You know how gullible we can be in purchasing real estate in tourist areas? King of France, Louis IX shared the same problem. We are talking about 1240... Louis has had a few good years in reaping taxes from his northern kingdom. At that time, the Franks didn't control much south of Paris... various German and Spanish principalities governed what now is southern France. But Louis hungered for the big stage... so when Pope Innocent IV wanted to put a few more Muslims to the sword, Louis saw his opportunity. He asked around to see if any mates would sell him land fronting the Mediterranean... where he planned to launch 100 ships full of Frank's finest youth who could give freedom to some bits of holy land. The Abbey Brothers of Psalmody had some malaria-ridden swamps six klms into the Rhone delta... no one wanted to live there... no crops would grow in the salt soaked soil. So, they wrote to Louis... "Have we got a deal for you... give us some of your best productive farmland around Paris... and we'll give you acre for acre the prime Mediterranean waterfront land you richly deserve." Louis jumped at the chance... how lucky can you get... no need to check on those Abbey Brothers... they're part of the Pope's flock... let's keep moving... he signed up sites unseen.
Louis soon found out he had a commercial disaster on his hands... he gave tax exemption to prospective settlers... forgave debts on condition of settling at Aigues-Mortes... but no one came. However, Louis got his PR machine into gear... assembled his 100 ships at Aigues-Mortes and told Paris how France was now a Mediterranean naval power. He sailed away and returned seven years later. In that time, silt deposits from the Rhone river changed the channels... so he could not re-land at Aigues-Mortes. He insisted that all Mediterranean shipping with French goods (for sale or purchase) had to be monitored at Aigues-Mortes. He built a couple of good roads that resulted in Aigues-Mortes becoming a strategic location. Then, Pope Innocent said it was time for another crusade... so he assembled another 100 ships and went off for another seven years.
With most walled cities, you first have the city... then you build your wall. Louis thought differently. Perhaps, if you show potential citizens a walled city, they may decide to come and live in Aigues-Mortes. In an early example of town planning, he had the streets laid out... nice and straight... meeting at right angles. He planned, and eventually built, the defensive system for the city. The final completion of the wall in 1285 was 40 years after the purchase of land. By this time Louis had transformed into a saint, Saint Louis... and gradually, the city found ways to become prosperous. One way was in building large salt farms... in all the swampy marshland surrounding Aigues-Mortes... all the produce passing through needed preservatives.
The history of Aigues-Mortes' middle ages is depressing... catholic citizens raiding protestants... and vice-versa. As the Franks gained control over wider areas of Mediterranean Coast, the strategic value of Aigues-Mortes reduced. Today, it's a great spot for tourists wanting to barge down some of the canals that criss-cross the Rhone delta. Another lovely tourist spot.
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