Editing Soap (section)

===16th–17th century===
In France, by the second half of the 16th century, the semi-industrialized professional manufacture of soap was concentrated in a few centers of [[Provence]]—[[Toulon]], [[Hyères]], and [[Marseille]]—which supplied the rest of France.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Nef, John U. |year=1936 |title=A Comparison of Industrial Growth in France and England from 1540 to 1640: III |journal=The Journal of Political Economy |volume=44 |issue=5 |pages=643–666 (660ff.) |doi=10.1086/254976 |jstor=1824135 |s2cid=222453265}}</ref> In Marseilles, by 1525, production was concentrated in at least two factories, and soap production at Marseille tended to eclipse the other Provençal centers.<ref>Barthélemy, L. (1883) "La savonnerie marseillaise", noted by Nef 1936:660 note 99.</ref>

English manufacture tended to concentrate in London.<ref>Nef 1936:653, 660.</ref> The demand for high-quality hard soap was significant enough during the Tudor period that barrels of ashes were imported for the manufacture of soap.<ref name=":1" />

Finer soaps were later produced in Europe from the 17th century, using vegetable oils (such as [[olive oil]]) as opposed to animal fats. Many of these soaps are still produced, both industrially and by small-scale artisans. [[Castile soap]] is a popular example of the vegetable-only soaps derived from the oldest "white soap" of Italy. In 1634 Charles I granted the newly formed Society of Soapmakers a monopoly in soap production who produced certificates from 'foure Countesses, and five Viscountesses, and divers other Ladies and Gentlewomen of great credite and quality, besides common Laundresses and others', testifying that 'the New White Soap washeth whiter and sweeter than the Old Soap'.<ref>Keith Thomas, 'Noisomeness,' ''London Review of Books'', Vol. 42, No. 14, 16 July 2020.</ref>

During the [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration era]] (February 1665 – August 1714) a soap tax was introduced in England, which meant that until the mid-1800s, soap was a luxury, used regularly only by the well-to-do. The soap manufacturing process was closely supervised by revenue officials who made sure that soapmakers' equipment was kept under lock and key when not being supervised. Moreover, soap could not be produced by small makers because of a law that stipulated that soap boilers must manufacture a minimum quantity of one imperial ton at each boiling, which placed the process beyond the reach of the average person. The soap trade was boosted and deregulated when the tax was repealed in 1853.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Soap Tax |url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/27th-april-1833/14/the-soap-tax |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324084455/http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/27th-april-1833/14/the-soap-tax |archive-date=24 March 2017 |access-date=23 March 2017 |website=The Spectator Archive |publisher=The Spectator, London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Repeal of the Soap Tax |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1838/apr/03/repeal-of-the-soap-tax |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324084015/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1838/apr/03/repeal-of-the-soap-tax |archive-date=24 March 2017 |access-date=23 March 2013 |date=3 April 1838 |website=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hansard |first1=Thomas Curson |title=Hansard's Parliamentary Debates |date=1864 |publisher=Forgotten Books |isbn=9780243121328 |location=Uxbridge, England |pages=363–374}}</ref>