User:Gloverepp/Canal du Midi - A Chronology

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Canal du Midi - A Chronology
This article will probably never make it into the public domain. It is helping me to get a clearer and clearer vision of the processes included in building this terrific project. The format of my references is a little different. I put a slash and the page number of the book after each entry. This helps me when I begin to investigate a given aspect. This is not meant to be a complete index of the many aspects. WARNING: There are conflicts below as to year and/or who did something. I have a tendancy to believe the books over the web references. GloverEpp (talk)
The people: Pierre-Paul Riquet, Louis_XIV_of_France, Pierre Campmas, Jean-Baptiste_Colbert, François Andréossy, Marshal Sebastien Vauban, Leonardo da Vinci, Louis Nicolas de Clerville, King_Francis_I_of_France, Nicolas Bachelier, Adam de Craponne, Henri ler de Montmorency, Hugues Cosnier, Etienne Tichot, cardinal Richelieu, Humphrey Bradley, Antoine Niquet, Bertrand Garipuy, Urbain Maguès, Jean-Polycarpe Maguès.
The cities and states: Trèbes, Toulouse, Carcassone, Sète, Castelnaudary, Languedoc, Narbonne, Les Cammazes, Capestang, Ventenac
Canal structures or features: Orb Aqueduct, rigole de la plaine, Rigole de la montagne, Bassin_de_Naurouze, Seuil_de_Naurouze, Malpas_Tunnel
Bodies of water: Garonne River, Aude_river, Mediteranian, Atlantic, Canal de Briare, Loire, Seine, Bassin_de_St._Ferréol, Canal de Garonne, Canal du Midi, Etang de Thau
Other: Bonrepos, Montagne Noire, livres, Hydraulics, Chemin_de_Fer_du_Midi,

1500's

• 1516 King_Francis_I_of_France brought Leonardo da Vinci to France. They discussed the possibility of linking rivers Garonne and Aude in the province of Languedoc with canals. /16 /42

Later, Nicolas Bachelier created the first survey of the area and proposed a canal from the Garonne at Toulouse to the Aude at Carcassone. /17 /42

Twenty years later, Adam de Craponne studied the route again. /17

• 1539 At the request of King_Francis_I_of_France, Nicolas Bachelier, Toulouse architect, studied the project to bring the Garonne to Narbonne.

A commission recognizes that the Seuil_de_Naurouze is the watershed between the Atlantic and the Mediteranian.

Adam de Craponne is considering a proposed canal linking Atlantic and the Mediteranian.

• 1563 Henri ler de Montmorency, governor of Languedoc, visited the Languedoc coast to find a location for a new port. He chose the site of Sete. The work will last from 1595 to 1605.

• 1598 P. Reneau is considering a new canal project between the Garonne and Aude river.

• 1598 Humphrey Bradley reviewed the proposals of Craponne and Bachelier. Providing water to carry the canal over the 620 foot summit level at Naurouze continued to be the most difficult issue, as well as highly fluctuating river levels. /18 /42

1600's

• 1603 Plans for a canal to link the Loire and the Seine were conceived. It was to be called the Canal de Briare and would become 21 1/4 miles long. /19

• 1604 The contract for the Canal de Briare was awarded to Hugues Cosnier. His work proceeded until 1611. /20 /43

• 1618 A new canal project is proposed by Bernard d'Arribat de Béziers. Guillaume Riquet, father of Riquet is among those who oppose the project. /30

• 1630 Riquet is appointed collector of Languedoc salt tax. /259

• 1633 Etienne Tichot proposed to cardinal Richelieu a plan for a canal from the Garonne at Toulouse to the Aude near Narbonne. A second idea was to join the Aude at Trèbes, near Carcasonne. /24 /43

• 1642 The Canal de Briare was completed and opened. It had changed ownership and leadership several times over these intervening years. However, Cosnier's original design was used throughout. It was the first considerable summit level canal in the world. There were many lessons learned here that would be applied in the Canal du Midi. /23-24 /259

• 1652 Riquet acquires château de Bonrepos near Verfeil.

