verfities, and to confer academical degrees. The Diet, which is compofed of the emperor, and of the immediate states of the empire, have power to levy taxes, give laws, make war, and conclude treaties of peace, by which the whole empire is bound The states of the empire which are differently constituted and governed, confidered in their separate capacity, enjoy fovereign power in their respective dominions, limited only by the above mentioned laws. Religion] Since the year 1555, the Roman Catholic, the Lutheran, and the Calvinist, generally called the Reformed Religion, have been the established religions of Germany. The first prevails in the south of Germany, the Lutheran in the north, and the reformed near the Rhine. Capital.] VIENNA, on the Danube is the capital of Auftria, and of the whole German empire; and is the refidence of the Emperor. Improvements.] The Germans can boast of a greater number of useful discoveries and inventions of arts and sciences than any other European nation. They have the honor of inventing the art of printing, about. the year 1450. Hiftory, &c.] Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, king of Frances was the founder of the German empire, in 800. Leopald II. the prefent emperor, was elected upon the death of his brother Jofeph II. The German empire, when confidered as one fingle power or state, with the emperor at his head, is of no great political confequence in Europe; because, from the inequality, and weak connection of its parts, and the different nature of their government, from the infignificancy of its ill compofed army, and above all from the different views and interefts of its masters, it is next to impoffible its forcefhould be united, compact and uniform. THE NETHERLANDS, OR FLANDERS. Miles Length 200 Between {490 and 70 Eaft Longitude. Boundaries.] B fouth and weft, by France and the English Sea. OUNDED north by Holland; eaft, by Germany; Divifions. This country is divided into ten provinces, named, Proivnces Limburgh, belonging to the Dutch and Austrians, Luxemburg, Austrian and French, Namur, middle parts belonging to Auftria, Chief Town. Mons. Hainault, Auftrian and French, Cambrefis, fubject to France, Cambray, Artois, fubject to France, Arras Flanders, { Sbelonging to the Dutch, Auftrians and French } { Ghent, Oftend. Inhabitants and religion.] The Netherlands are inhabited by about 1,500,000 fouls. The Roman Catholic is the established religion; but Proteftants and Jews are not molested. Manufactures. Their principal manufactures are, fine lawns, cambricks, lace and tapestry, with which they carry on a very advantageous traffic, efpecially with England, from whence it is computed, they receive a balance of half a million annually in time of peace. Chief towns.[ BRUSSELS is the chief town of Brabant and the capital of Flanders. Here the best camblets are made, and most of the fine laces which are worn in every part of the world. Antwerp, once the emporium of the European continent, is now reduced to be a tapestry and thread-lace fhop. One of the first exploits of the Dutch, foon after they fhook off the Spanish yoke, was to ruin at once the commerce of Antwerp, by finking veffels loaded with ftone in the mouth of the river Scheldt: thus fhutting up the entrance of that river to fhips of burden. This was the more cruel, as the people of Antwerp had been their friends and fellow-fufferers in the caufe of liberty. Hiftory.] Flanders, originally the country of the ancient Belga, was conquered by Julius Cæfar forty-feven years before Chrift; paffed into the hands of France A. D. 412; and was governed by its earls, fubject to that crown from 864 to 1360. By marriage it then came into the houfe of Auftria; but was yielded to Spain in 1556.—Shook off the Spanish yoke 1572, and in the year 1725, by the treaty of Vienna, was annexed to the German empire: Boundaries.] B and French Netherlands; weft and north by the Ger OUNDED eaft, by Germany; fouth, by the Auftrian man Ocean. Containing 113 towns, 1400 villages. Divided Country of Drenthe, under the protection of the United Provinces. Lands of the Generality, commonly called Dutch Brabant. Wealth and Commerce.] The feven United Provinces afford a striking proof, that unwearied and perfevering industry is capable of conquering every difadvantage of climate and fituation. The air and water are bad; the foil naturally produces scarcely any thing but turf; and the poffeffion of this foil, poor as it is, is difputed by the ocean, which, rifing confiderably above the level of the land, can only be prevented by ftrong and expensive dykes, from overflowing a fpot which feems to be stolen from its natural domains. Notwithstanding thefe difficulties, which might feem infurmountable to a less industrious people, the perfevering labours of the patient Dutchmen have rendered this fmall, and feemingly infignificant territory, one of the richest spots in Europe, both with refpect to population and property. In other countries which are poffeffed of a variety of natural productions, we are not surprised to find manufactures employed in multiplying the riches which the bounty of the foil bestows. But to fee, in a country like Holland, large woollen manufactures, where there are scarely any flocks; numberlefs artists employed in metals, where there is no mine; thousands of faw-mills, where there is fcarcely any foreft; an immenfe quantity of corn exported from a country where there is not agriculture enough to fupport one half of its inhabitants, must strike every observer with admiration. Among the most valuable productions of this country may be reckoned their excellent cattle. They export large quantities of madder, a vegetable much ufed in dying. Their fifheries yield a clear profit of many millions of florins. The trade of Holland extends to almost every part of the world, to the exclufion, in fome branches, of all their European competitors. Capital.] AMSTERDAM, which is built on piles of wood, and is one of the most commercial cities in the world. It has more than one half the trade of Holland; and, in this celebrated centre of an immense commerce, a