Colbert's Mercantilist System

Timeline

1. 1661Paris · FranceAfter Louis XIV assumed personal rule, he appointed Colbert superintendent of finances, who set about reforming the royal treasury, combating corruption, and implementing state-led economic policies, launching the mercantilist system.
2. c. 1664–1670Manufactories across France · FranceColbert carried out tariff reform, establishing five major tariff zones and gradually unifying the tax system, while funding royal manufactories producing luxury goods, silk, glass, and weapons, replacing import dependence with export orientation.
3. 1664–1670Le Havre · NormandyThe French East India Company was founded in 1664 with a monopoly on Eastern trade. Colbert simultaneously strengthened the navy and merchant fleet, making France the most important overseas trade competitor besides Britain and the Netherlands in the 1660s.
4. c. 1665–1670Caribbean colonies · French coloniesColbert viewed colonies as sources of raw materials and markets for goods, regulating trade flows through the Colonial Code, and built naval ports and fleets with state subsidies, forming a mercantilist state apparatus integrating trade, industry, and military power.