• 1660 François Andréossy went to Italy to study the canals of Lombardy and Padoa. He later became Riquet's right-hand man. Some say he should have received major credit for the Canal du Midi. /35 /47

• 1662 Riquet believes he has the solution for the water supply - the valleys of the Montagne Noire. He consulted with Pierre Campmas, the fontainer of Revel and his son, Pierre junior. About this time, he was introduced to Francois Andreossy, a young engineer educated in Paris. He had a science and civil engineering background with a special emphasis on hydraulics. /33,35 /45

Riquet built a model canal on the grounds of his estate,Bonrepos, with the assistance of Campmas and Andréossy. It included a miniature canal with locks, weirs, feeder channels and a tunnel. /37,38

Riquet made his first correspondence with Colbert on 26 November 1662 at the request of Mgr d'Anglore de Boulmont, Archbishop of Toulouse. De Boulemont had visited Bonrepos to see the model canals and visited the Montagne Noire with Riquet and became interested in the idea of Riquet's canal. De Boulemont promised to use his influence with Colbert. /33,38 /17,43 /15

Riquet and de Boulemont met with Colbert in Paris. Colbert told Louis XIV of Riquet'splan./42

• 1663 Louis XIV made an Order in Council to appoint a Royal Commission to investigate Riquet's proposal. Andréossy was one of its surveyors. The principal expert of the Commission was Henri de Boutheroue de Bourgneuf, son of Francois Boutheroue who had completed Cosnier's work on the Briare Canal./42 /18 Also on the commission is Louis Nicolas de Clerville, commissioner general of fortifications of France.

For 20 months, Boutheroue and Riquet took measurements for the proposed canal. /51

• 1664 The commission began their work. /50 The commission sat from 11/18/1664 until 1/17/1665. /18

Riquet and Boutheroue were asked to set stakes from Toulouse to seuil de Naurouze. The Commission surveyed this route. The commission determined that the River Sor had an insufficient water supply but that it could be augmented upstream and then retrieved downstream. /52

Clerville /31,55 has the idea for a single large dam of the Laudot valley near Saint Ferreol. /54 He also had the idea of digging a tunnel through the Cammazes ridge to connect the Rigole de la montagne to the reservoir in the valley without utilizing the Sor river at all. Riquet was opposed at this time, as he wanted several small reservoirs rather than one large one. He relented and included the single reservoir in his proposal, but not the tunnel through the Cammazes. /55,56

Riquet formally presented the results of his survey to the Commissioners in November 1664. /44

• 1665 The Commissioners reported on their evaluation of Riquet's plan. /44,45 They recommended the following:

Damming of the Lampy and Rieutort valleys to provide the needed water./45

Rivers were to be avoided and recommended a still-water canal from Toulouse to the Mediteranian./46

A new Mediteranian port to be built on the narrow isthmus dividing the Etang de Thau from the sea./46

A two foot wide ditch be dug along the line of the proposed feeder to the summit./47

On 27 May 1665, Riquet is authorized to dig the ditch recommended by the Commission. He completed it in October 1665. /47 /56 /18

• 1666 The first stone at Port of Sète was laid./47

Louis Nicolas de Clerville, military engineer, wrote the specifications for the first part of the canal including supply channels, reservoirs, and canal from Toulouse to Trèbes. This first section is estimated to cost some 3.5M livres.

In October 1666, Louis XIV issued an edict announcing the construction of a canal between the Atlantic and the Mediteranian. It's builders and successors were granted ownership in perpetuity. /50 /260 /20

In November, Riquet received authority to proceed with a section of the canal from the Garonne at Toulouse to the Aude at Trèbes. He was to begin January 1667 for a cost of 3,360,000 livres. Riquet was 62 at the time./50 /59,67

• 1667 The building of the Canal du Midi begins. /54 /59 /279

The foundation stone at the St. Ferreol dam was laid on 15 April 1667. /20 It was the first dam built to support a navigable canal and the greatest single engineering work on the canal. The water backed into the Laudot valley would be called the Bassin_de_St._Ferréol. The Laudot River would continue past the dam and connect to the canal's main feeder, the rigole de la plaine./54-55 The rigole de la plaine connected from the river Sor, at Pontcrouzet to Bassin_de_Naurouze./63-64

The dam was composed of three walls. Picture on /72-74

At the same time, the rigole de la montagne was being dug to connect the Alzau stream, as well as others, and divert them to the River Sor at Conquet. /58

