ABSTRACT
In his book Les intérêts de la France, Goudar recommended a set of policies that sought to expand the French navy without imposing a burden to the Exchequer. He asserted that it was possible to increase the fleet in size in a non-artificial way. Prospective measures should essentially target carrying trade, which would increase national cargo. According to Goudar, it was well known that the apparent success of a national navy hinged on the capacity of a state to promote the transport of national goods and staples, but above all, to attract the carrying of foreign trade. This was the maxim that should guide the design of future policies. It found support in the fact that rich countries were those ones that transported foreign products. Consequently, he recommended the establishment of what he called entrepôts.
