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An Inquiry into the Permanent Causes of the Decline and Fall of Powerful and Wealthy Nations.
by William Playfair
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MORALS. See Education.

MOTHERS. See Education.

MACHINERY. See Manufactures.

MAHOMEDAN RELIGION, its rapid establishment, 54.—Its effects on the commerce with India, ib.

MANNERS greatly corrupted at Rome, 43.—A change in them constantly going on, and tending to bring decline,

MANUFACTURES settled early on the shores of the Baltic, 3.— Those who possess them first, lose them by imitation of others, 14.— India surpassed in them by England, 63.—In ancient times, only, extended to luxuries for the great and simple necessaries for the poor, 73.—Manufacturers less splendid than merchants, 143.—The working men consume more animal food than the same rank of people in any other nation, 144.—England considered as excelling all other nations for manufacturers sic, 200.—The effects of the inventions of the steam engine and spinning machines, 203.—Scarcely any thing sold to the American states, except our own manufactures, 204.—Southern nations cannot rival northerly ones, 210.—Manufactures, and agriculture, more conducive to wealth than commerce, are not the same thing, 209.

MEDITERRANEAN, its shores the first abodes of commerce, 3 and 4, 20.—Lost its importance by the discovery of America, the magnet, and the passage to India by the Cape,

MERCHANTS less splendid than conquerors and planters, 143.—Can have no rule of conduct in transactions but their own advantage, 181.

N.

NATIONS, none that ever submitted to pay tribute, ever flourished long, 40.—Enriched by commerce, not so certain to decline as by conquests, 41.—There sic situation with respect to wealth and power previous to the discovery of America, 49.—Feeble nations have some advantage in knowing their weakness, 171.—Exterior causes of their decline of less importance than interior ones, 184.—Should consider which is the best object on which to employ their industry, 210, 211.—Their comparative extent, revenues, and population, illustrated by an engraved chart, 213, 214.—Nations of Europe, application of the present inquiry to them, 284.

NECESSITY consisting of a desire to supply wants, the cause of industry and wealth, 14.—Necessity ceases its operation on the nation that is risen highest, 15, 16.—Operated very powerfully on the Dutch, 47.—Habit prolongs the action of it, 81.—With young men that can, alone, produce industry, 84.—Less and less on each generation as wealth increases, 85. The consequences of this, 87.—Its operation prolonged to a certain degree by taxation, 239.—

NORTHERN countries most favourable to industry, 44.

NILE. See Egypt.

P.

PALMYRA founded by Solomon, King of Israol sic, for the purpose of trading with India,

PARIS burnt by the Danes soon after the death of Charlemagne. Prices of bread at, compared with those of London, 150.

PARISH-OFFICERS defend themselves against the public at the expense of the public, 122.—Bad administrators, 123, 124.—Rough, vulgar, and a disgrace to the country, 249.

PATENTS, laws of, its utility, 200, 201.

PETER the Great endeavoured to improve his country, and make his people happy, 118.

PITT, Right Hon. W. his estimate of national property, 243, 244.

POLAND, causes of its decline, and subjugation, different from that of most other nations, 75.

POOR, their wretched state at Rome, 43.—Of England cost six times as much, in proportion, as in Scotland, and fifty times as much in reality, 88.—Increase, as capital becomes necessary for industry, 156.— Causes of their increase, &c. &c. 157, 158, 159, 160.—Of England, cost more to maintain, than the revenues of many kingdoms, 247.— Causes, inquired into, and remedy, 248 to 256.

POPULATION, 142.—Connected with wealth, and the manner of living, so that a nation may not require to import ordinary food in great quantities 159.—May be considered as diminished in a double ratio as the poor increase, 249.

PORTUGAL, 65.

POWER in nations, sometimes united with wealth, sometimes not, 7.— Definition of, 8, 9.—Sought after by the Romans, and most nations, too eagerly, 39.—Quitted Rome when wealth was too great, 36.

PRICES of animal and vegetable food; highness of price diminishes consumption, 161.—Those of the late dearth at Paris compared with London, ib.—When known to the corn-dealers, they can combine without any express stipulation, 152, 153.—Rises to that of monopoly as soon as an article of necessity becomes scarce, 154, 155.—Of rent and wages have advanced more within these last twelve years, than in half a century before, 155.

PRINCIPLES. See Education.

PRIORITY of possession of settlement, or of invention, one of the causes of wealth and power,

PRODUCE, indulging in eating animal food renders it unequal to maintaining the population of a country, 138, 139.—Of Italy, inadequate to its population in the time of Augustus, 3.—Easier purchased than raised when a nation is rich,

PROPERTY at Rome very unequally divided before its fall, 43.—Has a natural tendency to accumulate in particular hands as a nation gets rich, 125, 126, 127.—Its accumulation and unequal division, one of the causes of decline, 128.—In land, the accumulation is the most dangerous, 129 to 136.

PROSPERITY. See Wealth and Power.

