19. Nor must I omit the height of glory and power to which the empire of the Muscovites has been raised since the reign of the great Czar Peter. That nation was ferocious, barbarous, and slothful, and had no intercourse with other and foreign nations. That glorious monarch formed the design of civilizing the vassals of his Russian empire, and of turning their inclinations toward political affairs, the sciences, the fine arts, and the great advantages which result from so praiseworthy occupations; but [even] his uncommon intellect found no other means [for this] than that of navigation and commerce. But he went incognito to Inglaterra and Holanda, under pretext of renewing certain treaties, but in reality with the idea of gaining instruction in those two sciences, which were his only aim. In this he actually succeeded, by dint of immense labor and mechanical occupations, which, if apparently they were unworthy of a prince, were afterward (as they still are) those which most enhanced his glory. Not to linger over what is well known, I conclude with what is to my purpose: that the great Czar Peter established commerce in his empire, overcoming insuperable difficulties; and from the year 1697 (which is the real date of that enterprise) to the present time so marvelous has been the progress of that empire that its forces by sea and land, its wealth and products, its manufactures, its vassals transformed from barbarians into civilized beings, learned men, and politicians, yield to [those of] no other power--all being due to commerce, which in the short time of sixty-seven years has wrought these apparently incredible prodigies. 20. The Swedes and Danes [140] also have made much progress through this means; and the Portuguese, glorious in their conquests and discoveries, have constantly declined ever since they neglected navigation and commerce, regarding these as occupations unworthy of their nobility. [141]