gabelle

American  

[guh-bel] / gəˈbɛl /

noun

1. a tax; excise.

2. French History. a tax on salt, abolished in 1790.

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gabelle British  

/ ɡæˈbɛl /

noun

1. French history a salt tax levied until 1790

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Other Word Forms

• gabelled adjective

Etymology

Origin of gabelle

First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English gabul, gabel (probably confused with gavel ² ), from Middle French, from Italian gabella, from Arabic qabālah “tax, receipt”

Explanation

The gabelle was a notoriously hated salt tax in pre-revolutionary France. Not only did it tax salt, it forced people to buy a certain amount of it every week. For centuries, the French government held a monopoly on salt, which was essential for preserving food. The monarchy's gabelle on this basic necessity was enforced at wildly different rates across the country, making it a major grievance against the crown. Salt smuggling became common, and a paramilitary force employed by the government, known as the "Salt Police," or gabelous, fueled deep-seated rage and mass riots. The gabelle was repealed in 1790, not long after the start of the French Revolution in 1789.

Example Sentences

The gabelle, or salt tax, was so high during the reign of Louis XVI that it became a major grievance and eventually helped ignite the French Revolution.

From Time Magazine Archive

There was another burden which shared with the taille and the gabelle the especial hatred of the French peasantry.

From The Eve of the French Revolution by Lowell, Edward J. (Edward Jackson)

First introduction of the gabelle, or salt duty, in France.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 06 (From Barbarossa to Dante) by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)

For the numerous officers and complicated system of the gabelle, see Encyclopédie, vii.

From The Eve of the French Revolution by Lowell, Edward J. (Edward Jackson)

By good luck at this time came the royal commissioners to establish the gabelle or tax in the district of Saintonge, and Palissy was employed to survey the salt marshes.

From Triumphs of Invention and Discovery in Art and Science by Fyfe, J. Hamilton