SABRES (Landes). - Lot 281

Lot 281
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SABRES (Landes). - Lot 281
SABRES (Landes). Petition addressed to the Intendant of Guyenne regarding taxes and agricultural losses caused by inclement weather. Manuscript on paper, 3 folio pages, circa the mid-18th century. Inscription on the reverse: “Petition addressed to Monseigneur de Tourny, Intendant of the Generality of Bordeaux.” Very legible cursive handwriting. Old postal creases, minor marginal tears of no consequence. An interesting administrative petition from the residents of the parish of Sabres, in the Landes region, addressed to Louis-Urbain-Aubert de Tourny (1695–1760), the renowned Intendant of Guyenne. The petitioners describe the severe economic hardships faced by the community and request a reduction in their tax burden. The text provides a detailed account of the agricultural disasters that struck the region: frosts, severe weather, destruction of crops, and loss of seed. The authors emphasize their inability to meet royal tax obligations, describing a population reduced to feeding its livestock with the meager resources remaining and unable to replant its crops. This document provides a particularly vivid account of living conditions in the Grande Lande before the major land reclamation projects of the 19th century. It illustrates the relationship between rural communities and the royal administration, as well as the mechanisms for requesting tax relief under the Ancien Régime. A document of definite interest for the economic and social history of the Landes region, taxation under the Ancien Régime, and the administration of the Bordeaux Generalité.
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