Chap. III Early Commerce, Shipping, and Productions
Trade entirely in the hands of strangers 440
Native shipping unconnected with commerce 440
Same indifference to trade prevails at this day 441
Singhalese boats all copied from foreign models 442
All sewn together and without iron 442
Romance of the “Loadstone Island” 443
The legend believed by Greeks and the Chinese 443
Vessels with two prows mentioned by Strabo 444
Foreign trade spoken of B.C. 204 444
Internal traffic in the ancient city of Ceylon 445
Merchants traversing the island 445
Early exports from Ceylon,—gems, pearls, &c. 445
The imports, chiefly manufactures 446
Horses and carriages imported from India 447
Cloth, silk, &c., brought from Persia 447
Kashmir, intercourse with 447
Edrisi’s account of Ceylon trade in the twelfth century 448