Ministère de la Marine
The Ministère de la Marine was a ministry or department of the French government that administered the navy, the colonies and seaborne trade. Established in 1669 under the charge of the Secrétaire d'État à la Marine and initially housed at Versailles, it was divided into bureaux headed by premiers commis or 'first clerks'. From 1790 it was known generally titled the Ministère de la Marine et des Colonies with several variations including Ministère de la Marine to the end of the nineteenth century.
The Ministère de la Marine was responsible for the production of charts and relevant maritime publications such as Francois-Edmond Pâris' 1841-1843 Essai sur la construction navale des peuples extra-européens or Essay on non-European naval architecture.
