The New World Merchants of Rouen, 1559-1630

This book is the study of 144 merchants in Rouen who invested in trade or shipping to the Americas in the sixty years before Cardinal Richelieu began to regulate their activities for the benefit of church and state. Rouen, during the time studied in this book, was the largest French seaport and in direct connection and competition with various Dutch and English ports. The author focuses on how the French merchants and their investments and how their economic fortunes affected their rise and fall in French society.