THE Prefent State O F GREAT-BRITAIN. PART I. CHAP. I. of Great-Britain in general, and the Divifion thereof, into its Three Principal Parts, England, Scotland, and Wales. B William bleq. Lts Name. RITAIN was by the Ancients accounted the See Sir greatest Island of the known World, and for aught yet Temple's Incertain, may be fo ftill, notwithstanding the later Dif- 170duction to coveries of Madagascar and Japan, which are by fome the His. of ought in Competition. It extends from North to South about Engl. p. 1. Degrees, and about 200 Miles in the Breadth of its most Extent of ded Angles. It was anciently call'd Albion, which feems Great-Briave been foftned from Alpion; the Word Alp, in fome of the can. ginal Weftern Languages, fignifying generally very high Ads or Hills, as this Ile appears to those who approach it the Continent. By the Romans, and fome time before , it was call'd Britannia; concerning which Name very Debate, and no Agreement has been among the modern ad of our Country, or of others, after raking into all the ach of thofe Authors: That which feems most probable, is, The Strangers who came over into this Ifland upon the ini Traffick, from the Coafts of Gaul or Germany, call'd B the the Inhabitants by one common Name of Briths, given them from the Custom among them of painting their naked Bodies and fmall Shields with an Azure Blue, which by them was call'd Brith, and diftinguifh'd them from Strangers who came among them: From this Name, the Romans call'd it Britannia, by giving a Latin Termination to a barbarous Name, as they had done to many other Countries, that fell under their Conquefts. The Britons were little known abroad, before the first Entrance of the Romans into their Ifle, or the Preparations and Enquiries they made in order to that Expedition. Their Coafts only op-. pofite to Gaul and Belgium were frequented by Merchants from thence, who came thereby acquainted with them, but little with the inland Provinces: And these were the Men from whom Ca far drew his belt Intelligence concerning the Country he intended to invade. All that we find related of them, before the Romans enter'd, is, That the whole Country was fiil'd with infinite Numbers of People, abounding in all forts of Cattle or Beasts, both wild and tame; their Houfes poorly built, and I scattered all over the Country, without Obfervance of Order or Distance, as every Man was invited by the Fertility of the Soil, or the Convenience of Wood or Water. They liv'd moft upon Milk, or Flesh which they got by Hunting; little upon Corn, which was not in much Efleem or Plenty among them. What Clothes they wore to cover any Parts of their Bodies, were ufually of the Skins of Beafts; but much of their Body, as Arms, Legs, and Thighs, were left naked, and in many of them, All; what was naked, was painted with Blue. This was univerfal among them, but whether defign'd as an Ornament, or to ren der them Terrible to their Adverfaries, is not certainly known. Their Towns were most upon their Coafts, and founded for the Advantage of Havens, and the Recourfe of Strangers from the Continent, to buy and fell, or exchange Wares with those of the Ifland. These Inhabitants were much more civiliz'd than thofe of the Inland Country, by the Commerce and Intercourfe of other Nations, efpecially the Gauls, who had long before Their Com- been civiliz'd by the Roman Colonies. The Commodities exported out of this Ifle were chiefly Hides and Tin; which last was peculiar to this Country, and in much ufe abroad. Some Silver they had, but not in common Ufe; Pearls they had too, but neither clear nor colour'd like thofe of the Orient, and therefore in low Efteem among the Romans: But little Iron, and that ufed either for Arms, or for Rings, which was a fort of Money current among them; the reft was of Brafs, which was brought from abroad, and employ'd only for this Ufe. modities. Their Religi In their Religion and their Laws they were wholly govern'd on, Govern- by their Druids, as were the ancient Gauls, who are faid to have ment, Lan- been furnished with the chiefest and most learned of theirs out of guage and Caftoms. Britain. Their Language and Customs were alfo generally the fame with thofe of the Gauls, before the Roman Conquefts in that Province, which were much earlier than in Britain; This Affinity made them frequently aflift the Gauls upon the Coafts, in their Wars against the Romans, and gave the first Occafion of Cafar's invading Britain for Revenge and Safety, as well as Conqueft and Glory. Their Government, like that of the ancient Gauls, confifted of feveral fmall Nations, under feveral petty Princes, which were the Original Governments of the World, and deduced from the natural Force, and Right of Paternal Dominion. Whether thefe fmall British Principalities defcended by Succeffion, or were elected by the Advantages of Age, Wisdom, or Valour, in the Families of the deceased Prince, is not recorded: But upon great or common Dangers, the chief Commander of all their Forces was chofen by common Confent in General Affemblies, as Caefar relates of Caffivelaunus against his Invafion. Women were among them admitted to their Principalities and General Commands by the Right of Succeffion, Nobility of Birth, or Eminence of other Qualities. Their Forces confifted chiefly in their Foot, and yet they could Their Forces draw great Numbers of Horfe into the Field upon extraordinary and Arms. Occafions: They likewife ufed Chariots in Fight, which having their Scythes faften'd to the Ends of the Axle-Trees, gave cruel Wounds, and with great Terror, they made fierce Charges upon the Ranks of their Enemies, and were of much Force to break or to disorder them. Their common Arms were fmall Shields, but very large Swords, which exprefs'd more Defire of wounding their Enemies, than defending themselves. They were esteemed a very brave and fierce People, 'till their Bodies came to be foftened, and their Courages debafed, by the Luxury, as well as Servitude, which the Romans introduced among them. One Custom there was among the Britons, which feems pecu-Their Wives liar to themselves, and not found in the Stories of any other Na-in commons tions, either civil or barbarous; which was, a Society of Wives