Civilized4 mankind scarcely secures the necessaries of life before the desire for the luxuries springs up and is cherished.
For untold5 centuries all of eastern Asia forbade the entrance of foreigners into its territories. To Europeans it was an unknown land.
In the year 326 B. C. Alexander the Great marched his conquering Macedonian legions against the myriads6 of Asiatic troops, subdued7 them and marched on to the Hindus, where he “improvised a fleet” for his army, sailed down that river, called Sacred, to the Indian ocean. Astonished at the wealth of the country and having amassed8 precious gems9 and hundreds of millions of dollars he returned loaded with his treasures up the Euphrates, to that most wonderful 4 city of ancient times, Babylon, where he died. He opened the western doors of India, which exposed its great wealth, excited the avarice10 of the small number of Greeks who knew of his exploits; and for centuries it was the Europeans’ Eldorado, which ultimately, by its luxury and effeminacy, undermined western manhood and led to the decay of Greece and Rome.
Asia, beyond the Euphrates, except by a few, was an unknown country to Europeans until Marco Polo in 1271 A. D., in the company of his father and uncle, met Kublai Khan, the Mongol Emperor, won his confidence and esteem11 and by him was entrusted12 with the most important missions. During the seventeen years he remained he visited the most important places in China, India and the East Indies, and returned to Italy loaded with the rarest, most precious gems and immense wealth, published a book telling his experience and picturing the East in the most roseate colors, generally emanating13 from fancy, but in this case resting upon facts of which he was able to furnish satisfactory proof.
The fact established that India—the East Indies had the gold, silver, precious gems and 5 stones, ebony, ivory, cloves14, cinnamon, cassia, spices and the most beautiful and costly15 fabrics16, articles not obtainable elsewhere and the great desiderata of the Europeans, the question arose as to how they could the most easily, quickly and cheaply be obtained. They could, without much difficulty, find their way to the Indian ocean, but the transportation thence to Europe must be by “the ship of the desert,” the camel, across the Arabian desert and the Isthmus17 of Suez, “the bridge of nations” to the Mediterranean18 or by a more northerly route through the Caspian and Black seas. Caravans19 must be formed by the merchants and armed troops to protect them against the robbers. The land route by the caravans was slow and very expensive, and the hope was cherished that an all-water route might be found which would not only shorten the time, but greatly lessen20 the expense of transportation. For a considerable time the Ph?nicians, occupying a little skirt of land on the eastern end of the Mediterranean, and the first distinctly commercial nation in the world’s history, virtually monopolized21 this land transportation; and then distributed the articles along the shore of the Mediterranean, 6 where they had planted colonies clear up to the Pillars of Hercules. But Venice and Genoa, rival and wealthy cities of Italy, with fine harbors on this inland sea, sought the India trade, supplanted22 Ph?nicia and became greatly enriched by it. The great desideratum—an all-water route from western Europe to the Indies—had not yet been found, but after the Italian cities had enjoyed, monopolized the trade with India for a period of 150 years, another little skirt of land on the west end of the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic ocean, Portugal, brought about a complete change in the transportation which deprived Venice and Genoa of that business.
Henry, Prince of Portugal, surnamed the Navigator, far in advance of his time in geographical23 knowledge and in the science of navigation, introduced the compass and the astrolabe, which he furnished with nautical24 maps and other guides for his mariners25, whom he inspired to sail along the western coast of Africa and double the Cape27 of Good Hope. This, Bartholomew Diaz, a Portuguese28 navigator, did in 1486, and then it seemed certain that an all-water route from western Europe to India had been found, but it was not 7 an accomplished29 fact until Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese navigator, availing himself of Diaz’s discovery of 1486, made a voyage in 1497 from Lisbon to Calicut (not Calcutta) in southwestern India.
Henry “the Navigator” was the father of what may be called ocean, in contradistinction to coast, navigation, scientific, instead of chance navigation, although he died before the Cape of Good Hope had been doubled. After Diaz had doubled the Cape of Good Hope in 1486, the furor30 of every mariner26 was to point the prow31 of his vessel32 toward India to share in its precious gems, its beautiful and costly fabrics, articles of luxury, and its great wealth. The India fever seized all the maritime nations of Europe, Portugal, Spain, France, the Netherlands, England, Sweden and Denmark. Christopher Columbus in 1492 sought, and thought he had found India by sailing westward33. Then Rodrigo Lenzoli Borgia, a Spaniard, and the Pope, under the title of Alexander VI, assuming to be vice-gerent of the world, made a division of all the newly-discovered, or subsequently to be discovered, heathen lands between the two great Catholic powers, Spain and Portugal, 8 by drawing a line from pole to pole one hundred leagues west of the Azores and the Cape de Verde islands (this line was subsequently changed) and declared that all lands discovered west of that line and not belonging to some Christian34 prince should belong to Spain, and all similar lands east of that line should belong to Portugal. The two great maritime and exploring nations of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were Portugal and Spain—the former in the east and the latter in the west. Alas35! their great fame is in the past. Spain hoped to reach the Indies by a shorter all-water route, sailing westward, and that was Columbus’s mission, purpose and hope.
The edict of the Pope did not, in the least, restrain France, England or the Netherlands from attempting to make discoveries, and France, England, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark granted charters to companies of their own subjects, granting them great and exclusive rights, and calling them East India companies. At the close of the year A. D. 1600, Queen Elizabeth chartered the English East India Company with most extraordinary rights and privileges, and thus laid the foundations for Great Britain’s Asiatic empire.
9
The Dutch East India Company charter was granted in 1602, to trade to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope and the Strait of Magellan for twenty-one years, and no other of the East India companies has been so successfully managed. The Dutch have derived36 large revenue from the islands they still hold there, viz.: Java, the Moluccas or Spice islands, a large part of Borneo, Sumatra, Celebes and several small islands in the Malay Archipelago.
Cornelius Hartman, a Dutch navigator, who had spent some time in Lisbon, Portugal, returned in 1594 to Amsterdam, where he gave such a glowing account of the rich and wonderful products of the East, which covered the quays37 of the Tagus, in Lisbon, that nine prominent merchants of Amsterdam formed a company, equipped a fleet of four ships, fitted for war (a war then prevailing38 between Holland and Spain) and for trade, and put Hartman in command. He followed the Portuguese route, and two years later returned with cargoes39 far surpassing the expectations or even the hopes of the company.
Seeing this Indian wealth upon their own docks, other associations and companies were formed in 10 the Netherlands to engage in this lucrative40 trade. Rivalry41 between them became so great as to diminish the profits that a consolidation42 of the companies was effected by Barneveldt. This company consisted of six branches called chambers44, each of which was to be managed by its own directors (originally fifty-three in all) in different parts of the country.
A general council of seventeen directors (Amsterdam eight, Zealand four, Rotterdam, Hoorn and Enkhuizen each one, and the seventeenth to be chosen by the chamber43 of Zealand, the Maas and North Holland) were by a majority of votes to determine all voyages. This arrangement was made to protect the small chambers against the power and policy of Amsterdam if against their interests. Each locality was secured in its due proportion of the business of the company. Each chamber had the exclusive management of its ships sent out by it and was held responsible for the property coming into its possession. The general council of seventeen did not meet often, but the subordinate chambers could legislate45 upon subjects appropriate, and which did not trench46 upon the general policy and course of the company.
11
The Dutch East India Company was clothed with extraordinary powers and privileges and became very wealthy; not alone in the pursuit of the East India trade, but by capturing in the West Indies galleons47 containing great quantities of gold and silver, which the Spaniards, by the most cruel methods, had taken in Mexico and Peru.
The ancients held different opinions about the form, dimensions, the proportion of land to water, of the earth, and as to whether it was motionless, around which all the universe revolved48, as the great center, and of supreme50 importance, or whether it was merely a satellite revolving51 around the sun. It seems flat and the heavenly bodies seem to revolve49 around it. Others thought the earth was a sphere because “the sphere is the most perfect form; it was the center of the universe because that is the place of honor; and it is motionless, because motion is less dignified52 than rest.” Some believed that the earth is round and rests upon the ocean. Homer (900 B. C.) taught that the earth is flat, and so, too, did some of the learned men of Greece and Rome, in the Augustan age. The great Church of Rome, of unequaled influence and power, taught that the earth is flat 12 and the center of the universe and interdicted53, and for centuries punished as heretics, those denying the infallibility of the Popes and teaching otherwise. It is probable that about 600 B. C., Thales of Miletus, one of the “Seven Wise Men of Greece,” a famous astronomer54 and geometer, was the first to teach that the earth is round. About 550 B. C. Pythagoras, the renowned55 Greek philosopher and mathematician56, taught that “the earth is a globe which admits of antipodes; that it is in motion; is not the center of the universe, but revolves57 around the sun.” Plato, Aristotle, Hipparchus, Pliny, Cicero, Virgil, Ovid, Eratosthenes and many others, the most eminent58 scholars of their times, believed that the earth is a sphere; and Eratosthenes, an Alexandrian philosopher, astronomer, geometer and geographer59 about 210 B. C. thought that he had not only proved that by scientific astronomical60 observations but also the speed of the earth in its revolutions; its magnitude and also the relative proportion of its constituent61 elements of land and water.
