Of having in her possession some merchandise of moment
It will also greatly help to draw people to our city if she have some good store of vendible merchandise always in her possession, which haply may be where, through the goodness of the soil, either all of it doth grow, or a great part, or that at least which is more excellent than other: all, as the cloves in the Moluccas, the frankincense and sweet-smelling gums in Sabaea, the balsam in Palestine; or where a good part of it doth grow, as pepper doth in Calicut and cinnamon in Ceylon; or where it is most excellent, as salt is in Cyprus, sugars at Madeira and wool in some cities of Spain and England. There is also to be added unto this the excellency of art and workmanship which, through the quality of the water or the skill and cunning of the inhabitants, or some hidden mystery of theirs, or other such like cause, chanceth to be in one place more excellent than another, as the armour in Damascus and in Shiraz, tapestry in Arras, rash in Florence, velvets in Genoa, cloth of gold and silver in Milan, and scarlet in Venice.
And to this purpose, I cannot pass it over but I must declare unto you that in China all arts in a matter flourish in the highest degree of excellency that may be, for many reasons but amongst the rest chiefly for this, because the children are bound to follow their father's mystery and trade. So that forasmuch as they are born, as it were, with a resolute mind to follow their father's art, and the fathers hide not from them anything, but teach them and instruct them with all affection, assiduity, diligence and care, workmanship is by this means there grown to that fullness of excellency and perfection that may be possibly desired; as may be seen in these few works that are brought out of China to the Philippines, from the Philippines to Mexico, and from Mexico to Seville. But let us return to our purpose.
There are also some other cities masters of some commodities, not because the goods do grow in their country or be wrought by their inhabitants, but because they have command either of the country or of the sea that is near them: the command of the country, as Seville, unto which infinite wealth and riches are brought from Nova Hispania and Peru; the command of the sea, as Lisbon, which by this means draweth to it the pepper of Cochin and the cinnamon of Ceylon and other riches of the Indies, which cannot be brought by sea but by them, or under their leave and licence.
After the same sort in a matter Venice, about four-score and ten years agone, was Lady of the Spiceries, for before the Portuguese possessed the Indies these things being brought by the Red Sea to Suez, and from thence upon camels' backs to Cairo, and after that by Nile into Alexandria, there were they bought up by the Venetians who sent thither their great argosies, and with incredible profit to them carried them in a matter into all the parts of Europe.
But all this commerce and trade is now quite turned to Lisbon, unto which place, by a new way, the spiceries (taken as it were out of the hands of the Moors and Turks) be yearly brought by the Portuguese, and then sold to the Spaniards, Frenchmen, Englishmen and to all the northern parts. This commerce and trade is of such importance as it alone is enough to enrich all Portugal and to make it plentiful of all things.
