Issue No. 28

The opening of the Canal
du Midi
On 24 May 1681, the ‘Canal Royal en
Languedoc’ (Royal Languedoc Canal), as
it was initially called, was opened. The
waterway allowed merchant ships to
bypass the Iberian Peninsula, meaning
that they now had to cover almost 2,500
fewer kilometres.
Pierre-Paul Riquet did not live to see
the canal finished. He died a poor man
in October 1680. He had invested his
entire fortune and more into the canal.
His two sons worked on the canal until
1682 and it took them more than 40
years to pay off the debts incurred by
their father.
From 1686, engineer Sébastien de
Vauban (1633–1707) was entrusted
with the canal. In the following years,
he improved the waterways, mainly to
reduce the risk of flooding.
Later, branches of the canal were added,
including the ‘Canal latéral de la Garonne’
and the ‘Canal de la Robine Narbonne’.
Trade blossomed and brought wealth
to the communities along the Canal du
Midi. Fuel, building materials, cereals
and wine were transported by ships, and
later there were also postal ships and
passenger ships.
The travellers needed to be provided
for, and soon guest houses, shops
and hostels were built along the
banks. Barges, usually towed by three
horses, took four days to make the
240-kilometre trip between Toulouse
and Sète. This was incredibly quick.