 Exportation of merinos without royal permission was also a punishable offense , thus ensuring a near @-@ absolute monopoly on the breed until the mid @-@ 18th century . After the breaking of the export ban , fine wool sheep began to be distributed worldwide . The export to Rambouillet by Louis XVI in 1786 formed the basis for the modern Rambouillet ( or French Merino ) breed . After the Napoleonic Wars and the global distribution of the once @-@ exclusive Spanish stocks of Merinos , sheep raising in Spain reverted to hardy coarse @-@ wooled breeds such as the Churra , and was no longer of international economic significance . 
