WHKMLA : Canal Construction in Europe in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Posted on 01/28/2015 1:35:08 PM PST by SunkenCiv
...Pierre-Paul Riquet, the man behind one of the 17th century's greatest works of engineering -- and some say, works of art -- remains in Vauban's shadow, despite his life's accomplishment, which was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
This 150-mile long waterway was once known as the Canal Royal en Languedoc, for good reason. French revolutionaries may have removed the 'royal' from its title in 1789, yet this is a canal which remains fit for a king. Dappled sunlight streams onto its emerald-green water from between the leaves of the 42,000 plane and oak trees which line the canalside -- securing the banks with their roots as well as providing shade for the horses which once drew trade barges.
The canal meanders from the Garonne River in Toulouse... to Sète, where a vast lagoon, the Étang de Thau, borders the Mediterranean. Aromatic meadows of lavender, thyme and rosemary dip in and out of view, sunflower fields and vineyards stretching as far as the eye can see. Gothic chapels and medieval chateaux are dotted across the landscape, spotted momentarily before again being concealed by trees...
The Canal du Midi was built between 1666 and 1681 under the rule of Louis XIV and the supervision of Riquet. However, the idea of linking the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea began to germinate in the early 16th century with a project envisaged by Francois I and Leonardo da Vinci during his visit to France.
The prototype was the Canal de Briaré, completed in 1642, though the Canal du Midi would be a far more challenging project...
This enormous task, which took 15 years and 12,000 workers, is now regarded to have been crucial in paving the way for the Industrial Revolution...
(Excerpt) Read more at francetoday.com ...
Canal du Midi: history of the 17th century engineering marvel
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8663500/Canal-du-Midi-history-of-the-17th-century-engineering-marvel.html
Canal du Midi — World Heritage Site — Pictures, info and travel reports
http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/canaldumidi.html
You can actually book a room on a luxury barge that will cruise this canal.
frontier travel has a site. It is something else. Like a floating mini-hotel.
[snip] ...the idea of linking the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea began to germinate in the early 16th century with a project envisaged by Francois I and Leonardo da Vinci during his visit to France.[/snip] (from above)
Leonardo Da Vinci and
Niccolo Machiavelli's
Magnificent Dream to
Change the Course of
Florentine History
by Roger D. Masters
Hardcover
Thanks! :’) Looks like there are a bunch of river and/or canal tours in France, take the discerning wine-loving tourist nowhere near burning cars and urban muzzie mass-murderers. :’)
Interesting!
Some backwoods historian must not have gotten the message that there were no pirates near the Iberian Peninsula, there have never been pirates near the Iberian Peninsula and that any pirates near the Iberian Peninsula must have been from Spain, with the blessing of the Inquisition.
Wonder what nations would have been near the Iberian Peninsula that could have caused all that trouble?
Must have been Andorra or the Balearic Islands.
It was Spain, but that was a long while ago, when the two countries were at war over hats dropping.
I could probably go for that, assuming there were wi-fi. ;’)
A pity we don’t have something like that in the States. The C&O Canal isn’t as picturesque.
How about Tripoli?
Exactly. Barbary state pirates were a plague on the Mediterranean until nearly 1830, when France conquered Algeria. The first American undeclared war was against the Barbary pirates (Muslims all). They maintained their Allah given right to prey on all non-muslims until they were stopped by force of arms. They raided the coasts of the Iberian peninsula nearly constantly, and were known as Corsairs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_pirates
Louis fought a series of wars with Spain. One country’s privateer is another country’s pirate.
Well there is the Riverwalk in San Antonio.
J’aime beaucoup le Midi. I went to college in Montpellier. We went to Sete once a week just to eat fish caught right there that day. The soupe du poisson... Mmmmm.... And I had a crush on a communiste from carcassone, didn’t know any better. I didn’t like his politics but that long wavy hair, the scarves. And the commie glasses. Lol.
I used to read my kids a book where some animals would watch the boats on the canal and they would dream of going on a cruise.
The oldest one (an otter?) buys a canal barge and they set off on their adventure - travelling and living on the canals, going through the locks, etc.
It did a good job portraying the adventure, freedom and relaxing lifestyle that I imagine such a life would have.
My kids (20 and 17) still remember it. Thanks for your photos - I’ll show them to my kids!
bfl perusal
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