How did Jean-Baptiste Colbert obtain crews for the French Mediterranean galley fleet?

To man the French Mediterranean galley fleet, Jean-Baptiste Colbert utilized a variety of coercive methods to secure manpower. He encouraged magistrates to sentence common criminals to serve as galley slaves. Furthermore, he had no moral hesitation in utilizing other sources of labor, including political offenders, Protestants, and individuals seized as slaves from Africa and Canada.1

This approach to staffing the navy was part of his broader effort to establish France as a great power at sea, which also involved the construction of arsenals and the fortification of key ports.1