to the philosopher and statesman : as they contribute in no small de gree, to mark the genius of a nation, and its progress in science. The first canal made in England, expressly for the vol. vr. 2 i RAMSAY'S UNIVERSAL HISTORY; purpose of inland navigation, is that of Sankey ; cut, in order to convey coals from the pits at St. Helen's to Liverpool, ior which the act of Parliament was procured A. D. 1753. So recent is the date of this great plan of national improvement. The Duke of Bridgewater was the founder of inland na vigation in Britain. His opulence and enterprising spirit, in conjunction with the consummate genius of Brindley, carried into successful execution, designs, which, although of the greatest national importance, had never before been attempted. His first canal, which was intended for the purpose of convey ing coal from his pits to Manchester, commences near Wors- ley Mills, about seven miles from that town. This canal runs through a hill, by a subterraneous passage, (sufficiently large for the admission of 1 mg flat. bottomed boats) a distance of three quarters of a mile under ground. The whole length of the navigation is nine miles, before they reach Manchester. The canal is conveyed across the river Irwel by an aqueduct, which rises thirty-nine feet above its bed, and is upwards of six hundred feet in length. The whole expense of this stu pendous work, in the comparative cheap state of labour and provisions about the middle of the 18th century, was only computed at a thousand guineas per mile. The junction of the four principal ports of the kingdom, London, Bristol, Liverpool, and Hull, by an inland navigation, was the grand design of Brindley. A communication was accordingly opened between Liverpool and Hull, by a canal from the Trent to the Mersey. The canal, which connects these two rivers, is ninety-nine miles in length, and is styled the grand trunk ; it was begun A. D. 1766, but was not com pleted until A. D. 1 777. In some places it was attended with great difficulties ; being carried over the river Dove by an aqueduct of twenty-three arches, and through the hill of Hare-castle by a tunnel of 2880 yards in length, and more than seventy yards below the surface of the ground. This work was executed with great labour and expense ; but its utility corresponds with the grandeur of the design. Many of the natural productions of those countries, through which the Canal passes, had, by reason of the heavy expenses of land ENGLAND. 5 Carriage, lain useless for ages, but now find their value. The various commodities, both of export and import, find a cheap and easy conveyance, and the merchants and manufacturers of the interior enjoy the benefits of water carriage, almost from their own doors to the principal sea ports ; for the Severn now communicates, not only with the Trent and the Mersey, by various courses of navigation, but also with the Thames, by a canal of near forty miles in length, which completes the quadruple intersection of the kingdom. The minute divisions of inland navigation are so ramified, that scarcely any considerable town, in the whole kingdom, is without the convenience of either a navigable river or a canal. The several parts, considered as forming a grand whole, mark the prosperity and commerce of tlie country ; and will serve to commemorate the grand and liberal views of the Duke- of Bridgewater, as well as the self-taught genius of Brindley. England cannot boast of gold or silver among the variety of her mineral productions, although a trifling quantity of the former has, in several .places, been found ; and the English lead ore contains a small mixture of the latter ; but in the abundance and excellence of her coal and tin, she stands un rivalled. Since the English have discovered the method of manufacturing their tin, it has proved an article incalculably beneficial to the nation. The coal pits of Northumberland are of still greater value than the tin mines of Cornwall; and, ultimately, more beneficial to England, than those of Potosi to Spain. The veins were discovered only about the com mencement of the fifteenth century, and from them Newcastle principally derives its opulence. The mines of Northumber land furnish London, annually, with about 600,000 chaldrons of coal; in consequence of which, 1500 vessels are employed in carrying so vast a supply to the metropolis, besides the number required for a very considerable exportation of this useful commodity to foreign countries. Mines of lead, iron, and copper, are found in England. Stone, of various kinds, for building and other purposes, is plentiful in many districts. The slate of Westmoreland is unrivalled for elegance of colour and fineness of texture~. 6 HAMSAY'S UNIVERSAL HISTOEY. Pottery-clays and fullers'-earth are among the valuable earths. Of fossil salt there is an inexhaustible store in the rock salt pits of Cheshire, and the brine springs of that county and Worcestershire. Mineral waters occur in many parts. The warm springs of Bath and Buxton are of peculiar note : the waters of Tun- bridge, Cheltenham, Harrow gate, and various others, are cele- lebrated for different medicinal properties, according to their several impregnations.