THE

CONTENT S.

THE

HE Introduction, containing, 1. A compendium of air
1. The doctrine of the sphere,

3

of the globe,

4. Geographical problems,

5

theorems,

6. A fhort abridgement of universal titery,
7. Hiftery of religion,

And then follows, A particular defcription of the fera ingeme

commonwealtes of

EUROPE,

Wah an epitome of the hiftory, memorable events, and remarigi ay

ties of the respective countries,

Page

536,-539

Inlands belonging to Turkey in Europe, being part of ancient Greece, The rest of the European islands are defcribed with the countries to which they refpectively belong, as thofe of Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, &c.

7. A particular defcription of the feveral kingdoms and commonwealths o

With an epitome of the hiftory, memorable events, and remarkable curio ties of the refpective countries, viz.

3. A particular defcription of the kingdoms and commonwealths of

AFRICA,

With an epitome of their respective biftories, curiofities, &c.

The States of Barbary,

617

Good Hope,

A particular defcription of the feveral kingdoms and commonwealths of

A

MERI

RICA,

With an epitome of their respective hiftories, curiofities, &c.

A general history of America, from its feft difcovery to the pre

A

SHORT INTRODUCTION

то.

GEOGRAPHY and ASTRONOMY.

G

EOGRAPHY is that fcience which treats of the differ

ent divifions of the globe into land and water, and fhews how to lay down these accurately on maps or globes.But tho', fly fpeaking, this comprehends the whole of the fcience, a fyftem of geography is always fuppofed to contain fomething of the natural hifory of the different countries, the manners of the inhabitants, and even a fketch of their ecclefiaftical and political history.

The fcience of geography was very much unknown to the ancients. They had no good methods of finding either the longitude or latitude of places; and the imperfect ftate of navigation rendered them. fo gnorant of the greatest part of the world itfelf, that very little could be expected from them.-The conquefts of Alexander the Great proved very beneficial to the fcience, becaufe by that means many different nations were brought to a knowledge of each other, who were totally unconnected before. It was a cuftom alfo with every eral to make a furvey, and a kind of map of the country through which he paffed. This cuftom was kept up by the Romans, whose de extended empire might reasonably have been thought to give Ciderable opportunities for geographical obfervations. Yet, nothitanding all thefe affiftances, the firft fyftem of geography pubhed by Ptolemy about the middle of the fecond century was excordingly erroneous; the countries not only being diftorted in their ape which at that time were least known, but even thofe which lye round the mediterranean fea, and which were better known than any others.

All this inaccuracy proceeded from the want of proper inftruments for making celeftial obfervations. The inequalities on the furface of the earth effectually prevent us from meafuring any confiderable portion of it exactly. The inftrument called the Surveying-wheel indeed tell us exactly the length of any road over which it paffes;

bus