Fleurs-de-lis in the forest: "absolute" monarchy and attempts at resource management in eighteenth-century France

The notion of "resource management" has inspired some historians to rethink the nature of the state authority in early modern Europe. Like recent work on parts of Italy and Germany, this article investigates the development and implementation of legislation that sought to regulate the management and exploitation of forests. This was self-interested policymaking: as ancien régime France strove to match Britain's naval, colonial and maritime strength, the monarchy's priority was ship timbers. Yet the most sought-after pieces of wood were large, heavy and difficult to transport. According to standard accounts, such resources became rare during the eighteenth century, and the French navy turned increasingly to timber supplies from abroad. This article offers a wider view, by finding ways to analyse bureaucratic records created by the royal forestry officials (Eaux et Forêts), which have been largely neglected by historians. A regional case study suggests that, besides extending the authority of royal agents to acquire timbers for the naval dockyards, the application of Louis XIV's Ordinance on Waterways and Forests (1669) generated huge amounts of information about the extent, nature and location of mature timber reserves across France.