On the way from Paris to Brittany, Georgiana's strongest impression was of wilderness.
Traveling by water was actually much more convenient than going overland, since Rouen was also on the Seine, but Bonaparte insisted on riding horseback.
Vast primeval forests might have been beautiful natural scenery to modern people, but they were far less wonderful for those who lived within them.
City walls offered a degree of protection, not only against foreign enemies but also against wild beasts. Yet Cardinal Richelieu had ordered the walls torn down, including Rouen's walls.
From 1764 to 1767, a giant wolf appeared in Gévaudan, France, and more than a hundred people died beneath its claws. The area lay in southeastern France, near the Pyrenees, and was likewise a densely forested, extremely wild place.
Rouen had built quite a few ships lately, so it must have felled many trees as well. That meant the first step of land reclamation—cutting down trees—had already been completed. The land could be used to build houses or for agriculture.
Brittany's soil needed fertilizer to grow crops such as wheat. In other words, pastures and wheat fields had to coexist. Apple trees, by comparison, did not require so much trouble.
There were many plants in the forest, but not all of them had economic value, nor were all of them edible.
In short, the reclaimed land needed to be assessed, as did its potential income. If loans were to be issued, certain industries might need subsidies. These were all tasks for the mayor and civil servants.
Agriculture absorbed a great deal of labor, especially since those vagrants who truly had nothing first needed to find work.
Sending them to factories would increase production capacity and worsen the already severe industrial problems.
Stability was the prerequisite for development. The German regions