Sully and the Economy
Mind map showing the rebuilding of france after the Wars of Religion. Linked to my other mind map on Sully and Finance. AS History AQA
- Created by: Clodagh
- Created on: 06-04-13 15:22
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- Sully and the Economy
- Problems
- Inbuilt existing problems
- Trade was in decline from the 1550's onwards due to English and Flemish pirates
- Inflation occurred because of the influx of silver from Spanish territories in the New World
- Population increases stalled after 1550 and there were labour shortages
- Spain dominated the trade routes of the Mediterranean
- Impavct of the Wars of Religion
- Lyons was ruined as a banking centre because of the Protestant control of the city
- Disruption to French cloth making, especially to the export trade
- The wine trade in Bordeaux was disrupted by fighting and by local nobles increasing the river tolls to boost their revenue
- Grande guerre (fighting on land) devastated the economy, as did the petite guerre (lawlessness)
- Inbuilt existing problems
- Duc de Sully's contribution
- Industry
- Council of Commerce 1602: He believed that only an industrial revival would solve France's monetary problems. He persuaded the king to appoint a controller of mines and of commerce as well as a council of trade to look into and sponsor industrial projects
- Bathelemy Laffemas was the first controller of commerce
- The council of trade held 150 meetings and examined industrial projects, submitting detailed reports to the king's council.
- NEW INDUSTRY: They successfully promoted the making of silk in Lyon. The king himself encouraged the cultivation of silk worms by planting mulberry trees in his gardens. This reduced the need to import silk from Italy
- Tariffs: These and local customs barriers added to the problem of transportation by as much as quadrupling the price of articles. The council raised tariffs against imports and removed all the dues previously payable on goods destined for export
- Mercantilist thinking: This was a set amount of trade. France increased the cost of their exports at the expense of other countries for the increase in national wealth
- FAILURE: The French East India Company, set up in 1604, was neither able to overcome furious Dutch competition nor to open up the passage to the far East which was reputed to lie north of Russia
- FAILURE: The New France Company was founded to settle and develop Canada. It proved longer lasting but scarcely more profitable
- NEW INDUSTRY: The famous tapestry at the Gobelins factory in Paris was founded
- NEW INDUSTRY: Henry IV built a new Mediterranean fleet and signed an agreement with Sultan. Marseille revived dramatically
- Council of Commerce 1602: He believed that only an industrial revival would solve France's monetary problems. He persuaded the king to appoint a controller of mines and of commerce as well as a council of trade to look into and sponsor industrial projects
- Communications
- Grand Voyager: Sully became Voyager de France in 1599 after being Surintendant of finances in the previous. He was responsible for waterways and also town planning
- Once appointed, he was authorised to appoint a lieutenant in each généralité twice a year: in February to draw up work to be done and again in September to inspect work done
- Improved communications: Many bridges had been destroyed during the wars, either deliberately for tactical reasons or because they had collapsed because of the weight of artillery. Traditionally, their upkeep was left to the towns
- Some main roads were repaired, notably in Poitou, and new ones opened up. Bridges were also built or repaired
- Waterways: Sully concentrated his main efforts on waterways. This offered the easiest, safest, cheapest form of transport. He planned a network of canals to link the Mediterranean with the Atlantic, the Channel and the North Sea but he was only able to start work on the canal de Briare which was completed in 1642
- 1 million livres: Between 1599 and 1610 Sully increased the annual royal expenditure on internal communications from 6000 to 1 million livres
- FAILURE: In general, Sully managed to impose his authority in the Pays d'elections; he was less successful with the Pays d'etats
- Grand Voyager: Sully became Voyager de France in 1599 after being Surintendant of finances in the previous. He was responsible for waterways and also town planning
- Fortifications
- Bastions: The traditional type of town wall was a high curtain wall, broken here and there by round towers. Though useful against lightly armed robber bands, it could not withstand a modern artillery bombardment.The Italians were the first to develop the bastion
- Until the reign of Francis I the towns themselves had undertaken the construction and upkeep of their walls. In each great frontier province of the east, an engineer had to note down work to be done the following year.
- The fortification of Champagne was extensive, costing annually about 75,000 livres and in Dauphine about 100,000 livres
- Map making: In the course of their construction work they drew up maps, thereby making an important contribution to provincial cartography
- Buildings
- Paved streets: A traveler, Thomas Coryat thought the streets were very unkempt. Sully organised a service to remove rubbish by paving certain streets in Paris and by ensuring the supply of water
- FAILURE: The rubbish removal service was so disliked it had to be dropped after 18 months
- Aqueduct of Arceuil 1623: Sully also sought fresh sources of water outside of Paris, he was particularly anxious to bring it to the university on the left bank
- FAILURE: Many private individuals had connected their pipes to the common conduit so that public fountains went short. Sully saw to the construction of four pumps in 1604 on the Pont-Neuf
- Paved streets: A traveler, Thomas Coryat thought the streets were very unkempt. Sully organised a service to remove rubbish by paving certain streets in Paris and by ensuring the supply of water
- Industry
- Other Circumstances
- Peace
- The Wars of Religion had finally ended after more than 3 decades
- The Edict of Nantes had been established in 1598 giving more rights to the French Huguenots
- There was no longer a threat from Spain after the death of King Philip II in 1598
- Bumper harvests
- There was a good harvest for wheat in 1604-09. This was good for the making of bread and beer
- Peace
- Impact from Henry IV
- He added to the Louvre, where his body was taken after his death
- Henry III had started the building of the Pont-Neuf, meaning new bridge, but Henry IV finished the communication that linked the Ile de lacité to the rest of Paris over the Seine
- The area of the Place des Voges in the Marais District had previously had land similar to that of a swamp. Henry rebuilt around this area where Sully's house was and made it's design fashionable around France
- Problems
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