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.