Libéralisme, corporatisme et dérogeance : à propos des édits sur le commerce de 1701 et 1765

Christian Cheminade : Liberalism, corporatism and derogation. On the commercial edicts of 1701 and 1765. In 1700-1 the Counsel on Trade was favourable to a liberal demand from the trading gentry, but dared not attack openly the limits on trade imposed by corporations' charters. This contradiction can be seen in the 1701 Edict, intended to liberalise wholesale trade, but which finally only abolished the "law of deroga¬ tion". To remove this ambiguity, the trading deputies launched another liberal campaign in 1754, which led to a text establishing a link between the ending of the derogation and complete freedom for wholesale trade. But opposition from the Six Paris Guilds prevented the Edict from being promulgated for ten years. It was finally published in 1765, with no reference to derogation whose abolition had in the mean time become the battle cry of the defenders of corporatism. But the Six Guilds ensured that the Edict would not be applied in the capital.Cheminade Christian. Libéralisme, corporatisme et dérogeance : à propos des édits sur le commerce de 1701 et 1765. In: Dix-huitième Siècle, n°26, 1994. Economie et politique. pp. 269-284