The Tuscans and the Grecian colonies in the south of Italy, certainly had
made great progress in commerce at an early period; and as,--if their
example did not stimulate the Romans to enterprises of the same kind,--the
Romans, at least when they conquered them, became possessed of the commerce
which they then enjoyed, it will be proper to take a brief view of it.
If we may credit the ancient historians, the Etrurians or Tyrrhenians, even
before the reign of Minos, had been for a long time masters of the greatest
part of the Mediterranean Sea, and had given their name to the Tyrrhenian
Sea, upon which they were situate. Piracy, as well as commerce, was
followed by them; and they became at last so expert, successful, and
dangerous, for their piracies, that they were attacked, and their maritime
power greatly abridged, by the Carthaginians and the Sicilians. Their most
famous port was Luna, which was situated on the Macra, a river which,
flowing from the Apennines, divided Liguria from Etruria, and fell into the
Tyrrhenian Sea. There seems good reason to believe that Luna was a place of
great trade before the Trojan war; it was extremely capacious, and in every
respect worthy of the commercial enterprise and wealth of the Tuscans.
Populonium, a city which was situate on a high promontory of the same name,
that ran a considerable way into the sea, also possessed a very commodious
harbour, capable of receiving a great number of ships.
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