among certain Numbers, and by common Confent. Every Man marry'd a fingle Woman, who was always after efteem'd his Wife only: But it was ufual for Five or Six, Ten or Twelve, or more, either Brothers or Friends, as they could agree, to have all their Wives in common; fo that amorous Encounters frequently happen'd among them, as they were invited by Defire, or fa vour'd by Opportunity. Every Woman's Children were attributed to him that had marry'd her, but all had a Share in the Care and Defence of the whole Society, fince no Man knew which were his own. Such were the People, and these the Customs of Britain, when the Romans firft invaded their Ifland under the Enfigns of Julius Cafar, whofe Forces were compos'd of Germans, Batavians and Gauls, befides the beft of his old Roman Legions: Yet in two Expeditions he made into this Ifland, he ra- Cefar's Ezther increas'd the Glory than the Dominion of Rome; and gave Britain. Britain the Honour of being the laft Triumph of that mighty Republick, which had before fubdued and reduc'd into Provin sedition into H ces many Kingdoms and Commonwealths in Europe, Afia and Africa. Thole Tales we have of what pafs'd here before Cafar's Time, of Brute and his Trojans, of their many Adventures and Succeffions, are fo cover'd with the Ruft of Time, or involv'd in the Vanity of Fables, or pretended Traditions, which to all Men seem obfcure or uncertain, and forg'd at pleasure, by the Wit or Folly of their first Authors, that they deferve no Credit. Britain conThe fecond Expedition into Britain was made by the Emperor quer a by the Claudius, under the Conduct of Plautius, and purfued under Romans. Oftorius, and other Roman Commanders, with great Success. Domitian, the feventh Emperor after Claudius, finish'd what this had begun, carrying the Roman Colours as far as Edinburgh and Dunbarton in Scotland. Thus liv'd the Britons under the Roman Empire near 460 Years, viz. from the Reign of Claudius, the firft Conqueror of this Ifland, to that of Honorius; when Italy being over-run by the Goths, the Romans were oblig'd to abandon Britain, and take Care of their own Country. Thus the Britons recover'd their Liberty, but did not enjoy it long; for their Northern Foes, the Pics and Scots, whofe Enterprizes were often reprefs'd by the Roman Legions, finding the Country deftitute of that foreign Force, and exhausted of their own bravest Youth, renewed and pursued their Invafions with greater Rage and Fury. The poor Britons fent over their mournful Address to the renowned Etius for Relief; but having no Hopes given them by that Roman General of any Succours from that Side, Vortigern, chofen King by the deferted and afflicted Britons, made Address for Aid to the Saxons, a People who had poffefs'd themselves of all thofe Tracts of Land in Ger many that lie between the Elbe and the Lower Rhine, and extended their Seats all over the Coast of the North-west Sea, from whence they exercised their Arms and fierce Courages in all Sorts of Spoils and Pyracies. These People were call'd Saxons, from a Weapon generally used among them, and made like a Scythe, with the Edge reverfed, which in their Language they And then by call'd Seax. The Britons Defire of Relief, and Offers of Seats the Saxons. in Britain, were foon accepted and granted by the Saxons, whofe effectual Affiftance was recompenfed with the Ifle Thanet, and afterwards with the whole County of Kent, one of the most confiderable Counties in England. But that would not serve their Turn, and they refolv'd to extend their Limits. In short, fo prodigious was the Success of their Arms, as to drive the Britons out of their own Country, and force the greatest Part of them to take Sanctuary in the Mountains of Wales; while the reft fred, fome to Cornwall, and others to Cumberland, where they kept their Ground for fome Ages. The Saxons, hearten'd with Succefs, and proud of fuch great Poffeffions, invited ftill greater Numbers of their Countrymen from abroad, who being of feveral Branches, and from several Coats, arrived here under feveral Names: Among whom the ANGLES 1 ANGLES from Schonen and Jutland, fwarm'd over in fuch Numbers, that at length they gave a new Name to this Province, which from them was call'd Angle-Land, and for eafier Sound, ENGLAND. The Saxons having fubdued the whole Body of the Province, establish'd in it feven feveral Kingdoms (which were fil'd the HEPTARCHY) and their first Kings were, HEPTAR HENGIST, of Kent, Anno 455.1 ons, 527. These feveral Kingdoms continued for fome Ages, not without various Incroachments, 'till Egbert, King of the Weft-Saxons, taking an Advantage of the Divifion amongst the other Kings, reduced by Force of Arms the Heptarchy into a Monarchy, and was crowned King of England at Winchefter, the Royal Seat of the Weft-Saxons, in the Year 819. Thus Britain came to be divided into Three principal Parts, feach of them being a Kingdom) viz. England, Scotland and Wales. ENGLAND of near 900 Years standing; Scotland (the anci enteft Kingdom) of about 2000, if we may believe their Chronicles; and Wales being erected into a Kingdom by Idwallo, Son of Cadwallader, the laft King of the Britons; all three now happily united into One, under the Name of GREAT-BRITAIN; Wales having been incorporated into the Kingdom of England in the Reign of King Henry VIII. and Scotland united to it in the late glorious Reign of Queen ANNE, Anno 1706. CHA P. II. Of the Situation, Extent, Air, and Rivers in England. HE Monarchy of England was no fooner fettled, but the Danes came in with open Force to disturb its Tranquility, and got Poffeffion of it. During no less than 15 Reigns, and the Space of 200 Years, this Kingdom was cruelly haraffed by those fierce Invaders; 'till at laft Canute their King got Poffef fion of the Crown, in the Year 1017. after the Decease of Edmund, the valiant Saxon King, firnamed Ironfide. Then the Saxons and Danes keeping a good Correfpondence, and intermixing together by Marriages, made but one Nation. However, the Reign of the Danes was of no long Continuance, there having been but Three Kings of England of that Nation, who reign'd but 25 Years. For in 1042 the Saxons recover'd the Throne of England in the Perfon of Edward, firnamed the B 3 |