Daniel Dessert, specialist of 17th Century finance, shows how the salt tax (Gabelle) gave rise to a complex network of debt and credit, involving nobility, bankers and entrepreneurs. He claims the “absolute state” was actually more dependent on this network than on the sovereign. Richelieu, Mazarin and Colbert grasped power for themselves and their relatives by exploiting the system of private exploitation of the Gabelle and the maritime, Atlantic economy of France. Fouquet’s fall, and Colbert’s takeover, show how one clan replaces the other. In sum, an image not very different from finance in later times. Finance and value are built on trust, and ultimately in relationships between established players and their “atoms” or “molecules” as Dessert labels close-knit groups. ( )