![](https://www.historynet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/AMHP-191200-CANALS-02.jpg)
Drawing of the lock at Negra on the Canal du Midi, a pioneering project that link the Atlantic to the Mediterranean via the Garonne River in southern France. (Andreossy, Francois/Service Historique de la Marine, Vincennes, France/Archive Charmet/Bridgeman Images)