We take roads for granted. Their importance only appears to us when they are missing, whether they are actually missing to reach a place (an exotic region, a mountain, a monument…), which is then considered as out of reach; or whether they are momentarily cut off (by a natural disaster, a strike, protest roadblocks) And yet there was a time when these thoroughfares didn't exist. This text aims at showing their genesis.

Roads are only a necessity if there are exchanges. On the other hand, their presence makes these exchanges possible. So the history of roads is linked to the history of conveyed goods, to geography, geology, climatology, to the different types of vehicles they carry, to the concurrent means of conveyance, to areas, available resources and to the politics of companies. Roads are part of a technical system: their alignment, their construction, their maintenance and their operation require political, economic and financial reflections and various and variable knowledge and techniques all through the development of the companies which create and use them. That's why this essay isn't strictly restricted to road engineering despite its briefness.

But this text doesn't claim to be exhaustive. Besides missing information due to the author's ignorance, there are many facts that aren't known yet and the trace of so many others has vanished forever! Therefore the article will deal more specifically with roads in France. Moreover, as data about the most ancient times is rare, as in many other subjects, the proportion available from different ages will be quite uneven.

The subject is restricted to our planet, although actually there have been vehicles moving on the Moon or on Mars, but they have been exploration vehicles without any road. Marginal cases such as submergible roads, traffic (of road or even railroad vehicles) on frozen water won't be touched. Only roads built on permanently emerging ground will be dealt with. Islands where no long distance road can be built and where coastal navigation often is an important rival will only be exceptionally mentioned. The countless military campaigns only seldom lead to specific road construction (except for earthworks on problematic grounds). However, conquests often imply the construction of roads. Such manoeuvres are only referred to when they have a repercussion on roads.

Regarding form, the sizes are given in metric units, even when this may appear as an anachronism, and the dates are given according to the usual calendar, even during the French revolution. This essay is about the history of techniques, implying use of quantitative data and the respect of these rules will make historical comparisons easier. Lastly, the references, which would have made the essay appear more pedantic, have been left out because of the lack of space. The same goes unfortunately for the tables and figures.

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