Földvári Books

Languedoc Cloth Export to the Levant in the 18th Century

Commerce du Levant. Draps de Languedoc embarqués à Marséille de 1708 à 1752. [1.] Etat des Draps de Languedoc qui ont été embarquées à Marseille, pour les Echelles du Levant, et de Barbarie, pendant les années qui suivent. [2.] Retours de 1708 a 1750. [3.] Récapitulation Générale.

[France, Marseille(?)]: [18th century]. Manuscript in ink on paper. Text in French, written in a neat, consistent hand. Unbound, disbound from a larger volume. [52] p. Paper tanned at edges, some light foxing, minor dents to first and last leaves. A well-preserved example overall.

Manuscript account of Languedoc cloth exports to the Levantine markets during the first half of the 18th century, including import data and shipping returns.

The maritime export of Languedoc textiles from Marseille to the Levant—Ottoman ports in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa such as Constantinople (Istanbul), Salonique (Thessaloniki), Smyrne (Izmir), Chypre (Cyprus), Tripoly de Syrie (Tripoli, Lebanon), Alexandrette (İskenderun), and the ports of Barbarie (North Africa)—was a major component of French commercial activity from the 16th century onward. This manuscript records the final decades of this trade’s peak.

Divided into three extensive tables:

- The first, État des Draps de Languedoc qui ont été embarquées à Marseille, records the volume of cloth exported to the échelles du Levant and de Barbarie—Ottoman trading posts in the Middle East and North Africa—between 1708 and 1752.

- The second, Retours, details the number of ships and volume of returned goods by port of origin, covering the years 1708 to 1750.

- The third, Récapitulation Générale, aggregates annual import totals for 1708–1750, distinguishing between French and foreign ships in certain years.

A table similar to the first (État des Draps…) appeared in Remarques sur plusieurs branches de commerce et de navigation (Amsterdam, 1758), and was later reprinted in the Encyclopédie Méthodique (Paris, 1785), although those printed versions round figures and omit data for 1751–52. We have found no published equivalents for the latter two tables.

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Price: €2,000.00