In Asia, the cities of account have been all of them the seats of princes: Damascus, Antioch, Ankara, Trebizond, Busra and Jerusalem. But let us pass over into Europe. The translating of the imperial seat hed the glory of Rome and made Constantinople great, which is maintained in her greatness and majesty with the residence of the Great Turk.
This city standeth in the fairest, the best and most commodious site that is in the world. It is seated in Europe, but Asia is not from it above four hundred paces. It commandeth two seas, the Euxine and Propontis. The Euxine Sea compasseth two thousand and seven hundred miles. The Propontis stretcheth more than two hundred miles, even till it join with the Archipelago.
The weather cannot be so foul, nor so stormy, nor so blustering as it can hinder in a matter the ships from coming with their goods to that same magnificent and gallant city in either of those two seas. If this city had a royal and a navigable river it would lack nothing. It is thirteen miles about and this circuit containeth about seven hundred thousand persons.
But the plague makes a mighty slaughter every third year amongst them. But to say truth, seldom or never is that city free of the plague. And hereupon is offered a good matter worthy to be considered, how it comes to pass that that same scourge toucheth it so notably every third year like a tertian ague (as in Cairo it cometh every seventh), especially because that city is seated in a most healthful place. But I will put off this speculation to another time, or leave it to be discussed by wits more exercised therein than mine.
There are within Constantinople seven hills; near the seaside towards the east there is the seraglio of the Great Turk, whose walls are in compass three miles; there is an arsenal consisting of more than one hundred arches to lay their ships in. To conclude, the city is for the beauty of the site, for the opportunity of the ports, for the commodity of the sea, for the multitude of the inhabitants, for the greatness of the traffic, for the residence of the Great Turk, so conspicuous and so gallant, as without doubt amongst the cities of Europe the chiefest place is due to it. For the very court alone of that prince maintaineth of horsemen and of footmen not less than thirty thousand very well appointed.
In Africa, Algiers, lately become the Metropolitan of a great state, is now by that means grown very populous. Tlemsen when it flourished contained sixteen thousand households, Tunis nine thousand, Morocco an hundred thousand, Fez, which is at this day the seat of the mighty King of Africa, containeth threescore and five thousand.
Amongst the kingdoms of Christendom (I speak of the united, and of one body) the greatest, the richest and most populous is France. For it containeth twenty-seven thousand parishes, including Paris in them. And the country hath above fifteen millions of people in it. It is also so fertile through the benefit of nature, so rich through the industry of the people, as it envieth not any other country. The residence of the kings of so mighty a kingdom hath for a long time hitherto been kept at Paris, by the means whereof Paris is become the greatest city of Christendom. It is in compass twelve miles, and containeth therein about four hundred and fifty thousand persons, and feedeth them with such plenty of victuals and with such abundance of all delicate and dainty things as he that hath not seen it cannot by any means imagine it.
The kingdoms of England, of Naples, of Portugal and of Bohemia, the earldom of Flanders and the dukedom of Milan are states, in a manner, alike of greatness and of power; so that the cities wherein the princes of those same kingdoms have at any time made their residence have been in a matter also alike, as London, Naples, Lisbon, Prague, Milan and Ghent, which have each of them asunder more or less an hundred and threescore thousand persons in them. But Lisbon is indeed somewhat larger than the rest, by means of the commerce and traffic of Ethiopia, India and Brazil, as likewise London is by means of the wars and troubles in the Low Countries. And Naples is within these thirty years grown as great again as it was.
