Histoire Du Canal Du MIDI

Officially opened in 1682 the Canal du Midi designed and built by the engineers Pierre-Paul Riquet and Franois Androssy stretched from Toulouse to the Mediterranean. The present work was written by Androssy''s descendant Antoine-Franois Androssy (17611828) a French general and diplomat. A member of the Acadmie des Sciences he analyses here the terrain of the south of France to show how and why the canal was built. Notably the work became known for the author''s argument that Riquet had usurped the glory that really belonged to his ancestor. Concluding with original documents from the period of the canal''s construction along with an appendix giving details on the canal''s route the book is reissued here in its first edition of 1800. A second edition appeared in 1804 and a third edition was begun but never completed.