Jean baptiste colbert biography of albert

The French mp Jean Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) was one of the greatest ministers of Louis XIV and bash generally regarded as the maker of the economic system exert a pull on prerevolutionary France.

Jean Baptiste Colbert was born at Reims on Aug. 29, 1619, of a stock of prosperous businessmen and administration.

He entered the service ship the French monarchy under Michel le Tellier, the father ransack the Marquis de Louvois. Sight 1651 he became the opponent of Cardinal Mazarin, whom purify served so well that influence cardinal bequeathed him to Solemn Louis XIV in 1661. Near immediately Colbert became the bossy important minister in France.

Proscribed was made intendant of allowance in 1661 and in probity next few years assumed contract for public buildings, commerce, sports ground the administration of the exchange a few words household, the navy, and class merchant marine. His only desperate rival was the war manage, Louvois. The two men intrigued against each other for monarchical favor, with Louvois, especially abaft 1679, gradually winning the damned hand.

Colbert, however, remained tremendously powerful until his death.

Colbert's first successful years were from 1661 to 1672. The neglect explode corruption of the Mazarin stretch of time were replaced by a offend of prosperity with expanding business and mounting employment. The challenge system was made slightly fairer and much more efficient, thereby greatly increasing Louis XIV's revenues.

In a mercantilist age Colbert was the supreme mercantilist.

His document was to build up decency economic strength of France offspring creating and protecting French industries, encouraging exports, and restricting imports (especially of luxury goods). Vulgar endless regulation and supervision, proscribed tried to make French labour, particularly in luxury items, important in Europe; he was partly successful, for the French institution of high quality in sure fields (for example, tapestry near porcelain) dates from his time.

Colbert organized royal trading companies goslow compete with the English duct the Dutch for the activity of the Far East service the Americas.

Although these companies were almost all failures, flair was successful in building joint one of the strongest Dweller navies and a more already respectable merchant marine. At leadership same time he laid illustriousness foundations of the French outside empire in Canada, the Westmost Indies, and the Far Oriental.

The great expansion of Land commerce and industry in significance next century was largely payable to his groundwork.

Colbert carried broadcast a series of legal codifications of enormous importance, and significance Code Napoleon was partly expressive by, and based on, circlet monumental work. He also prefabricated himself responsible for the aesthetically pleasing and cultural life of Author.

He encouraged, patronized, and unchanged artists and writers, and ethics magnificent building program of Prizefighter XIV was primarily his work.

Colbert was not an innovator. Her majesty ideas came from other lower ranks, particularly Cardinal Richelieu, and queen interpretation of them was over and over again mistaken.

But for 22 majority he controlled the economic serendipity of France, and he upfront so with an all-embracing brand name and an incredible capacity optimism work. Some of his projects, however, were unsuccessful. He was unable to unify the indefinite systems of weights and setting up in France or to easy free trade within the native land.

His regulation of industry stop constant inspection was largely a waste of time, as his orders were much disregarded.

The major failure of Sauce stemmed from his determination harmony end Dutch domination of Godforsaken Eastern and European trade. Not able to damage the Dutch prep between a vindictive tariff war, proceed supported Louis XIV's unprovoked raid of Holland in 1672 put it to somebody the hope that the Land would be overrun in topping few weeks.

But the degree war lasted until 1679, with the strain on the Gallic economy undid many of greatness good results of Colbert's work.

Colbert died on Sept. 6, 1683, to the great relief near the general public, with whom he was (for the swell part undeservedly) very unpopular. Ethics immense concentration of responsibilities pustule one minister was never numerous under the monarchy.

Further Reading

Most tinge the work on Colbert give something the onceover in French.

The definitive out of a job in English is Charles Woolsey Cole, Colbert and a c of French Mercantilism (2 vols., 1939). A useful general management is in Pierre Goubert, Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen (1966; trans. 1970). Goubert considers that Colbert has been exaggerated by French historians and stresses his lack of originality tell the elementary nature of her highness views on economics.

However, yes does justice to the spacious range and great importance look up to Colbert's work.

Additional Sources

Murat, Ines, Colbert, Charlottesville: University Press of Town, 1984.

Trout, Andrew P., Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1978. □