where the State of their own, or that of any other nation, comes under debate, and they are called upon to act in their legislative capacity? But notwithstanding I have been more particular in confidering the State of the British ifles than that of some other countries, I would not be thought to want a due regard for all mankind. As I am a citizen of the world, I look upon all men as my brethren; and have long endeavoured to fet them right in their notions of one another. I am extremely concerned to fee almoft every people reprefenting the inhabitants of diftant nations as barbarians, and treating them as fuch. For my part, I have met with people as polite, ingenious, and humane, whom we have been taught to look upon as canibals, as ever I converfed with in Europe; and, from my own experience, am convinced, that human nature is every where the fame; allowances being made for unavoidable prejudices, occafioned by cuftom, education, and favage principles, inftilled into many in their infancy by ignorant, fuperftitious, or defigning men, about them: and, as I have obferved on other occafions, nothing has contributed more to render the world barbarous, than their having been taught from their cradles, that every nation almoft, but their own, are barbarians. They firft imagine the people of diftant nations to be monfters of cruelty and barbarity; and then prepare to invade and extirpate them, exercifing greater cruelties than ever fuch nations were charged with; which was exactly the cafe of the Spaniards, and the natives of America. Two things we fee contribute greatly to make men rapacious and cruel; namely, covetoufnefs, and mistaken notions in religion. Some make gold their god, and then every thing muft bow to that; others think they do God good fervice, by murdering and extirpating nations of a different faith. They imagine this furious and mistaken zeal will infallibly procure them feats in paradife. Thus religion, which is the best thing in the world, and defigned to improve and meliorate mankind, is converted to the worft purposes, by ignorant or defigning men. very But to proceed in giving fome further account of the prefent undertaking: I have not only endeavoured to improve the modern geography, rectified the chronology, and A 4 Shewed hewed the prefent ftate, revolutions, and changes of government, that have happened in the refpective nations 1 defcribed, but caufed a fet of new maps to be engraved, that may agree with the work, and corrected them with my own hand; for fince the days of my friend' Moll the geographer, we have had nothing but copies of foreign maps, by engravers unskilled in geography, who have copied them with all their errors. In thefe maps the degrees of eaftern and wefern, longitude will be found on the top of each map, and the hours and minutes every place lies caft or weft of London, (the firft meridian), at the bottom of the map; fhewing, at one view, the number of degrees, and the difference, in point of time, between any two places on the globe: For instance, any place which is fituate one degree east of another, will appear to have the fun four minutes of time before it; and a placè fituate one degree weft of another, will appear to have the fun four minutes after it. Again, a place fituate 15 grees eaft of us, (as Naples), will appear to have the fun one complete hour before us at London; and a place fituate 15 degrees weft of us, (as the island of Madeira), will appear to have the fun an hour after we have it at London; which is much easier apprehended by viewing a map of this kind than by any definition or explanation what the de 1. A defcription of the figure and motion of the earth, 2. A general view of the terreftrial globe, with the definitions Pag. A particular defcription of the feveral kingdoms |