jason carr
Capstone Course Question for D. Reinhartz

II.  Why do the highpoint of French cartography and the reign  of
Louis   XIV   coincide?    What  demands  do   the   imperialist,
mercantilist,   and   military  activities   make   upon   French
cartography from the reign of Louis XIV to the French Revolution?
How does cartography benefit from and reflect these demands?

Why do the highpoint of French cartography and the reign of Louis
XIV coincide?
      The  reign  of  Louis XIV coincides with the  highpoint  of

French  cartography because the Sun King could, at  his  whim  or

discretion,   command  the resources necessary  to  initiate  and

sustain   a   world-class   cartographic   effort.    The   close

identification of the state and the person of the king  ("l'etat,

c'est  moi") meant that if favor was curried in this one location

then  the project could be assured for the meantime.  After Louis

XIV  vaccilation,  uncertainty and fragmentation  limited  French

cartographers' ability to sustain resource-intensive projects  on

a grand scale.

      Colbert realized that cartographic activity of a high order

(shepherded  by  his Royal Academy) could be  sustained  if  that

activity  were  used to increase the glory of the  King  and  the

state.   Ambitious  new  projects,  such  as  the  north-to-south

geodetic  mapping  of France, were launched and  sustained.   The

scale  of  this project is demonstrated by the fact  it  outlived

several of the participants including the King himself.

      This  geodetic  survey  was  the  first  survey  driven  by

Enlightenment astronomical principles and mathematic  techniques,

and  was  a watershed in French cartography.  Even where  serious

errors  were  present (such as Picard's errors which resulted  in

expeditions  to  the equator and the arctic)  the  technique  and

experience  was instructive to later cartographers  who  demanded

greater intolerance and publicity for errors.

     Cartography during the reign of Louis XIV also benefits from

comparison  with the relative decline of private  cartography  in

France  in  the late seventeenth and early eighteenth  centuries.

The  heirs  of  Sanson and Delisle polluted their  family's  (and

cartography's)  reputation by selling outdated, uncorrected  maps

from plates they had inherited.

What  demands  do  the  imperialist, mercantilist,  and  military

activivities make upon French cartography from the reign of Louis

XIV to the French Revolution?

      The  maps  generated  by  the new  style  of  Enlightenment

cartographers   were  of  largely  theoretical   and   abstracted

interest.   Astronomical computations and  consideration  of  the

earth  as  an  oblate  spheroid  mappable  through  trigonometric

functions did much to prove the applicability and universality of

Newtonian   theory.   This  reassuring  consistency  was   little

assistance to the military men, engineers, and sailors of the day

who preferred larger scale and topographically accurate maps.

      The  resultant clash of priorities fostered a fragmentation

of  cartographic  effort  which was to characterize  professional

conditions  in  France up to (and beyond) the Revolution.   As  a

result   of   interdepartmental  overlap  several  schools   were

instituted which addressed, to some degree, cartographic training

designed  to  fill  specific  needs (Ecole  Royale  du  Ponts  et

Chaussees,  for  example).  As interest in more  closely  defined

border areas increased, the Foreign Service department needed its

own  cartographers to annotate treaties with accurate  depictions

of agreed-upon borders.

      Both economic and military concerns were tied up in another

example of the demands placed on cartography.  A national  system

of   canals   and   waterways  would   reform   and   rationalize

transportation  in  France.   The  internal  economies  could  be

expected  to prosper, as well as providing a network  that  could

not be completely disrupted by the frequently-pesky British.  The

need  to understand abstracted principles such as commercial  and

commodity transport flows gave a new impetus to thematic mapping,

such  as  the  resource-flow  maps of Minard's  varying-thickness

supply lines.

      In a startling example of military requirements influencing

general  cartography,  Louis  XV  was  on  a  military  site  and

compared, first-hand, the accuracy of a military map to the local

topography.   Impressed,  the  King  encouraged  Cassini  III  to

undertake a national map of that detail and quality.

How  does  cartography  benefit from and reflect  these  demands?

Cartography benefitted from the multifaceted demands of different

departments  and  end-users.  The most  obvious  benefit  was  an

increasing  demand  for  cartographic  skills.   Indirectly  this

demand,  together with the educational leanings of  cartographers

like  the professorial Gilles Robert Vaugondy and son Didier  and

the  popularizing intent of Cassini III, increased  the  pool  of

trained cartographers.  Although the transmission of cartographic

training  in  earlier times was precarious (as in  the  potential

susceptibility to disruption of the Vaugondy and Cassini  lines),

the  familys'  stature and ability to elicit  patronage  promoted

cartographic professionalism.  Once the field was established and

had   royal   (or   state)  patronage  the  rationalization   and

professionalization of the field could follow.

     The same increase could not be claimed for the state.  After

massive  expenditures  and  creation  of  more  departments   and

institution,  France  did  not  capitalize  meaningfully  on  her

cartographic resources.  One is reminded of the royal remark that

France  lost  more ground to cartographers (due to more  accurate

border  mapping)  than to invaders. As Josef  Konvitz  noted,  it

appears  cartography benefitted more from the  relationship  with

the French state than the state benefitted from cartography.


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