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has biography | a une biographie
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Jean-Baptiste Colbert was Intendant of Finances, Secretary of the Maison du Roi, and State Secretary to the Navy under Louis XIV. He developed industry and trade, reorganising state finances, laws, and the navy.
The navy was a crucial military tool for French colonialism. Under Louis XIV, France was one of the most powerful colonial empires, with a large presence in North America and the Caribbean. Colbert founded the French West India Company and French East India Company in 1664. Thanks to the slave trade, the fur trade, and other resources extracted from far away lands, France experienced unprecedented commercial growth.
Louis XIV charged Colbert with writing set rules to organise slavery, which had been abolished in the kingdom in 1315, but was practised in its colonies, especially in the Caribbean. Colbert thus compiled rules sent by local governors and turned it into a piece of legislation coined the "Code Noir", which became a royal edict two years after he died.
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was born | est né
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29 August 1619
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died in | est mort par
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6 September 1683
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has nationality | a la nationalité
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France
Statue of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Paris
French East India Company