Work on the first lock began with the laying of foundation stones in the lock from the Garonne, 17 November 1667. /70 There were opening ceremonies at the Garonne River by Toulouse in fall 1667. /77 /20

Riquet was forced, by Jean Nivelle, to build the canal around Toulouse rather than connecting to the town's moat. /79-80

Riquet contracted to build a "dirt lifting" machine to aid in the building of the dam at St. Ferreol. The machine was used only once and failed. /85

Riquet went into considerable debt during 1666-67 due to the armed uprisings in Roussillon. He was obligated to supply tax revenue to the treasury, but no way to collect it. These problems kept him away from the building of the canal. /85

Colbert sent Clerville to verify the progress with the building of the canal. /87

The blessing of the cornerstone of Port Saint-Louis, Sete is July 29, 1667. Sete is chosen as the Mediteranian terminus.

The first two stones are laid at Lock Bazacle.

François Andréossy, assistant engineer to Riquet, published plans of the canal under the title "Map of the Canal du Languedoc", thereby claiming the design of the project. Riquet and Colbert express displeasure. This was in 1670. /20

• 1667-1672 Bassin_de_St._Ferréol dam was built. /81

• 1668 A large octagonal basin, Bassin de Naurouze is built, measureing 9' deep, 1200' in length, and 900' wide./64 Riquet wanted to build a town around the basin. /75-76.

After haggling over land prices, land was finally confiscated. /89

In early 1668, the number of workers on the canal had diminished to 800. By the end of the year, with the end of the War of Devolution, the number of workers had grown to 7000 to 8000. /92

Riquet built a loading basin, near Revel, on the rigole de la plaine between Pont Crouzet, on the river Sor, and Naurouze, called Port Louis. The feeder between this point and Naurouze was expanded in order for boats to ferry stones. Fourteen locks were put in place. /64-66

Riquet is able to renegotiate his contract for the first enterprise, the Toulouse to Trèbes portion, being able to continue for four years rather than the two years available. /89

The first lock on the Garonne is completed and opened.

The rights to collect tolls on Toulouse to Trèbes section is granted to Riquet on 14 May 1668. /82

Riquet sent to Colbert a proposal for building the "second enterprise". /93

Riquet is authorized to construct Trèbes to Etang_de_thau on 20 August. The contract is for eight years for 5,832,000 livres. /82

• 1669 Riquet wins the contract for the "second enterprise". /98

Colbert appointed Ponce-Alexis de la Feuille as Clerville's second in command. He was to keep his eyes on Riquet and report on the progress of the canal to Colbert. /98 Who is Bezones?/98

The northern route, bypassing Narbonne, of the "second enterprise" was approved by the king. It would turn out of the Aude valley after St. Nazaire, pass by the towns of Capestang and Vendres and cross the Orb River near Beziers /110

Opening ceremony for the work at Sète. /114

Riquet widened the rigole de la plaine enough to support navigation. /159

• 1670 The locks on the first section of the canal have to be rebuilt due to falling walls. The new walls would be oval versus straight. /74 /82

The canal from Toulouse to Castenet was flooded. /157

The widening of the rigole de la plaine from Revel to Naurouze was opened for traffic. This was original idea of Pierre Borel. /159

Riquet proposed to develop an inland port on the basin at Naurouze and to create another port at Castelnaudary. /160

November 1670, M. de Seignelay, Colbert's son, visited St. Ferreol, rigols, and canal construction from Toulouse to Agde, and Sete. /21

• 1671 The creation of the dam at St. Ferreol and thus the creation of the Bassin_de_St._Ferréol are complete. /55

Storms in Sète wash away half of the newly constructed sea wall. /115, 158

Problems with some lock doors became evident. /158

The canal from Toulouse to Naurouze was opened. /157

• 1672 The canal from Toulouse to Naurouze is completed. /79 /260

It took six days to fill the canal. Four large barges made the trip and returned. /21

Riquet became gravely ill. He wrote to Colbert recomending his son, Jean Mathias, to be his replacement. /176 /21 His health remained bad until at least August 1673. /178

• 1673 A review of the work in 1673 showed that the canal was well underway, the locks between Naurouze and Castelnaudary were not yet complete, only six miles of the canal near Carcassonne were not complete, and whether or not the canal would go through Carcasonne was being debated. /79

