Title : 

'Counterfeiting in the Northern Kingdom of France (15th-18th Century): anatomy, consequences, and repression of a socio-Economic crime'

Thesis direction :

Hervé Leuwers, Professor of modern history at l'Université de Lille.

Jérôme Jambu, Professor of modern history at l'Université du Havre.

Summary :

The phenomenon of counterfeiting is not new. Historically, currency has been falsified since its inception, sometimes on a scale that could destabilize a state's finances, as was the case, for example, during the Regency. 

However, to date, there has been no comprehensive, large-scale study, whether regional or national, covering the extended period of three centuries of the Ancien Régime, addressing both the reality and consequences of counterfeiting and the efforts made by the authorities to combat, reduce, and suppress it. Some works have indeed sporadically revealed individual cases of counterfeiting and certain aspects, and have suggested research directions. However, the phenomenon has never been addressed in its entirety. This thesis project aims to fill the gaps in historiography that have only partially focused on the Middle Ages and the French Revolution, neglecting the modern era, even though historical insights can offer keys to understanding the present.

Nevertheless, this question is relevant to current events. In 2024, the European Central Bank (ECB) will release new euro-denominated banknotes. While the goal is to renew an aging stock, the objective is also to incorporate innovative technical elements into these common means of payment to make counterfeiting more difficult. According to recent reports from the ECB and the Bank of France (BdF), despite a decrease in counterfeit notes in recent years, they remain numerous, especially certain denominations. Nevertheless, the economic consequences of this severely punished crime, prosecuted at the European and global levels, have never been assessed.

For this reason, we propose to study counterfeiting from several unprecedented perspectives and, most importantly, by examining its entire production and distribution chain. We will explore its manufacturing conditions, the identities of its 'fabricators' and 'distributors,' as well as its reception by contemporaries. The economic, emotional, and moral consequences on the 'victims' are a new research focus that we will then use to understand the channels and impact of counterfeit currency circulation.

The chosen chronological boundaries fall between the 15th and 18th centuries. We will seek to identify a potential turning point, if one exists, between the two academic periods of the Middle Ages and the early modern era. The end of the 18th century, marked by the monetary and legal upheavals of the French Revolution, is already included. Therefore, the project presents itself as a long-term study. The selected geographic area aims to provide different observation spaces for comparative analysis. Three northern regions have been identified: Île-de-France, where central institutions are located; Haute-Normandie, a territory formerly integrated into the kingdom; and a vast North, chosen for its recent incorporation into the state and its characteristics as a changing borderland. As they are adjacent to each other, this will allow for the examination of questions related to influences, circulations, and networks.

Ultimately, the goal is to determine whether the preoccupation with counterfeiting, which we suspect based on the actions of central and local authorities, was justified or not. In other words, it is about discerning the extent to which it was driven by perceptions and the actual scale of the phenomenon.