Cameralism and territory: State, space and economy in German economic rhetoric in the 18th century

Enjoying in the Empire a soaring success after the Thirty Years War and above all in the 18th century, cameral sciences lay the basis of a large part of their analysis and of their proposals for an economic policy on the notion of territory, defined as a portion of space submitted to a political and judiciary authority. The program for economic development put forward by the cameralists aims first at allowing an optimal use of the natural resources of the territory, then at removing the obstacles that hinder the circulation of goods and of money, and finally at managing a balanced spreading out over the territory of the population and of the riches. This notion of territory, though, is at odds with the political splintering of the Empire, which leads cameralists to adjust their conceptual apparatus by referring to Germany, i.e. the Empire, in the hope that this reference might allow them to reach out to the "enlightened" German public opinion which is developing far across territory boundaries.