Just a Little About Me

My name is Jean-Baptiste Colbert. I was born in Reims, France on August 29, 1619. My father, Nicolas Colbert, was a wealthy cloth merchant. I was educated in business and held the position commissaire ordinaire des guerres in the war office at the age of 21 in 1640 due to my uncle’s marriage to the sister of the secretary of war and marquis of Louvois, Francois-Michel Le Tellier. In 1648, I married Marie Charron, the daughter of a member of the king’s council. Then, I was hired by Cardinal Mazarin in 1651 to assist him with his financial matters. Luckily for me, Mazarin took a liking to my work and introduced me to King Louis XIV in 1661. From here, my career began to rise. While Cardinal Mazarin was in exile, the king came to trust me with his financial affairs. In 1661, Mazarin died. Upon his death, I gained the king’s favor by showing him some of Mazarin’s hidden wealth. This discovery seemed to please King Louis since he was in need of money. As a result, I was appointed the Superintendent of buildings in January 1664 and became Controller-General of Finances the year after.

Economy plays a big role in my life. With my position as Controller-General of Finances, I strive to increase the wealth and power of France by emphasizing government management of economic activities. For the government to begin this task, I had to get rid of the incompetent officials first. Then, I decreased the unfair direct taxation by increasing the indirect taxes, which the elite could not avoid. This made the tax system far more efficient."The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers with the least amount of hissing." In 1669, I was given the title Secretary of State of the Navy, which I used to build shipyards, arsenals, and harbors. I also attempted to improve the French trade and commerce by creating and protecting French industries, encouraging exports, and restricting imports. Making sure that French products were of the same or higher quality and quantity than goods from other countries was essential to my goal of increasing King Louis XIV’s revenues.

Religion, on the other hand, is not one of my greatest concerns. However, I did participate in the dispute between the King Louis XIV and the papacy due to my hatred of inactivity. I tried to decrease the number of useless clergy members by increasing the minimum age required for taking vows. Besides that, I reluctantly began to suppress heresy when the king decided to make all of France Catholic. With the motto “One king, one law, one faith,” King Louis felt it was necessary for France to have only one religion in order to maintain his absolute power. I played along to please the king, but I knew that the Huguenots were an important part of the merchant class, and I feared that their absence would harm French economy.

Culture, including art and literature, is another one of my interests. I own a private library filled with the most remarkable manuscripts of Europe. I also founded the Academy of Sciences and the Paris Observatory while promoting the French Academy. In addition to that, I reorganized Mazarin’s Academy of Painting and Sculpture and became a member of the Académie française. I provided money for many talented men and helped to decorate the Louvre with painting and sculptures.

Cardinal Mazarin's Death

March 9, 1661

Alas, all of my hard work is starting to pay off. While Cardinal Mazarin was in hiding after escaping Paris due to the success of the Conde family in 1651 during the period of the wars of the Fronde, I was responsible for keeping him updated about the occurrences in his absence.  Cardinal Mazarin saw me as a mere agent. However, I proved him wrong and earned his liking, as well as an immense amount of wealth. To show my thanks to the cardinal, I published a letter denouncing the false attacks on his ungratefulness. Slowly but surely, I gained Cardinal Mazarin’s confidence and was trusted with his most important matters. A while ago, I drew up a memoire, which illustrated that of the taxes paid by the people not even half profited the king. I also brought to Cardinal Mazarin’s attention the mismanagement of the superintendent of finance. Today, Cardinal Mazarin passed away. His death has benefitted me, for I can now take his first place in the administration.

Nicolas Fouquet, on the other hand, has gotten what he deserves. By using his position as superintendent of finance to benefit his own wealth, Fouquet had put the state’s treasury in jeopardy. King Louis XIV finally arrested him after I had brought this issue to his attention. Fouquet’s failure pleases me, for I despise useless people who do nothing to benefit the state. I also advance due to his defeat. The king has come to trust me more and more.

My French Marine

November 11, 1669

The establishment of the French marine is well under its way. This project excites me, for I feel it will become one of my greatest achievements. Although King Louis XIV desires military glory and takes a huge interest in waging wars, he has never made an effort to create a strong, organized army. As his Secretary of State of the Navy, I felt that "the chief end that he should set himself is to make himself agreeable to the king, he should work with great industry, during his whole life to know well what might be agreeable to His Majesty." As a result, I have reconstructed the works and arsenal of Toulon, founded the port and arsenal of Rochefort, and the naval schools of Rochefort, Dieppe and Saint-Malo, and fortified, with some assistance from Vauban (who, however, belonged to the party of my rival, Louvois), among other ports those of Calais, Dunkirk, Brest and Havre.

It caught my attention that the new marine needed reliable recruits. Consequently, I spent today drawing up a system of classes. In my system, each seaman was to give six months of service every three to five years. For three months after his term of service the seaman was to receive half-pay with pensions promised. I hoped this system would serve to make the navy more popular. To obtain even more seamen, I have sent out letters to judges, asking that they sentence more criminals to the oar. I also plan to force beggars, slaves, and Iroquois Indians into the harsh marine service.

A Meeting with Giovanni Domencio Cassini

June 18, 1673

Literature and art fascinate me greatly. These are the only things that could possibly distract me from my main focus on improving French economy through my mercantilist views. Today, I met up with Giovanni Domenico Cassini. Having appointed him the superintendent of the Observatory that I had founded, I wanted to see how things were progressing. He entertained me by relating to me the discoveries and happenings that occurred throughout his life and at the Observatory.

I found out a great deal about the life of this Italo-French astronomer. He had been educated by Jesuits at Genoa and was nominated in 1650 as the professor of astronomy in the University of Bologna. He observed and wrote a treatise on the comet of 1652 and was employed by the senate of Bologna as the hydraulic engineer. Later on, Cassini was appointed by Pope Alexander VII as inspector of fortifications in 1657, and subsequently became the director of waterways in the papal states. I had hired him as superintendent because of his popularity for determining the rotation periods of Jupiter, Mars, and Venus by 1667. Although his appointment was supposedly temporary, Cassini was naturalized today as a French subject. His abilities to contribute to scientific discovery seem vast, so I have encouraged him to continue his observations with my patronage. I hope that my support of the arts will receive countless praises. I believe the enhancing of French culture is also essential to the success of French economy.

Depression...Death?

September 6, 1683

Sigh. I am a failure. My persistence in trying to end Dutch power over the Far Eastern and European trade has cost me my whole life’s work. At first, I had tried to weaken the Dutch with a menacing tariff war; however, the Dutch remained unmoved. As a result, I foolishly encouraged Louis XIV’s invasion of Holland in 1672, hoping that the Dutch would be defeated within a few weeks’ time. I was wrong. The war lasted until 1679, and I saw, with an aching heart, the French economy struggle as my past accomplishments were undermined. Instead of relieving France from the heavy taxes and debt as I had originally planned to do, I added onto the state’s ever-increasing burdens.

My rival, Louvois, continues to contribute to my shame and defeat. King Louis XIV has turned his back on me for Louvois. I feel as if my life is coming to an end. Fevers have haunted me since 1680. I was relieved of my pains as a result of an English physician’s prescription of quinine, only to be doomed again by this deadly illness which I now have. Cold-heartedly, the king did criticize me today. His favor of Louvois has broken my heart completely. I understand and admit my failure relating the Dutch incident; however, King Louis XIV chose to stab my heart today with the finding of more faults in me. He says that Louvois’s constructions in Flander surpass my works in Versailles by far. I am a disgrace. Oh, the pain inflicted upon me by the king and this sickness is too much for me to bear. September 6, 1683 – this shall be my very last entry on this blog.