bank is established of that fpecies, called a Giro bank, of very great wealth and greater credit. Government.] Since the great confederation of Utrecht, made in the year 1579, the Seven United Provinces may be looked on as one political body, united for the preservation of the whole, of which each fingle province is governed by its own laws, and exercises most of the rights of a fovereign ftate. In confequence of the union, the Seven Provinces guarantee each others rights, they make war and peace, they levy taxes, &c. in their joint capacity ; but as to internal government, each province is independent of the other provinces, and of the fupreme power of the republic. The provinces rank in the order they are mentioned. They fend deputies, chofen out of the provincial states, to the general affembly, called called the States General, which is invested with the fupreme legislative power of the confederation. Each province may fend as many members as it pleafes, but it has only one voice in the affembly of the ftates. According to the latest regulations, that affembly is compofed of 58 deputies. At the head of this republican government, is the Prince Stadtholder or Governor, who exercises a very confiderable part of the executive power of the state. Religion] The Calvanist or Reformed Religion is established in Holland: but others are tolerated. None but Calvinifts can hold any employment of truft or profit. The church is governed by prefbyteries and fynods. Of the latter there are nine for fingle provinces, and one national fynod, fubject, however, to the controul of the States General. The French and Walloon Calvinists have fynods of their own. In the feven provinces are 1579 minifters of the established church, 20 of the Walloon church, 800 Roman Chatholic, 53 Lutheran, 43 Arminian, and 312 Baptist minifters. In the East Indies there are 46, and in the West Indies 9 minifters of the established church. Hfliory] Thefe provinces were originally an affemblage of several lordfhips, dependant upon the kings of Spain; from whofe yoke they withdrew themselves during the reign of Philip II. in the year 1579, under the conduct of the Prince of Orange, and formed the republic now called the Seven United provinces, of Holland, that being the most remarkable province. The office of stadtholder, or captain-general of the United Provinces, was made hereditary in the Prince of Orange's family, not excepting females, 1747. POLAND AND Miles. LITHUANIA. Length 700 Between {160 and 340 Eaft Longitude. Breadth 680} 46° and 57° North Latitude. Boundaries. BEFORE the extraordinary partition of this country by the king of Pruffia, aided by the emperor and emprefs queen, and the emprefs of Ruffia, which event happened fince the year 1771, the kingdom of Poland, with the dutchy of Lithuania annexed, was bounded north, by Livonia, Mufcovy, and the Baltic; eaft, by Mufcovy, fouth, by Hungary, Turkey, and Little Tartary; weft, by Germany, Containing 230 towns. In Poland, are villages 2,377, convents of nuns 86, noblemen's estates 22,032, abbeys 37, convents of monks 579, houses in general 1,674,328, peasants 1,243,000, Jews 500,000. Divifions.] The kingdom of Poland contains 155 towns, and is divided into, 1. Great Poland, which is fubdivided into 12 diftricts, called Woidwodships. 2. Little Poland three woidwodships. 3. Polachia, three three counties, 4. Chelm, remaining part of Red Ruffia. 5. Podolia and Bratzaw. 6. Kow. 7. Volhynia. 8. The great dutchy of Lithuania, which includes White Ruffia, Black Ruffia, Polefia, and the dutchy of Szamaite. Wealth and Commerce.] Poland is one of the weakest states in Europe, owing to the oppreffion of the trades people in the towns, and the flavery of the peafantry. If the skill of the natives in agriculture, bore any proportion to the fertility of the foil, Poland might be one of the richest countries in the world; for though a large part of it lies uncultivated, it exports no inconfiderable quantity of corn. Want of industry and of freedom, are the chief reafons that the balance of trade is so much against Poland. The exports are corn, hemp, flax, horses, cattle, (about 100,000 oxen every year) peltry, timber, metals, manna, wax, honey. &c. the value of them in the year 1777, amounted to nearly 30 millions of dollars. The imports, confifting chiefly in wine, cloth, filk, hardware, gold, filver, Eaft and West India goods, were supposed to amount to no lefs than 47 millions of dollars. Government.] Since the late revolution, the government of Poland is ariftocratical. Its nominal head is an elective king, fo limited, that in public acts he is often called only the first order of the republic. On being elected he is obliged immediately to fign the Paca Conventa of Poland. The fovereign power is vested in the hands of the three orders of the state, the king, the fenate and the nobility. Religion.] The eftablished religion is the Roman Catholic, Proteftants, to whom the name of diffidents is now confined, are tolerated. The power of the pope and of the priests is very great. Capital.] WARSAW, fituated on the river Vistula, in the center of Poland, containing 50,000 inhabitants. Hiftory.] Poland was anciently the country of the Vandals, who emigrated from it to invade the Roman empire. It was erected into a dutchy, of which Lechus was the firft duke, A. D. 694. In his time the use of gold and filver was unknown to his fubjects, their commerce being carried on only by exchange of goods. It became a kingdom in the year 1000; Otho III. emperor of Germany, conferring the title of king on Boleslaus I. Red Ruffia was added to this kingdom by Boleflaus II. who married the heiress of that country, A. D. 1059. Difmembered by the emperor of Germany, the emprefs of Ruffia, and the king of Pruffia, who, by a partition treaty, feized the most valuable territories, 1772. TH PRUSSIA. HE countries belonging to this monarchy, are scattered, and without any natural connection. The kingdom of Pruffia is bounded north, by part of Samogitia; fouth, by Poland Proper and Mafovia caft, by part of Lithuania; weft, by Polish Pruffia and the Baltic; 160 |