Note 253-1 — Chapter III

A map of Europe, which would show the density of population by the intensity of shade, would be darkest in the vicinity of the lines between Sicily and Scotland, between Paris and Saxony, and grow lighter in proportion to the distance from their point of intersection. Italy is the country with the earliest highly developed national economy of modern times, and England that which possesses the most highly cultivated national economy; as the Rhine is, from the standpoint of civilization, the most important river in Europe. It is remarkable, in this connection, how slowly population increased in all European countries during the 18th century, and how rapidly after the beginning of the 19th, and especially since 1825. According to Dieterici (Berliner Akademie,[TN 105] 16 Mai, 1850), the population increased annually per geographical square mile: