People from the Netherlands in France during the Renaissance (1480-1560)

The French kings had the power of the right of escheat. In other words, the property belonging to a person born outside the French territory becomes t he King's property when this person dies. To liberate foreigners from this right, the King could award them a Letter of Naturality. In this paper, I s elected the Letters of Naturality awarded by Francois I (1515-1547) to the people from the Netherlands. The data provided by the King's acts answer a certain number of questions regarding this immigration: how does the need f or these letters develop over the period? Where do the men from the Netherl ands come from? Where do they settle? What professions do they pursue? In o rder to see if this image corresponds to the other data betokening the pres ence of the people from the Netherlands in France, I used the data availabl e on the immigration, based on secondary literature and published sources, over the 1480-1560 period. At the same time this paper provides a compariso n with the immigration of Italians to France at the Renaissance. One may co nclude that the man from the Netherlands was, all things considered, a well -known figure in France and that his presence could take many shapes and be seen in various locations.