Overview

Civilizations depend on water supply, and since ancient times people have sought ways of building channels to hold water that would circumvent natural barriers both to the supply of water and to navigation. The Romans and Charlemagne dreamed of a way to transport merchandise that would avoid having to detour around the coast of Spain or risking attack by Barbary pirates. The solution appeared in the seventeenth century in the form of the Midi Canal.

Background

The Briare Canal in France, constructed by Adam de Crappone (1526-1576), was the first important watershed canal in the West. A watershed is a ridge of high land that divides areas drained by different river systems. On his return to France in 1516, Francis I (1494-1547) discussed with Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) a watershed canal between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The...