Riquet's older son, Jean Mathias, begins working with him. /100

Riquet is considering bypassing Narbonne with what would be a shorter but more costly route. Andréossy surveyed the old and newly considered routes. /85

Sète continues to have problems with silting. /115

Locks between Naurouze to Castelnaudary were completed. /157

Reservoir at Saint Ferreol started to be filled and used. /157

Clerville lost his standing with the king. /158

Bezons was replaced as intendent of Languedoc by Henri d'Aguesseau. /158

Colbert, concerned about Riquet's bad health, writes to d'Aguesseau to be prepared in case Riquet dies. Riquet regained his health shortly thereafter and proposed the tunnel at Malpas_Tunnel. /178

Completion of the first section of the canal in Trèbes.

• 1674 Canal from Toulouse to Castelnaudary, almost the entire first enterprise, is finished and officially opened. /157

• 1675 The contract for the first aqueduct, the pont-canal de Répudre. Built by Emmanuel d'Estan. /172

• 1676 Répudre designed the aqueduct to cross the Répudre. It is completed in 1676. /88 It is severely damaged that winter and had to be rebuilt. /172

Riquet decides to abandon the idea of using a water aqueduct to provide adequate water for dredging the harbor in Sète. /172

Sète is again damaged by storms. /115

Completed construction of the canal between Beziers and the Etang_de_thau .

• 1677 Riquet digs the tunnel at Malpas_Tunnel (bad passage). The story goes that it was finished in six days in a race to be done before the inspectors arrived. /94 /163-166 /260

Colbert begins to lose faith in Riquet. /91-92

Riquet is refused further financial support from Colbert. He continues by using his own money received from selling some of his properties. /95

Clerville died. /163,180

• 1679 Riquet is experiencing cost overruns. /179

• 1680 Riquet dies./180 /260 /24 /279 He was 2M livres in debt. /181 /96 His older son inherited 2/3 of the shares and responsibility for completing the canal. His younger son, Pierre Paul II, receives 1/3 of the shares. /100

• 1681 The Canal du Midi officially opened 15 May 1681. /98 /261 /279 The canal is capable of carrying ships from one end to the other. /184 /24

• 1683 After the canal's first opening, problems were found and repairs required. It was filled an opened a second time in 1683. /183

Colbert died without seeing the canal. /184

• 1684 A final inspection of the canal determined that the Riquets had officially met their opligations. /184

Silting became so bad that many areas of the canal became too shallow to use. Vauban's idea was to build more aqueducts so that rivers did not connect directly with the canal. Water from the streams might still enter the canal, but only after settling took place in large ponds. /189

• 1685 The king accepts the Canal du Midi as complete on 16 March 1685. The Riquet brothers realized that more work on the canal was required. They request advice from Sebastian Vauban. /102

The canal is having silting problems. Vauban wrote a report on required realignments and building new structures.

• 1686 The canal bridge over the Orbiel at Trèbes is built on plans of François Andréossy. It has three arches.

The canal is considered 'reliable' or 'perfecte'. /184-185

Vauban replaces the level crossing of the Cesse River with the Cesse Aqueduct /269

• 1686-87 The engineer, Marshal Sebastien Vauban, extended the the rigole de la montagne 4.5 miles from Conquet to connect it to the Bassin_de_St._Ferréol. The path included a 132 yard, 9 foot diameter tunnel at the village of Les Cammazes./58,59 Master mason is Pascal de Nissan

The crossing of the Orbiel on the level is replaced with an aqueduct. Vauban designed and built by Antoine Niquet. /151

Sebastian Vauban designed the Cesse Aqueduct. Built by Antoine Niquet. /146 This resulted in the creation of the Lampy Reservoir and the Roupille diversion dam built across the Cesse. /146

The Orbiel Aqueduct designed by Maréchal Sébastian Vauban. Three arches each spanning some 11m. /266

• 1688 Start of construction of a canal junction between the Canal and the Canal de la Robine by Antoine de Niquet. But the work is interrupted.

The aqueduct over the Orbiel is built on the plans of François Andréossy. It has three arches.

• 1689-1690 Construction of the Cesse Aqueduct on plans by Vauban, the master mason John Goudet.

