ABSTRACT
Sea and river trade was much more important in the days of antiquity, and especially in those of the Romans, than land-borne commerce and we can hardly be surprised at the fact. Not until railways were constructed were the relations of the one form of communication to the other, if not completely reversed, at least greatly changed throughout the world. We know, however, that in the first centuries, Rome, who had no ships of her own, had recourse for her limited trade to the Greek, Etruscan and Phoenician fleets. She was, in truth, until the end of the Republic, dependent upon allied or annexed peoples, and shewed little taste herself for seafaring.
