Nicolas Fouquet
| Nicolas Fouquet | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Charles Le Brun
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| Born |
27 January 1615 Paris |
| Died | 23 March 1680 (aged 65) Pignerol |
| Nationality | France |
| Known for | Superintendent of Finances in France |
Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux (27 January 1615 – 23 March 1680) was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV. He had a glittering career, and acquired enormous wealth. He fell out of favor, accused of peculation (maladministration of the state's funds) and lèse-majesté (actions harmful to the well-being of the monarch). The king had him imprisoned from 1661 until his death in 1680.
Nicolas Fouquet was born in Paris to an influential family of the noblesse de robe and, after some preliminary schooling with the Jesuits at the age of 13, was admitted as avocat at the Parlement of Paris. While still in his teens, he held several positions of responsibility, and in 1636, at just 20, he was able to buy the post of maître des requêtes for 150,000 livres. In 1640, he married the rich Louise Fourché, who died a year later.
From 1642 to 1650, he held various intendancies, at first in the provinces and then with the army of chief minister Cardinal Mazarin and, coming thus in touch with the court, was permitted in 1650 to buy the important position of procureur général to the parlement of Paris. During Mazarin's exile, Fouquet remained loyal to him, protecting his property and keeping him informed of the situation at court.
Upon Mazarin's return, Fouquet demanded and received as reward the office of superintendent of the finances (1653), a position that, in the unsettled condition of the government, threw into his hands not merely the decision as to which funds should be applied to meet the demands of the state's creditors but also the negotiations with the great financiers who lent money to the king. The appointment was a popular one with the moneyed class, for Fouquet's great wealth had been largely augmented by his marriage in 1651 to Marie de Castille, who belonged to a wealthy family of the legal nobility in Spain. Fouquet received around 160,000 Livres from the marriage dowry.
His own credit, and above all his unfailing confidence in himself, strengthened the credit of the government, while his high position at the parlement (he still remained procureur général) secured financial transactions from investigation. As minister of finance, he soon had Mazarin almost in the position of a supplicant. The long wars, and the greed of the courtiers, who followed the example of Mazarin, made it necessary at times for Fouquet to meet the demands upon him by borrowing upon his own credit, but he soon turned this confusion of the public purse with his own to good account.
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