R.

REFORMATION favourable to manufactures and industry,

RELIGION, Christian, more favourable than any other to industry and good moral conduct, 264.—Protestant still more favourable than the Roman Catholic, 265, 266, 267.

RENT. See Prices.

REVENUE of Rome wasted on soldiers and public shews, 43.—Want of, tended to ruin Poland, 75.—Digression concerning, 187, 188, 189, 190.—When it becomes the chief object of, to government, encourages vice, 226.

REVOLUTIONS in ancient nations traced, 17, 18, 53, 54, 55.—Of Poland, the account of, 75, 76, 77.

ROBINSON, Dr. his complaint about ancient history, 1.

ROME, her rise not accidental, but from the most unremitting perseverance, 27.—An account of her conduct in war, and internal policy, 28 to 33.—Lost her purity of manners, neglected agriculture and the arts, when she became rich by her conquests in Asia, and the fall of Carthage, 34, 35.—Became more degraded than ever Carthage was, 36, 37.—Her courts of justice became venal, property divided in a very unequal way, taxes became oppressive, her armies enervated, and she fell, 38, 39, 40.

S.

SARACENS got possession of Egypt, &c. 44.

SCHOOLS. See Education.

SINKING Fund, its progress shewn in a stained chart, 215.—Will not immediately diminish the taxes, 241.—When the capital was reimbursed to individuals, part of it would leave the country, 242.—If it completely paid off the debt in time of peace, would be productive of much mischief, ib.—Plan proposed to be substituted for it, 243.—If ever so effectual, its operation in time of war will never obtain credit amongst ourselves, and much less with the enemy, 244, 245, 246.

SMITH, Dr. Adam, did not make proper allowance about national debt, 114.—His opinions concerning monopoly, examined, 149, 150.— His opinion about apprentices, 219.

SOLOMON, king of Israel, on terms of friendship with the king of Tyre, 21.—Founded Palmyra for the purpose of trade to India, 25.— After his death, rivalship in trade, and the envy of the Tyrians, caused them to excite the king of Babylon to besiege Jerusalem, 53.

SPAIN, its grand armada not equal to the privateers fitted out at Liverpool during the last war, 8.—Persecutes the Flemings, 47.—The effects of wealth on it, 63.—Its insolence and pride, 64.—And sudden decline, ib.—Wealth made it neglect industry, 65.—Gains great sums by South America, yet is not an object of envy, 292.

T.

TAXES at Rome, in its decline, became terrible, 40,—41, 42.—Taxes in France taken off while the assignats were creating, 42.—So great at Rome, that the citizens envied the barbarians, 43.—The power of laying on depends on circumstances, 92.—Always increasing, 102.— Of the American States an exception, 103.—Why collected rigorously, 104.—Those which fall on persons or personal property, the most obnoxious, 105.—Of England, laid on better than in any other nation, 106.—Prolong the action of necessity, and augment industry to a certain point, which, when they pass, they crush it, 107, 108.—Their produce expended on unproductive people, 109, 110, 111.—Are like a rent paid for living in a country, 112 to 115.—In England, their effects, 229 to 233.—Taxes and rent augment industry, 236, 237.—In London, heavier than elsewhere, yet people crowd to London, 238, 239.—If taken off suddenly, would be hurtful, 240 to 244.—For the maintenance of poor, 247 to 256.

TRADE—See Commerce.

TREATIES, the best observed, have been those founded on equity add sic mutual interest, 186.

TYRE, early commerce, 21, 23.—Its destruction one of the most permanent effects of Alexander's wars, 24.—Excited the king of Babylon to take Jerusalem, 45.

V.

VENICE, its greatness, 56, 57.

UNITED STATES. See States of America.

W.

WAGES. See Prices.

WAR generally occasioned by envy or rivalship, 14, 175, 219.— Ought not to be followed to procure wealth, as it is much more easily done by industry, 293.

WATT, James Esq. his invention of the steam engine, 203.

WEALTH, its definition in contra-distinction to power, 8, 9, 10.— Diminishes the necessity of industry, 29, 30.—Leaves richer to go into poorer countries, 93.—In England arises from industry, not from foreign possessions, 293, 294.

WEST Indies. See Indies, West.

Y.

YOUTH. See Education.



—-> The reader will observe, on one sic of the pages, reference to an Appendix, but the design was altered, from the consideration that readers of history do not require solitary facts, by way of illustration, though such are very easy to be produced.



THE END.

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W. Marchant, Printer, Greville-street.

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************************************************************** [Transcriber's note: In the original work: —the footnotes are designated by [*] but are here serially numbered for ease of reference; —in some cases the same word is spelt differently in various parts of the text, e.g. controul/control; Hans/Hanse Towns, shew/show (one instance only of the latter) etc. These and other vagaries are reproduced largely without special note. Likewise treated are the numerous examples of the number of the subject not agreeing with that of the verb.] **************************************************************

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