page_title: Annonay
section_title: 17th–18th centuries
hierarchical_section_title: Annonay / History / 17th–18th centuries
context_page_description: Annonay is a French commune in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the capital which is the smaller town of Privas.
context_section_description: Catholicism became the new majority in the capital of Upper Vivarais due to the massive influx of foreign population. Reconstruction of the Church of Notre Dame was undertaken with a constrained budget. Meanwhile, the Trachin Chapel, the only intact religious building, became the parish church. A Protestant church was built in the district of the Place Saint-Ursula. In September 1601 Annonay received a visit by the future Saint Francis de Sales and a little later from the future Saint John Francis Regis. The reconstruction of the city was characterized by the arrival of new religious communities and the creation of educational institutions such as the Convent of Santa Maria. A new hospital, joining the medieval structures of Notre-Dame La Belle and Notre-Dame de  l'Aumône was created on 16 March 1686 at the Champ-de-Mars.
  In 1685 the revocation of the Edict of Nantes affected Annonay. Protestants who were at that time 50% of the population had to choose between exile, abjuration, or to continue practicing their religion in secret. The Protestants were mostly artisans, manufacturers, wine-growers, and traders. A century later a census showed that there were only 7% Protestants mostly from the upper classes.
  The paper industry was started in Annonay in the 17th century with the Montgolfiers, papermakers originating from Auvergne, installed at Vidalon-lès-Annonay (today a hamlet in the commune of Davézieux). The Johannot, another Auvergne family, had been settled in Faya since 1634. Attracted to the water quality, the driving force of the rivers, and the abundance of raw materials (rags), they imported technological innovations from Holland: e.g. the Dutch pile.
  In the maze of streets and small squares of Annonay, there was progress with the commissioning in 1726 of four public fountains fed by captive water sources.
  In 1780 industrial production was booming: 25,000 cow hides and 500,000 sheep skins were processed by the tanneries. Paper mills produced 300 tons of paper. This success did not go smoothly: the employment in great numbers of the best workers by Montgolfier caused a scarcity of labor and demands for wage increases. There was a strike for two months in the Vidalon Workshop in late 1781 after a long period of tension between the employer and his employees, the first lost the best of his workforce through his intransigent attitude at a time when fights between gavots and journeymen were common.
  In 1781, the term Bailiage was changed to Sénéchaussée.
  On 14 December 1782, thanks to Etienne and Joseph Montgolfier, the first balloon rose above Vidalon-lès-Annonay. It consisted of a large paper bag lined with cloth placed over a fire of wet straw and wool. It remained however a private experience: the first public official flight in a hot air balloon took place on 4 June 1783 at Annonay, or precisely from the Place des Cordeliers – in front of a chosen public: the Members of State particularly of Vivarais. Several other inventions are credited to Joseph Montgolfier: the hydraulic ram, the method of manufacture of Wove paper and filter paper, called joseph paper.
  Annonay developed through trade. It benefited from an improved road network (even if it was as a result of the revolt of camisards). In 1787 Annonay had 130 merchants for about 7,000 inhabitants. Among them: 11 drapers, 11 clothiers, 26 grocers, 3 goldsmiths, 26 shoe merchants, and 28 tailors. At the same time, the Catholic parish of the city was headed by a priest-archpriest, and vicars. The college of canons was composed of the prior and twelve canons. The monastery of the Poor Clares had twelve nuns and two lay sisters, the Convent of Santa Maria had thirty nuns and four lay sisters. Adding to this religious presence was the pastor of the Protestant community.
caption: The first flight of the Montgolfière balloon
exif: {}