a mountainous country of Dalmatia. The inhabitants, who are called Morlacki or Morlacchi, inhabit the pleasant valleys of Koter, along the rivers Kerha, Cettina, Narenta, and amongst the inland mountains of Dalmatia. They are by some said to be of Walachian extraction, as is indicated by their name, Morlachia being a contraction of Mauro Walochia, that is, Black Walachia; and the Walachians are said to be descendants of the ancient Roman colonies planted in these countries. This, however, is denied by the Abbé Fortis, who published a volume of travels in that country. He informs us that the origin of the Morlacchi is involved in the darkness of barbarous ages, like that of many other nations, resembling them so much in customs and language that they may be taken for one people, dispersed throughout the vast tracts extending from the Adriatic Sea to the Frozen Ocean.

With regard to the etymology of the name, the abbe observes, that the Morlacchi generally call themselves, in their own language, Vlassi; a national term of which no vestige is found in the records of Dalmatia until the thirteenth century. It signifies powerful men, or men of authority; and the denomination of Moro-Vlassi, corruptly Mortlacchi, as they are now called, may perhaps point out the origin of the nation. This word probably signifies the "conquerors who came from the sea;" moor, mor, or mowr, in all the dialects of the Slavonian language, signifying the sea.