Capitolo 27
and it limited together Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Smaller Asia, Greece,
Sicily and Italy in a merchant system. A small later, Hellas
it widened, as to include Syracuse, Byzantium, Alexandria,
Cyrene, Cumae, Neapolis, Massilia. The hinterland that sea is become "a Greek lake."
But as navigation so slowly widened to the western Mediterranean
basin, the centre of commerce had to move perforce from Hellas to the
mean-point of the new area. Powerful two cities of commerce occupied such
mean-point in the Mediterranean--Rome and Carthage; and they was driven
to fight out the supremacy of the world (the world as it existed then)
among them. With the Roman empire, the circle extended, as to take
in the coasts of Atlantic, Gaul, Spain and Britain that then, however,
didn't place to the centre but on the circumference of civilisation. During
the Centuries Averages, when navigation started to embrace the great sea opened as
a double centre jumped on well as the Mediterranean,: Italians
Republics, Venice, Florence Genova, Pisa still is the principal messengers;
but the cities of Flanders, Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp started to compete
with the states of Atlantic and they, France, England, The Netherlands,
colors of rose in the importance. From and from, as it follows time, the discoveries of
Cristoforo Colombo and of the of of Vasco Gama opens out new footsteps. Suddenly commerce is
renewed radically. France, England, Spain becomes more neighbor to America and
India that Italy; therefore rebates of Italy; while the states of Atlantic usurp the
before puts as the centers of civilisation.
Our his/her own age once more door fresh seas in the circle. It is not anymore
the Atlantic, the Mediterranean or the Indian ocean that alone the account;
the Pacific also starts to be considered. China, Japan, the Head; Kilos,
Peru, Argentina; California, British Columbia, Australia, New
Zealand; all of them are parts of the system of to-day; civilisation is
world.
Have these changes of area altered the central position of England? Not to