biography
| name: |
Colbert, Jean Baptiste
|
pronunciation:
[kolbair]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1619–83)
|
| biography:
| French statesman, born in Reims, NE France. In 1651 he entered the service of Mazarin, and became the chief financial minister of Louis XIV (1661). He found the finances in a ruinous condition, and introduced a series of successful reforms, doubling the revenue in 10 years. He reorganized the colonies, provided a strong fleet, improved the civil code, and introduced a marine code. The Academies of Inscriptions, Science, and Architecture were founded by him, and he became a patron of industry, commerce, art, science, and literature. However, his successes were undone by wars and court extravagance, and he died bitterly disappointed. |
|
|
