Finance & Economy

Good degree of success

• He increased revenue for the crown
  •  detection of false nobles
  • excelent management of crown lands
  • very careful accounting- via daily journal- less corruption
• Made the system fairer & more managable which reduced corruption
  • created United Farms- all tax farmer had to join- greater supervision/ reduction of taille/ clergy had to increase don gratuit- all this doubled the crown's income

BUT

• Due to Dutch War, by Colbert's death, debt was 28 million livres
• 
• Many good reforms were reversed to pay for war (resell crownlands)
• Doesn't completely overhaul financial system. Priviliged classes did not pay the taille

2 key ministers did introduce radical financial reforms

• PONTCHARTRAIN: introduced capitation in 1695- to help fund 9 yrs war. Population was divided into 22 classes, people paid based on principle of ability to pay and ALL classes had to pay
• DESMERETZ: introduced Tenth (Dixieme)- 1700- it was to fund warof Spanish Succession. Also based on ability to pay

BUT

• Not enough to pay for the wars- debt in 1715 was 2,200 million
• 
• Both taxes were temporary

TRADE & INDUSTRY- Good degree of success/ variety of reforms introduced

• Development of new industries- eg. silk industries at Lyons/ Gobelins tapestry works/ Van Robais woolen industry
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• Improved communication- roads & cannals
• Tariff policies to protect French markets
• Used skillful immigrants
• SUCCESS?- Yes- valuable income/ profits for luxury market/ long term benefits of improved communications

BUT

• Nobles didn't invest
• Luxury market was hit first in Depression
• Some trading companies failed
• Dutch + Eng still superior to French at trading

TRADE & INDUSTRY

• LOUVOIS + his military approach to Huguenots in 1685 led to 200,000 of them fleeing. Several towns badly hit, like 7,000 of the 12,000 silk workers left Lyons
  • This was a huge loss of skilled workers, tax payers, employers + loyal citizens. It also meant that Louis' enemies benefitted- Eng/ Holland/ Brandenburg as well as the fact that lengthy wars + economic depression affected growth of trade & industry
  • 
• 
• CHAMILLART: 1700- Council of Commerce- allowed merchants to trade with enemy when at war

• None of Louis' economic minsters were interested in agriculture because of their belief in mercantilism
• 
• None of them introduced reforms to insist that nobles invested in their lands- no new methods of farming, therefore there were many problems, eg. soil erosion, no support during femines- caused by harvest failures in 1670s/1690s/1700s- this led to starvation amongst the poor, whole communities in debt and by 1700s people resorted to cannibalism
• A SCANDAL FOR A COUNTRY AS RICH AS FRANCE