The Brandy Trade under the Ancien Régime

In this 1998 study of the brandy trade and its merchants, Professor Cullen explores the development of cognac, the world's most famous spirit product, which emerged as a consequence of a chronic wine surplus. While Professor Cullen focuses on the brandy trade, his findings contradict the view of a 'static' French economy in the eighteenth century. Professor Cullen shows that the brandy trade was based on a sophisticated regional economy, which, by 1720, had become a key component of French involvement in the modern international trading system. Notwithstanding the competition supplied by the emergence of surplus in other cereals and by foreign markets, regional specialisation in the Charente was an indispensable element in ensuring the quality of stable output, and was recognised in the region's success in attracting foreign négociants, such as the household names of Martell and Hennessy.

• Exploration of the origins of brandy, which are pretty unknown, and the links of brandy trade with the French economy
• Contradicts a gloomy view of French economic development in the eighteenth century and suggests a more complex background than is often assumed to have existed
• Describes origins of famous houses such as Martell, Hennessy, Otard, and Delamain