Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Lord of Vandières and Cernay
Portrait de Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1655) by Philippe de Champaigne
First Minister of State
In office 9 March 1661 – 6 September 1683
Monarch	Louis XIV
Preceded by	Jules Raymond Mazarin
Succeeded by	The Marquis of Louvois
Secretary of State of the Navy
In office 7 March 1669 – 6 September 1683
Monarch	Louis XIV
Preceded by	The Marquis of Fresnes
Succeeded by	The Marquis of Seignelay
Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi
In office 16 February 1669 – 6 September 1683
Monarch	Louis XIV
Preceded by	Antoine de Ratabon
Succeeded by	The Marquis of Louvois
Controller-General of Finances
In office 12 December 1665 – 6 September 1683
Monarch	Louis XIV
Preceded by	Louis Le Tonnelier
Succeeded by	Claude Le Peletier
Personal details
Born	(1619-08-29)29 August 1619 Reims, France
Died	6 September 1683(1683-09-06) (aged 64) Paris, France
Resting place	Saint-Eustache, Paris
Spouse	Marie Charron ​ (m. 1648⁠–⁠1683)​
Children	Jean-Baptiste Jacques Nicolas Jean-Jules-Armand
Nickname(s)	Le Grand Colbert (The Great Colbert)
Academic career
Institution	Académie française Académie royale d'architecture Académie des sciences
Field	Economics Military science Architecture
School or tradition	Mercantilism
Influences	Josiah Child Barthélemy de Laffemas
Contributions	Colbertism
Awards	Order of the Holy Spirit
Signature

Jean-Baptiste Colbert (French: [ʒɑ̃.ba.tist kɔl.bɛʁ]; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the country's politics and markets, known as Colbertism, a doctrine often characterized as a variant of mercantilism, earned him the nickname le Grand Colbert ([lə ɡʁɑ̃ kɔl.bɛʁ]; "the Great Colbert").

A native of Reims, he was appointed Intendant of Finances on 4 May 1661. Colbert took over as Controller-General of Finances, a newly created position, in the aftermath of the arrest of Nicolas Fouquet for embezzlement, an event that led to the abolishment of the office of Superintendent of Finances. He worked to develop the domestic economy by raising tariffs and encouraging major public works projects, as well as to ensure that the French East India Company had access to foreign markets, so that they could always obtain coffee, cotton, dyewoods, fur, pepper, and sugar. He acted to create a favorable balance of trade and increase colonial holdings. As there was slavery in the colonies, in 1682, Colbert commissioned the beginning of a project that would become the Code Noir two years after his death in 1683.^[1] In addition, he founded France's merchant navy (marine marchande), becoming Secretary of State of the Navy in 1669.

His effective market reforms included the foundation of the Manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs in 1665 to supplant the importation of Venetian glass, which was forbidden in 1672 as soon as the national glass manufacturing industry was on sound footing. Also encouraging the technical expertise of Flemish cloth manufacturing in France, he founded royal tapestry works at Gobelins and supported those at Beauvais. He issued more than 150 edicts to regulate the guilds.^[2] The Académie des sciences was founded in 1666 at his suggestion; he was a member of the Académie française from 1 March 1667 to his death, where he occupied the 24th seat, to which Jean de La Fontaine was later elected. His son Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay (1651–1690), succeeded him as Navy Secretary.