[1] Evidence was to be found when the French State parted the East India Company privilege (monopoly) on the slave trade.
Gournay's father was Claude Vincent, a merchant in Saint-Malo as well as a secretary to the king.
[2] Gournay didn't write much, but had a great influence on French economic thought through his conversations with many important theorists.
One of the main themes of his term in office was his opposition to government regulations because of what he saw as the way they stunted commerce.
[4] Gournay's disdain for government regulation of commerce influenced his disciple Turgot.