THE ROYAL LOUIS (1668), A SAILING MASTERPIECE

The French Navy’s finest hour began in the seventeenth century when Colbert became principal ministre d’État (1661) – a role equivalent to main adviser to the King of France during the Ancien Régime – and later Controller-General of Finances (1665), Secretary of State of the Navy (1669) as well as Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi (1669), and decided to improve the national shipyards. Despite poor starting conditions, the results of Colbert’s efforts led France to be one of the major players in the struggle for naval power. At that moment, European shipbuilding had a change in construction techniques mostly in warships. In France, this change also involved vessels aesthetics. Indeed, shipwrights’ tasks were not only to build ships with great naval skills, but vessels had also to be aesthetically striking and eye-catching to show at the world the Roy Soleil’s power and wealth. Many vessels were built in that style and the Royal Louis was one of the largest vessels and was built in 1668 in Toulon. With particular attention to the Royal Louis, this article aims to analyse several aspects of the world surrounding those floating masterpieces.