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, Departement des sciences statistiques "Paolo Fortunati" - UNIBO - Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna = University of Bologna, ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - Université de Lyon
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: Administrative boundary; Historical geographic information systems; Gabelle; Taxation; Ancien régime; France (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-02-13
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05509773v1
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Working Paper: Mapping the Grandes Gabelles in Early Modern France (2026)
Working Paper: Mapping the Grandes Gabelles in Early Modern France (2026)
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