• 1690 Cesse Aqueduct is complete.

• 1691 Part of the entrance to the Malpas_Tunnel collapsed. The repair was done by a military engineer Niquet working with Vauban's recommendations. /190-191

• 1693 Epanchoir Surface d'Argent-Double (Laredote-Aude) built by John David, master mason of Beziers.

• 1694 The canal is considered 'reliable' after improvements designed by Vauban were completed.

Epanchoir bottom of Patiasses upstream of Cesse Aqueduct.

1700's

• 1715 King Louis XIV died. Legal arguments begin regarding whether the Riquet decendents should continue to own the canal in perpetuity. This argument is continued for 50 years. /103

• 1724 Riquet's sons begin to see a profit. /104 /261

• 1725 Small barges cease to trade on the feeder canals. /260

• 1744 Near Poilhes, 300m of the canal were blocked by a landslide. A retaining wall was built. /269

• 1754 The island in the Grand Bassin was created to reduce the effects of the strong winds across the open water. /113

• 1766 A severe storm in the Languedoc region caused the canal to raise its level some three feet and to breach its walls and flood into Capestang. The canal was closed for three months while the bank was replaced with a stone wall. /140-141 /269 This later led to the epanchoir a syphon. /269

• 1767 The canl is handed sailing.

• 1768The states plan to buy Languedoc Canal du Midi by Riquet descendants.

• 1770-1774 Somail bridge on the canal by Francois Garipuy.

• 1776 A link is provided between the canal and the Aude and the Canal de la Robine at Narbonne. /261,273 This connection and an increase in traffic led to the dam of the Lampy valley as the Royal Commmission had recommended in 1665. The Lampy dam was built between 1777 and 1781, creating the Bassin_de_Lampy /61,62

The Canal de Jonction opened, providing a link to the Aude and the Canal de la Robine, thus connecting to Narbonne. /144

Completed construction of the Canal de Brienne in Toulouse between the Garonne to the Canal du Midi.

Epanchoirs to siphon Capestang and Ventenac by Bertrand Garipuy.

• 1777 M. de Villecrosse builds a machine to clear the weeds from the bottom of the canal. Shows picture. /31

• 1777-1781 The Lampy Reservoir was built. /260 /79

• 1777-1787 Construction of the canal connecting the canal to the Rubin Narbonne by engineer Francis Garripuy.

Completion of the reservoir basin Lampy to allow additional water supply and epanchoir of Gaillousty.

• 1784 Riquet's descendents regain possession of the canal. /45

• 1787 Thomas Jefferson, then ambassador to US in Paris, visited the canal.

• 1787-1810 Construction of a diversion channel for passing through Carcassonne.

• 1789The French Revolution. /108

• 1792The Carmen branch of Riquet's family left France. Their 2/3 ownership is taken over by the Republican government. /108

• 1793The property of the family Riquet is abolished.

1800's

• 1802-10An aqueduct over the Fresquel River is built to change the crossing of the Fresquel River from being "on the level". /152 The 5.6km diversion brought the canal closer to Carcassonne. /265

• 1806 Creation of the Hers Aqueduct by Jean-Polycarpe Maguès.

• 1810The Compagnie General du Canal du Midi takes over the 2/3 shares of the Caraman branch. /108

3/4 of company stock is distributed by Napolean to retired soldiers with meritorious service. /45

• 1820 The canal from Sete to the Rhone is completed. /41

• 1822The Riquet family is no longer in charge of the canal. /104

• 1823The shares distributed by Napolean are returned to the Caraman branch of the Riquet family. /109

• 1826-27 A small aqueduct is built over the Ognon stream. /267 There is a mention of the Garde d'Ognon floodgate?? /148

• 1827 An obelisk is placed in honor of Riquet. /115-116

• 1827-1836 Construction of Port Saint-Sauveur Jean-Polycarpe Maguès.

• 1834 The canal company's steamtugs travel regularly from Les Onglous to Sète. /116

Duc de Caraman introduced "express boats" from Toulouse to Beaucaire in 115 hours. /35

• 1834-1840 Construction of the dry docks at Port Saint-Sauveur de Toulouse Urbain Maguès who just suceeded his father.

• 1838 Placement of Riquet statue in Beziers. /84

• 1838-1852 The canal is extended beyond Toulouse via Canal de Garonne.

