The British
tin, besides other articles, was brought by land-carriage through the
centre of Gaul, and exported, either from it or Marseilles, to the
different countries on the Mediterranean. It derived great importance and
wealth, from its being a convenient place of rest and refreshment for the
Roman troops, as they passed from the Pyrennees to the Alps, or from the
Alps to the Pyrennees. Its harbour was crowded with ships from Africa,
Spain, Italy, &c.; but, in the latter ages of the Roman Empire, it fell
into decay, principally in consequence of the course of the river being
changed, so that it no longer ran through it. The Romans endeavoured to
supply this misfortune, by cutting a canal to the sea, the traces and
remains of which are still visible.
Lugdunum (Lyons), at the confluence of the Rhone and Arar, was founded by
Manucius Plancus, after the death of Julius Caesar. In the time of
Augustus, according to Strabo, it had increased so much, by means of its
commerce, that it was not inferior to any city in Gaul, except Narbonne.
Indeed, not long after the entire conquest of Gaul by the Romans, the
advantages which that country might derive, with respect to foreign
commerce, and internal trade, by its rivers, seem to have been fully and
clearly understood. The head of the Saone being near to that of the Moselle
and the Seine, merchandize was easily conveyed by land from one of these
rivers to the other.
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