Claudius Ptolemy, about 150 A. D., a celebrated62 Alexandrian astronomer, geographer and mathematician, held the opinion and promulgated63 it, 13 that the earth is a sphere and that the sun, planets and stars revolve around it as the grand center. He was the founder64 of the Ptolemaic System which was almost universally received for 1,350 years, when the system of Copernicus (a revival65 of the system of Pythagoras) permanently66 displaced it, notwithstanding the violent opposition67, extending to persecution68, of the Church of Rome against it.
Claudius Ptolemy had calculated the equatorial girth of the earth to be 20,400 miles. Making allowance for latitude69, the circumference70 at the Canaries would be about 18,000 miles and the diameter about one-third of that, or 6,000 miles. Columbus was a student of everything accessible concerning geography and navigation and a devout71 Roman Catholic. He credited the statement in the Apochrypha of the Bible, Second Esdras, chapter 6, verse 42, which says: “Upon the third day Thou didst command that the waters should be gathered in the seventh part of the earth, six parts has Thou dried up and kept them,” etc., etc.
If Ptolemy’s calculation had been correct and Esdras’s statement reliable, 18,000 miles divided by 7, giving a quotient of 2,571 miles, would have been the distance Columbus would have had to 14 sail from the Azores to Japan. He estimated he might have to sail 4,000 miles (to reach the west coast of India facing Europe) by being deflected72 from a straight course. The real distance from the Canaries to Japan is 12,000 miles, and the relative proportion of salt water on the surface of the earth to the land is three-quarters. Columbus, believing that he was inspired and commissioned by God to convert the heathen, sailed and thought he had reached India, called the natives Indians (so they have been called ever since) and he died so thinking.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
cursory
|
|
| adj.粗略的；草率的；匆促的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
stimulus
|
|
| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
maritime
|
|
| adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
civilized
|
|
| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
untold
|
|
| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
myriads
|
|
| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
subdued
|
|
| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
amassed
|
|
| v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
gems
|
|
| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
avarice
|
|
| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
esteem
|
|
| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
entrusted
|
|
| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
emanating
|
|
| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的现在分词 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
cloves
|
|
| n.丁香（热带树木的干花，形似小钉子，用作调味品，尤用作甜食的香料）( clove的名词复数 )；蒜瓣(a garlic ~|a ~of garlic) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
costly
|
|
| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
fabrics
|
|
| 织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
isthmus
|
|
| n.地峡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
Mediterranean
|
|
| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
caravans
|
|
| （可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
lessen
|
|
| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
monopolized
|
|
| v.垄断( monopolize的过去式和过去分词 )；独占；专卖；专营 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
supplanted
|
|
| 把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
geographical
|
|
| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
nautical
|
|
| adj.海上的，航海的，船员的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
mariners
|
|
| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
mariner
|
|
| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
cape
|
|
| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
Portuguese
|
|
| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
furor
|
|
| n.狂热；大骚动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
prow
|
|
| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
westward
|
|
| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
alas
|
|
| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
derived
|
|
| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
quays
|
|
| 码头( quay的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
prevailing
|
|
| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
cargoes
|
|
| n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
lucrative
|
|
| adj.赚钱的，可获利的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
rivalry
|
|
| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
consolidation
|
|
| n.合并,巩固 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
chambers
|
|
| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
legislate
|
|
| vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
trench
|
|
| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
galleons
|
|
| n.大型帆船( galleon的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
revolved
|
|
| v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
revolve
|
|
| vi.(使)旋转；循环出现 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
revolving
|
|
| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
dignified
|
|
| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
interdicted
|
|
| v.禁止（行动）( interdict的过去式和过去分词 )；禁用；限制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
astronomer
|
|
| n.天文学家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
renowned
|
|
| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
mathematician
|
|
| n.数学家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
revolves
|
|
| v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
eminent
|
|
| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
geographer
|
|
| n.地理学者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
astronomical
|
|
| adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
constituent
|
|
| n.选民；成分，组分；adj.组成的，构成的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
celebrated
|
|
| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
promulgated
|
|
| v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
Founder
|
|
| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
revival
|
|
| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
permanently
|
|
| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
opposition
|
|
| n.反对，敌对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
persecution
|
|
| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
latitude
|
|
| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
circumference
|
|
| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
devout
|
|
| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
deflected
|
|
| 偏离的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |