Water transport and economic development

The French economic historian Maurice Aymard has estimated that the Dutch Republic was the only country in Europe where water transport was appreciably greater than land transport, in terms of tonnage carried.  In England it was about 50-50; in Germany the ratio was 1:5, but in France it was 1:10.

That is from Tim Blanning’s The Pursuit of Glory, Europe 1648-1815; here is my previous post on the book.