BRISTOL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND SHIPPING. 
27 
another Bristolian, was busy colonising Newfoundland. Sugar and tobacco came from 
the Southern Colonies in fleets of Bristol ships, whose return cargoes were often African 
slaves or white offenders—such as prisoners of war—for cultivating the plantations of 
America and the West Indies. 
Edward III. and Henry VIII. in turn became particularly popular in Bristol, the 
first giving a charter creating her a county (1373) with assizes independent of either 
Somerset or Gloucestershire, and the second further adding to her dignity by setting 
up a Bishopric (1542) ; our legal and proper style is “ the city and county of Bristol,” 
unless, indeed, it should be the “ county and city,” as would seem right from the chrono 
logical point of view. 
All legitimate commerce suffered sadly in the troublous times of the Civil War, when 
there were two successful sieges (1643 and 1645), first by the Royalists and then by the 
Roundheads. But there was a fairly rapid recovery, and when Pepys came over from 
Bath for a few hours one day in June, 1668, he was much impressed by the signs of 
prosperity he saw on all hands. Bristol was “ in every respect another London.” There 
was a fine new ship building for the King’s service on the “ most large and noble ” Quay ; 
and Deb’s uncle, though a small man in Bristol, was so like a prosperous London merchant 
that Pepys declared he “ pleased me mightily.” Fourteen years earlier, the other famous 
diarist, Evelyn, had visited the city, and he was equally enthusiastic over the bustle and 
importance of the place—“ a city emulating London, not for its large extent, but manner 
of building, shops, bridge, traffic, exchange, market-place, etc Here I first saw 
the manner of refining sugar and casting it into loaves, where we had a collation of eggs 
fried in the sugar furnace, together with excellent Spanish wine.” Bristol was hospitable 
as well as rich. It is so still, and although the last of its sugar furnaces was raked out 
a few years ago, a great modern refinery is soon to be erected by the side of the JRoyal 
Edward Dock at Avonmouth ; and other industries have contributed to continue the 
city’s prosperity. 
If we have lost our trade with the West Indies, and no longer see fleets of sugar and 
rum-laden sailing ships in our docks—-as is the case—we have enormously developed our 
North Atlantic trade, which is carried in steamers of many thousands of tons burthen, 
against the few hundreds of tons which was the capacity of the largest West-Indiaman 
of the eighteenth century. If cooperage and the manufacture of brass and copper vessels 
have declined in consequence of the closing of many sugar houses, we have iron, and 
cocoa, confectionery and tobacco, all produced on a scale which not the eighteenth nor 
even the nineteenth century ever approached. In the place of West African gold-dust, 
ivory, and palm oil have come American and Canadian products, and grain and mineral 
oils from elsewhere. If we have lost the wool trade that once flourished in the city, we 
have substituted clothing and established a reputation for it which is second to that of 
no other centre in the country. If the famous glass-houses are much fewer in number 
than a century ago, and Champion’s beautiful china is reserved for rich collectors, we 
have still a creditable show of quaint brick cones in the manufacturing parts of the city, 
and our bottles, and pots and pans, and cups and saucers, are neither mean in make nor 
unimportant in output. Soap and leather are among Bristol’s ancient industries, that 
no economic changes and no competition have been able to oust from pride of place.