When France Was King of Cartography The Patronage and Production of Maps in Early Modern France

Geographical works, as socially constructed texts, provide a rich source for historians and historians of science investigating the social institution of patronage, the governmental initiatives and support for science, and the governmental involvement or intervention in early modern commerce. Over the course of nearly two centuries (1594-1789), in adopting and adapting maps as tools of statecraft, the Bourbon dynasty both developed patron-client relations with mapmakers and corporations and created scientific institutions with fundamental geographic goals.

Christine Marie Petto is Professor of History at Southern Connecticut State University.