• 1838-1856 Canal Lateral is built. Covers 193km and has 53 locks. /33

• 1854 Construction of the Aqueduct of Orb by Urbain Maguès.

• 1856 The Chemin_de_Fer_du_Midi, an early French railroad company, completes the rail line from Bordeaux to Toulouse. /109

The Orb Aqueduct is complete. /135 /261,270 (1857)/81

The Canal Latéral a la Garonne opened from Castets to Toulouse. /261,262

The canal moves its peak traffic. Some 110M tons of freight and 100,000 passengers. /117

• 1857 The rail line from Toulouse through Narbonne to Sète is completed. /109 /261

• 1858 The Canal du Midi is leased to the railroad on 28 May 1858. /109 /45

• 1897 The canal ownership is transferred to the state and tolls are abolished. /110

• 1898 The railway lease expired and the canal is now state controlled. /261

Canal ownership is transferred to the state. /44

1900's

• 1920s Boats were numbered instead of named before the 1920's. /37

• 1925The first motorized boat is used on the canal. /118 /261

• 1935 The last mule hauled boat is converted to power. /119. /261 /27

• 1953 Tolls reappear on the canal.

• 1956 More water was provided for the canal by a new dam built near the village of Les Cammazes.

• 1970-1973 48 of 53 locks on the Canal_de_Garonne were increased to 40m. /41

• 1978 Perhaps the greatest change to the canal began in 1978. A program of lock lengthening was started to enable the 38.5m péniches to operate instead of the 30m Midi barges. One end of each oval-sided lock was modified with an extension of the chamber in parallel sided concrete. Some two and three-rise staircases were replaced by single, much deeper locks. The Agde Round Lock was altered by partial enlargement in concrete. /261,272 /42

Only parts of the canal, eastward from Toulouse and at the Mediterranian end via Agde and down the Narbonne Branch, were enlarged before it was realized that commercial traffic was dimenishing. The greater, central section, of the canal was not affected. /262 /42

• Early 1980 By the early 1980s mechanization and lengthening of locks at the end of the waterway as far as Baziége was in progress. The original lock 4, Matabiau, was removed completely, its change in level being incorporated into former lock 5, Bayard. /262 /42

• 1980-83 The Fonserannes water slope was constructed in an attempt to replace the seven locks at the Fonserannes Locks./83 Trial operations commenced in May 1984. The slope was abandoned officially on 11 April 2001.

It was Inaugerated in the fall of 1983. Three million livres had been spent. There were traction problems and it remained unused until 1989. /271

• 1980s Commercial traffic declined sharpely and finally disappeared completely with the 1989 drought. /259

• 1981 A plaque is provided by the Inland Waterways Association of Great Britain in recognition of Riquet and the people responsible for building the canal. /264

• 1983 The Centre Pierre Paul Riquet museum was opened in Port-Lauragais. /263

• 1989 For much of 1989 and 1990, a long portion between Toulouse and near Carcasonne was closed because of lack of water. Water supplies were used for agriculture rather than the canal. Additional reserviours have since corrected any deficiency. /259-260

• 1996 Canal du Midi designated as a UNESCO site. /259 /279

2000's

• 2000 A 15 year plan is announced to replace some of the plane trees. One in three, some 80,000 trees, will be planted. Will include oaks and poplars. /263

• Unknown years for these items

Vauban's epanchoir as described middle of /189 must have been after 84. It had sluce gates configured so that silt was removed from the bottom of the canal. See photo page 190.

Riquet decided to bypass Carcasonne when they refused to pay 100,000 livres to assist the building.

A quadruple staircase of St. Roche at Castelnaudary is created. /81

The triple staircase locks at Trèbes is created. /82

The completion of this first section is unknown. However it was completed after the next section was underway. /82.

The eight stairstep locks in Beziers?? /96

When the Cesse aqueduct was built, the water from the Cesse no longer entered the canal. The Roupille diversion dam was built across the river at the village of Mirepeisset and there was a 3000 yard long Mirepeisset feeder. This enters the canal west of the aqueduct and enters through a sluice. /146

The Seuil de Naurouze is powered by lAriège. wonder what this means? from 1598 of

Castelnaudary paid to have the canal come through their town. /21