Guillaume Boutheroue was a French engineer who completed the Briare Canal, originated by Hugues Cosnier. [1]
In 1623, he was the Poor Rate and Tax Collector at Beaugency. [1]
In 1638, along with his brother-in-law Jacques Guyon, he obtained letters patent from Louis XIII allowing them to complete the Canal de Briare. The canal was completed in 1642. [1] [2]
Canals are waterways channels, or artificial waterways, for water conveyance, or to service water transport vehicles. They may also help with irrigation. It can be thought of as an artificial version of a river. Canals carry free surface flow under atmospheric pressure.
The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez. It is often considered to define the border between Africa and Asia. Constructed by the Suez Canal Company between 1859 and 1869, it officially opened on 17 November that year. The canal offers watercraft a more direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via the Mediterranean and Red seas, thus avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and reducing the journey distance from the Arabian Sea to London, for example, by approximately 8,900 kilometres (5,500 mi). It extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez. Its length is 193.30 km (120.11 mi) including its northern and southern access-channels. In 2012, 17,225 vessels traversed the canal.
The year 1642 in science and technology involved some significant events.
The Briare Canal is one of the oldest canals in France. Its construction started in 1604. It was the first summit level canal in Europe that was built using pound locks, connecting the Loire and Seine valleys. It is 57 kilometres long and is part of the Bourbonnais route from Saint-Mammès on the Seine to Chalon-sur-Saône on the Saône.
Briare is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France, in the historical region of Puisaye. The composer and organist Henri Nibelle (1883–1967) was born in Briare.
Navigable aqueducts are bridge structures that carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railways or roads. They are primarily distinguished by their size, carrying a larger cross-section of water than most water-supply aqueducts. Although Roman aqueducts were sometimes used for transport, aqueducts were not generally used until the 17th century when the problems of summit level canals had been solved and modern canal systems were developed. The 662-metre (2,172 ft) long steel Briare aqueduct carrying the Canal latéral à la Loire over the River Loire was built in 1896. It was ranked as the longest navigable aqueduct in the world for more than a century, until the Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany took the title in the early 21st century.
The Canal de Garonne, formerly known as Canal latéral à la Garonne, is a French canal dating from the mid-19th century which connects Toulouse to Castets-en-Dorthe. The remainder of the route to Bordeaux uses the river Garonne. It is the continuation of the Canal du Midi which connects the Mediterranean with Toulouse.
The Briare Aqueduct in central France carries the Canal latéral à la Loire over the river Loire on its journey to the Seine. It replaced a river-level crossing from the canal to meet the Briare Canal that was hazardous in times of flood. Between 1896 and 2003 it was the longest navigable aqueduct in the world, until the opening of the Magdeburg Water Bridge.
A summit-level canal is an artificial waterway connecting two separate river valleys. The term refers to a canal that rises then falls, as opposed to a lateral canal, which has a continuous fall only. Summit-level canals were an essential step in developing transport systems connecting different parts of a country before the railways or modern road transport.
The Canal Latéral à la Loire was constructed between 1827 and 1838 to connect the Canal de Briare at Briare and the Canal du Centre at Digoin, a distance of 196 kilometres (122 mi). It replaced the use of the river Loire, which was unreliable during winter floods and summer droughts. Aqueducts were used to cross the Allier at Le Guétin and the Loire at Digoin. However, because of the extreme length required, an aqueduct was not built to cross the Loire at Briare until 1896, when the Briare aqueduct was constructed.
Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. The name of the commune comes from its impressive seven locks on Briare Canal.
Hugues Cosnier was a French engineer who conceived of the Briare Canal who was born in Tours, 1573, and died in 1629. in Paris
The Canal du Loing is a 49.4 km long canal which connects the Seine at Saint-Mammès to the Briare Canal just north of Montargis, in central France. It runs through the Loiret and Seine-et-Marne départements.
The Canal de l’Aisne à la Marne is a canal in northeastern France which connects the Aisne and the Marne valleys. It runs from the Canal latéral à l'Aisne at Berry-au-Bac to Condé-sur-Marne on the Canal latéral à la Marne, a distance of 58 km. The canal rises 40m through 16 locks via the cathedral city of Reims, which is also a busy commercial port, to a summit level at an altitude of 95.70m. After crossing the watershed through a tunnel 2302m long at Mont-de-Billy, the canal drops down 23.80m through a flight of 8 locks towards the Marne.
The Portuguese conquest of French Guiana was an 1809 military operation against Cayenne, capital of the South American colony of French Guiana, in the scope of the Napoleonic Wars. The operation was performed by a combined expeditionary force that included Portuguese and British military contingents.
The Bourbonnais route is a connection of four canals in France from Saint-Mammès on the Seine to Chalon-sur-Saône on the Saône River: It includes the Canal du Loing, Canal de Briare, Canal lateral a la Loire, and Canal du Centre.
The Canal d'Orléans connects the Loire River at Orléans to a junction with the Canal du Loing and the Canal de Briare in the village of Buges near Montargis. It is entirely within the department of Loiret.
The Canal Henri IV is a section of the Canal de Briare that connects the Loire to the remainder of the Canal de Briare in Briare. It joins the Canal de Briare at the same point as the Canal latéral à la Loire.
Étang de la Gazonne,, is a 29-hectare (72-acre) lake that provides water for the workings of the Canal de Briare.
The Puisaye is a natural and historical region of France, now divided between the départements of Loiret, Nièvre and Yonne. Its historical and administrative center is the town of Saint-Fargeau. Its inhabitants are known as Poyaudins.
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