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Why did Colbert create French trading companies?
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Louis XIV
Portrait of King Louis XIV, by Charles Le Brun, c. 1655.
Jean-Baptiste Colbert, serving under Louis XIV, established French trading companies as part of his mercantilist strategy to increase French national power and wealth. His primary motivations included:12
- Reducing Dutch Hegemony: Colbert sought to decrease France’s dependence on the Dutch, who dominated international trade at the time. He was particularly concerned about the large amounts of cash French citizens paid to the Dutch for Asian goods and wanted France to capture those profits directly.12
- Expanding Commercial Reach: By forming state-backed chartered companies, such as the French East India Company (founded in 1664), he aimed to secure monopolies for French commerce abroad and build a merchant fleet capable of transporting high-quality French goods to foreign markets.132
- Economic Self-Sufficiency: Colbert believed that a favorable balance of trade and the accumulation of precious metals were essential for national enrichment. He intended for these companies to create colonial markets protected by a strong navy, thereby supplementing his domestic industrial reforms.2