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Mapping the Grandes Gabelles in Early Modern France

Author

Listed:
  • Gay, Victor
  • Davoine, Eva
  • Enguehard, Joseph
  • Kolesnikov, Igor

Abstract

The gabelle salt tax system was a cornerstone of the fiscal apparatus of the early modern French state. This article introduces a novel historical geographic information system (GIS) of this institution's spatial organization as of the seventeenth century, drawing on an original 1665 manuscript map collection: Sanson's Atlas des gabelles. Beyond presenting the dataset and documenting its construction methodology, we provide a detailed account of the functioning of the gabelle, situate the French case in comparative perspective, and illustrate how the availability of this fine-grained dataset expands the possibilities of empirical research in economic history, historical demography, and historical political economy of early modern France.
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Suggested Citation

  • Gay, Victor & Davoine, Eva & Enguehard, Joseph & Kolesnikov, Igor, 2026. "Mapping the Grandes Gabelles in Early Modern France," TSE Working Papers 26-1716, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    • Handle: RePEc:tse:wpaper:131448
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Morrisson, Christian & Snyder, Wayne, 2000. "The income inequality of France in historical perspective," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(1), pages 59-83, April.
    2. Gay, Victor, 2025. "The Jean Nicolas Database. The French Rebellion, 1661-1789," TSE Working Papers 25-1647, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    3. Cédric Chambru & Paul Maneuvrier‐Hervieu, 2023. "The evolution of wages in early modern Normandy (1600–1850)," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(3), pages 917-940, August.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N01 - Economic History - - General - - - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods
    • N43 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence
    • C82 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Macroeconomic Data; Data Access

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