Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Seignelay

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Jean-Baptiste Antoine Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay

Jean-Baptiste Antoine Colbert , Marquis de Seignelay ( November 1, 1651 - November 3, 1690 ) was French Minister of the Navy and Minister of the Royal House.

Life

He comes from the Colbert family and was the son of the father of the same name . This prepared him strictly and systematically for his successor in the Navy Ministry. So he sent him to visit military installations and ports. In Rochefort the son had to pass a practical trial period. After that he worked under his father in the ministry. In 1670 and 1671 the son was sent to Italy and the Netherlands to study the local navy and the construction of ships. From the trip to the Netherlands in particular, he brought new knowledge with him that was suitable for modernizing the French fleet.

The knowledge seemed so valuable that Louis XIV allowed young Colbert to make arrangements with his father. Subsequently, father and son worked closely together on matters relating to both the navy and the royal house. It is often difficult to determine which of the two contributed the greater part to a measure. But the father kept the last word. The son accompanied the king on some campaigns. Since 1681 he was also responsible for the French colonies in North America as the successor to his father. There he initially continued Colbert's policy.

He was married twice. His first marriage was to Marie Marguerite d'Alegren, who died in 1678. In 1679, he married Catherine Thérèse de Goyon de Matignon Thorigny (1662–1699) in his second marriage. She was the daughter of Henri Goyon and Marie Françoise Le Tellier. The latter was a sister of Louvois . His new wife was the granddaughter of a member of the Orleans-Longueville family and thus a distant cousin of the king.

After his father's death in 1683, he succeeded him in office despite opposition, mainly caused by Louvois. He took part in some naval operations himself. This included a company against Genoa in 1684. He had the city bombarded with 10,000 incendiary bombs. It was half destroyed in the process. Operations against the barbarians in the Mediterranean and against Spain followed. Especially after the beginning of the Palatinate War of Succession , he began to strengthen and reorganize the fleet. Under his administration, the French Navy became at times the strongest in Europe. In 1689 the king made him Minister of State in recognition of his achievements. However, unlike his father, he had only viewed the navy as an instrument of power politics and not also to promote trade. Many social measures fell away under him. Half-pay, widows and orphans pensions were abolished.

He died at the age of 39, leaving five sons. The fleet quickly deteriorated after his death. His death and the death of Louvois († 1691) increased the personal power of Louis XIV.

Honors

A privateer equipped in 1779 was named after the marquis, who was taken over by the Royal Navy as HMS Marquis de Seignelay after being captured by the British in 1780 and was in service until 1786. From 1782 she was commanded by the later Vice Admiral John Hunter who participated in the exploration of Australia .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hermann Wellenreuther: Fall and Rise. History of North America from the beginning of settlement to the end of the 17th century. Münster 2004, p. 474
  2. ↑ Pierre Gaxotte: Ludwig XIV. Munich 1978, p. 50
  3. ↑ Pierre Gaxotte: Ludwig XIV. Munich 1978, p. 118
  4. ↑ Klaus Malettke: The Bourbons. Stuttgart 2008, p. 222
  5. ^ Rudolph Rittmeyer: Naval wars and naval warfare in their world-historical development. Berlin 1907, p. 423
  6. ↑ Klaus Malettke: Ludwig XIV. In: The French kings and emperors of the modern age. Munich 1994, p. 234

literature

personal data
SURNAME Seignelay, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Colbert, Jean-Baptiste Antoine; Colbert de Seignelay, Jean-Baptiste Antoine
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French minister
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1651
DATE OF DEATH November 3, 1690