Editing Gabelle (section)

==Introduction==
In 1229, when the [[Albigensian Crusades]] were brought to a close by King [[Louis IX of France|Louis IX]] and his mother ([[Blanche of Castile]]), France gained control of the [[Rhône]] Estuary and nearby Mediterranean coast. This led to the establishment of the first French Mediterranean port city, [[Aigues-Mortes]] ("dead waters"), in 1246. Here, salt-evaporation ponds and storehouses were constructed. These saltworks were intended to finance Louis' [[Crusades|crusading]] ambitions in the [[Middle East]]. The means by which this salt would enrich the royal treasury was through a special duty on salt producers, which became the origin of the ''gabelle''.<ref name=Kurlansky02>{{cite book |last= Kurlansky |first= Mark |date= 2002 |title= Salt |publisher= Penguin Group |page= 154 |isbn=0-8027-1373-4 }}</ref>

The temporary tax under St. Louis (as he became known) was extended in 1259 by his brother [[Charles I of Naples|Charles I]], further establishing royal control over salt, in this case over the Berre saltworks near Marseilles. This salt administration would eventually encompass Peccais, Aigues-Mortes, and the region of Camargue and come to be known as the ''Pays de petites gabelles''. On 16 March 1341, King [[Philip VI of France|Philip VI]] established the first permanent royal tax on salt in France, known as the ''Pays de grandes gabelles''.

Repressive as a state monopoly, it was made doubly so by the government obliging every individual above the age of eight years to buy weekly a minimum quantity of salt at a fixed price.<ref name="EB1911"/> Known as the ''Sel de devoir'', translated to "salt duty", citizens in the ''Pays de grandes gabelles'' region were forced to buy up to 7 kilograms (15lb) of salt per year. Furthermore, they were unable to use this salt for making salted products, which was considered illegal and could lead to charges of ''faux saunage'', or salt fraud. Failing to adhere to this could lead to imprisonment and, if repeated, death.<ref name=Kurlansky02/>

Each province had a ''Greniers à sel'' (a salt granary) where all salt produced from that region had to be taken in order to be bought (at a fixed price) and sold (at an inflated price).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://beyondtheshaker.com/pages/Salt-Guide-History.html |title=A Brief and Fascinating History of Salt |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=beyondtheshaker.com/ |access-date=April 19, 2015 |archive-date=April 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417174422/http://beyondtheshaker.com/pages/Salt-Guide-History.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>