Labour, Science and Technology in France, 1500–1620

Abstract

For a generation, the history of the ancien régime has been written from the perspective of the Annales school, with its emphasis on the role of long-term economic and cultural factors in shaping the development of early modern France. In this detailed 1995 study, Henry Heller challenges such a paradigm and assembles a huge range of information about technical innovation and ideas of improvement in sixteenth-century France. Emphasising the role of state intervention in the economy, the development of science and technology, and recent research into early modern proto-industrialisation, Heller counters notions of a France mired in an archaic, determinist mentalité. Despite the tides of religious fanaticism and seigneurial reaction, the period of the religious wars saw a surprising degree of economic, technological and scientific innovation, making possible the consolidation of capitalism in French society during the reign of Henri IV.

“Viles personnes”: the plebeian multitudes in Charles Loyseau’sTraité des ordres

“…100 Others articulated hopes for a future in which "le labourage" would be "estimé le commencement de toutes facultez et richesses", 101 not least because it is "la plus sainte et naturelle, comme estant seule commandee de la bouche de Dieu, à nos premiers peres". 102 These various eulogistic assertions, largely coinciding with royal policy to promote agriculture among the landowning elites, 103 Loyseau's reflections on "viles personnes" show us the first signs of an emergent discourse on political economy whereby each social stratum -even the poorest -is recognized for its potential to contribute economically to the nation as a whole. 104 This…”

The Legal Status of Tenants and Sharecroppers in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century France and Ottoman Syria

“…Indeed, Henri IV became the patron of Olivier de Serres' treatise, 'making it for a time his after dinner reading and recommending it to everyone he encountered.' 35 Like Choppin, Palissy, Estienne and Liebault, and de Serres, Henri IV believed agriculture to be the basis of wealth of all nations, and thus, along with his minister Maximilien de Sully, sought to promote increased agricultural productivity. Like these early modern thinkers, both Henri IV and Sully were critical of wastefulness and excessive consumption among the bourgeoisie and nobles.…”

“…7 Towards the middle of the sixteenth century, a growing interest in agriculture among humanist authors emerged, which ultimately elevated agriculture to an object of scientific study. 8 This was in part due to the urgent problems of declining agricultural production and economic hardship that faced society with the series of wars that plagued Early Modern France. 9 This increasing interest in agricultural issues and techniques was directly related to a concern with ensuring an adequate food supply, which in turn was crucial to the continued growth of the manufacturing sector of the economy.…”

“…9 This increasing interest in agricultural issues and techniques was directly related to a concern with ensuring an adequate food supply, which in turn was crucial to the continued growth of the manufacturing sector of the economy. 10 With this growing interest in agriculture, thinkers of the period begin to address the question, which will be examined here, of who should spearhead agricultural progress. While my discussion of French tenants and sharecroppers relies largely on two legal treatises written during the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries respectively, I will also make reference to several social and agricultural treatises from the period which directly address the role of the tenant farmer.…”

Special Interests and Technological Change

“… 1 As pointed out by Mokyr (1998, p. 38), “almost everywhere some kind of non‐marketing control and licensing system has been introduced”. For instance, this role has often been played by the Crown (Heller, 1996). A more recent example is the creation of standard‐setting agencies such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). …”