The History of Hemp - Hemp: Industrial Production and Uses - page 18

Indies and the USA. In 1794, this allowed a
convoy of 200 ships carrying wheat to reach
the port of Brest. The navy also prepared a
landing in Ireland and organized an expedition
to Egypt in May-October 1798, which con-
sisted of several hundred boats that were
later annihilated at Aboukir. In Boulogne, they
also prepared for the unlikely invasion of
England. All this activity translated itself into an
immense demand for hemp.
The English had the same problem. When
Napoleon I chose to impose a continental
blockade on England in 1806, England's
supply of hemp became compromised. She
would, in consequence, open up the Baltic sea
ports by force in order to secure supplies from
the Baltic states. In order to facilitate this,
England brought pressure on Russia to detach
itself from Napoleon in return for subsidies.
During this time, hemp became a com-
modity of great strategic importance. The fol-
lowing testimony will therefore come as no
surprise.
In 1812, Napoleon I embarked on his dis-
astrous Russian campaign (18 June-18
December 1812). The captain of the Haute
Marne region executed the orders he had
received from his minister, and therefore from
the Emperor. These dealt specifically with the
production of hemp, as this was a material of
strategic importance.
The following give some idea of the
information sought:

• Number of people involved in the hackling

and scutching (including their daily rate)
Number of metres of canvas produced •

and its different varieties
Number of weavers and spinners •

• Price paid for the fibre, etc.

One can sense on reading this the same
imperial precision as that in evidence in the
writing of the Concordat of the Civil and
Commercial Codes (1807).
In his answer 20 of 1 September 1812, the
mayor of Orge (a commune of the Haute
Marne), specified, in what appeared to be
congratulatory terms, that flax was not grown
within the territory of his commune: the impor-
tance of hemp to the Emperor and ancient
artillery officer, Napoleon, was clear.

2.6 Hemp in the 19th and early

20th Century

By the 19th century, statistical records became
readily available. 21 These are precise, meticu-
lous even, and allow us to identify exactly what
crops are cultivated. In particular, they allow us
to follow the evolution of hemp production
throughout the century and see how produc-
tion is affected by the development of new
technologies and techniques.
For 1890, 1891 and 1914, the tonnage
totals both hemp and flax. Table 2.1 shows a
reduction in hemp production, both in terms of
hemp produced and land under hemp cultiva-
tion. Several explanations can be put forward
for this trend, including scientific, technical and
technological change.
The 19th century was to see a number of
important inventions that would change
the entire world dramatically, including the

• Price of 1 ha of hemp

• Amount of taxes per hectare

• Cost of labour and other preparations

• Price of hemp seed stock

• Cost of weeding, pulling the hemp and

retting it
Cost of hackling and scutching •

Table 2.1. The raw materials of textiles (Renouard, 1909).

1830 1840 1852 1862 1871 1889 1890 1891 1914

Hectares 175,000 176,148 123,352 100,114 96,395 53,825 51,990 51,602 12,500

Fibre (t) a 67,507 64,173 57,433 49,099 ND b 61,300 39,500 32,700

Note: a This series of figures is interesting but does not truly reflect the actual tonnage. In effect, 1-2 t of fibre are
produced per hectare. Given the surface area under cultivation, the production of fibre certainly exceeds the figures
presented above. Auto-consumption will, by its very nature, fail to appear in the accounts.