Mapping the Grandes Gabelles in Early Modern France

Eva Davoine (), Joseph Enguehard (), Victor Gay () and Igor Kolesnikov ()
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Eva Davoine: UC Berkeley - University of California [Berkeley] - UC - University of California
Joseph Enguehard: CERGIC - Center for Economic Research on Governance, Inequality and Conflict - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - Université de Lyon, UNIBO - Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna = University of Bologna [Bologne], Departement des sciences statistiques "Paolo Fortunati" - UNIBO - Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna = University of Bologna [Bologne], ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - Université de Lyon
Victor Gay: IAST - Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - Comue de Toulouse - Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement
Igor Kolesnikov: UC Berkeley - University of California [Berkeley] - UC - University of California

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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.

Keywords: Taxation; Gabelle; Administrative boundary; France; Historical geographic information systems; Ancien régime (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo and nep-his
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Published in Explorations in Economic History, 2026, ⟨10.1016/j.eeh.2026.101785⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05501504

DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2026.101785

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