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 The gabelle was repealed in 1790, not long after the start of the French Revolution in 1789.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

For standards they bore a loaf stuck on the point of a pike in derision of its tiny size, the result of the gabelle on flour.

From Naples Past and Present by Norway, Arthur H.

The Latin form of the word is gabellum, and the French gabelle.

From Notes and Queries, Number 218, December 31, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc by Bell, George

In one night it abolished tithes to the church, provincial privileges, feudal rights, serfdom, the law of primogeniture, seigniorial dues, and the gabelle, or tax on salt.

From Beacon Lights of History, Volume 09 European Statesmen by Lord, John

The gabelle, with its obligatory seven pounds of salt, approached a poll-tax in its operation.

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