The success of their whale fishery seems to have led to the
neglect of their Russian trade, for, in 1615, only two vessels were
employed in it, instead of seventeen great ships formerly employed. From
this period, the commerce carried on between Russia and England, by the
Russian Company, seems gradually to have declined.
The commerce between England and the other parts of Europe, during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, presents little that calls for notice;
as the manufactures and capital of England encreased, it gradually
encreased, and was transferred from foreign to English vessels. The exports
consisted principally of woollen goods, prepared skins, earthen-ware, and
metals. The imports of linens, silks, paper, wines, brandy, fruits,
dye-stuffs, and drugs. The woollen cloths of England were indeed the staple
export to all parts of England during the whole of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries: as our cotton, earthen-ware, and iron manufactures
sprung up and encreased, they supplied other articles of export;--our
imports, at first confined to a few articles, afterwards encreased in
number and value, in proportion as our encreased industry, capital, and
skill, enlarged our produce and manufactures, and thus enabled us to
purchase and consume more. A very remarkable instance of the effect of
skill, capital, and industry, is mentioned by Mr.
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