Coastal surveys as an indicator of port existence. The case of Nantes and the Loire estuary between the seventeenth and ninetenth century.

This article is part of a continuation of a collective reflection conducted on the surveys commissioned by the French State regarding the coastlines between the seventeenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century. From the selection of several surveys, such as those of Colbert and Seignelay (1664, 1665, 1683-1686) and that of Daniel Chardon between 1781 and 1785, the issue is whether their content enriches our knowledge of the ports of the modern era. In the first instance, do these surveys allow the port structure to be restored, particularly for the seventeenth century? Outside the major ports, the "port dust" is not always easy to outline during this period and all archival sources must be used. Once the ports have been identified, the aim is to measure the ability of coastal surveys to understand their infrastructures (platforms, cranes, storage areas, etc.) and their activities.