Bazacle Milling Company
| Company type | Joint-stock company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Milling |
| Fate | Subsidiary |
| Parent | Électricité de France |
Société des Moulins du Bazacle, also known as the Bazacle Company, is a historic French watermill enterprise initiated in Toulouse during the 12th century by local inhabitants to collectively manage a series of mills situated at the Bazacle location. These mills were dedicated to converting wheat from the Toulouse Plain into flour and are recognized as the earliest documented European joint-stock company.
Origins
The Bazacle mills utilized the energy of the Garonne River and were in operation by 1070, starting as floating mills mounted on boats or pontoons, which were later replaced by fixed mills on land around 1190. These sizable wooden constructions came to symbolize Toulouse's economic vitality. By the 18th century, the Bazacle mills had gained European acclaim for their technological advancements and were cited in the Encyclopedia of Diderot and d'Alembert.
Beginning in 1152, Toulouse’s chief magistrates, known as the capitouls, administered the mills. A document dated 1177 from the Priory of la Daurade granted permission for their operation near Toulouse, then a city of approximately 50,000 inhabitants and a significant cereal-producing region. Nearly sixty robust oak and iron mills extended across three fords of the Garonne—Daurade, Château Narbonnais, and Bazacle—anchored on reinforced piles to optimize hydraulic power from a four-meter river drop.
Central to this infrastructure was the Bazacle dam, stretching 400 meters and built using oak trunks embedded into the riverbed. In 1183, the Count of Toulouse authorized this causeway that connected both banks of a river over one hundred meters wide. Adjacent floating mills further harnessed river currents. To improve water circulation behind the mills, industrialists constructed levees that required continual upkeep due to flood damage. The substantial expenses for building and maintenance prompted mill owners to unite, forming an early joint-stock venture.
Disputes with Daurade Mills
Situated downstream from the Moulins de la Daurade, the Bazacle mills had considerable influence over them by modifying their causeway's height. Between 1278 and 1329, Daurade proprietors attempted unsuccessfully to raise their causeway at the expense of Château mills. Arbitration in 1316 limited Bazacle’s causeway elevation.
Following a flood in 1346 that destroyed Moulins du Château and damaged Daurade mills, Bazacle shareholders received authorization in 1356 to rebuild their causeway at a higher level. This action obstructed Daurade's operations, sparking legal conflicts. Although Daurade won a ruling in 1358, enforcement was postponed until 1366 when Bazacle was ordered to reduce their causeway height and pay 1,000 livres tournois. Despite settling this amount in 1367, Daurade's mills remained nonfunctional for several years. Further efforts by Daurade shareholders in 1380 to enforce rulings failed due to prolonged appeals and diminishing support, concluding with their withdrawal by 1408.
Operations
To finance dam construction, millers established a company that issued notarized investment certificates called uchaux. These anonymous shares functioned similarly to modern stocks, allowing easy transferability. Over time, ownership transitioned from millers to Toulouse’s bourgeoisie seeking lucrative investments.
The company consisted of 96 uchaux, which could be freely traded without requiring approval from other partners. Share values fluctuated based on mill productivity. From 1372 onward, Société des Moulins de Bazacle held ownership of both mills and causeways, distributing profits among shareholders. Each uchaux entitled its holder to one-sixteenth of fees collected from peasants grinding wheat.
The Bazacle mills achieved significant prosperity; shareholders—referred to as pariers—received income proportional to their shares, representing one of Europe's earliest joint-stock enterprises. This monopoly endured until the 19th century. By the late 1700s, Toulouse authorized related industries nearby such as nine starch factories (amidonniers), five tanneries, and two paper mills.
Celebrated across Europe for technical innovation, the Bazacle mills were featured in Diderot and d'Alembert’s Encyclopedia. In 1771, dividends paid in kind totaled 120,000 pounds of flour annually. Cash dividends began only in 1840 with establishment of the Société Anonyme du Moulin du Bazacle.
Modern history
The Société Anonyme du Moulin du Bazacle was founded in 1840. By 1886, it had been transformed into one of France's pioneering hydroelectric power stations, evolving into the Toulouse Electricity Company.
In 1876, the firm issued 135 additional shares that held the same rights as the existing ones. A decade later, in 1887, the Bazacle premises and equipment were leased to the Toulouse Electricity Company (STE). Electricity produced at the mills was transmitted through an underground network serving various factories along the Canalet, including the Boyer-Fonfrède cotton mill and the Garrigou scythe factory, which employed approximately 500 workers at its height.
By 1888, the Bazacle mill had been converted into a hydroelectric facility by the Toulouse Power Corporation. In 1910, the Toulouse Electricity Company merged with Société Anonyme du Moulin du Bazacle to create the Toulousaine Electricity Company of the Bazacle (STE), which later came under the control of the Reille group via the Pyrenean Electric Power Company.
Following nationalization in 1946, ownership of its infrastructure transferred to EDF, which continues to operate these installations.
During the 20th century, industrial plants along the Garonne gradually ceased operations. The tobacco factory, a significant industrial establishment producing over 2,300 tons annually during the 1950s and employing nearly 2,000 workers—predominantly women—in 1910, was among them. Production of Ninas brand cigarillos ended in 1979, and the factory permanently closed in 1987, marking the conclusion of industrial activity on Toulouse’s Garonne riverbanks.
The Bazacle stands as a testament to Toulouse’s economic development through almost a thousand years of industrial endeavors. In recent years, it has been adapted into a venue for cultural engagement and exploration.
Today’s hydroelectric station functions with a water flow rate of 90 m³/s, a hydraulic head ranging from 4 to 4.7 meters, and an installed capacity reaching 3,000 kilowatts.