[1652] Antonius THYSIUS
Compendium historae Batavicae, a Julio Cæsare usque ad hæc tempora.
Lugduni Batavorum, Ex officina Ioannis Maire, 1652.
Size 2 3/4 by 4 3/4"
Overlapping vellum. Very good condition. Some wear.
Provenance: manuscript ex-libris "Bibliotheca Colbertina" on the title.
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Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619–1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organisation of the country's politics and markets, known as Colbertism, a doctrine often characterised as a variant of mercantilism, earned him the nickname le Grand Colbert ("the Great Colbert").
A native of Reims, he was appointed Intendant of Finances on 4 May 1661. Colbert took over as Controller-General of Finances, a newly-elevated position, in the aftermath of the arrest of Nicolas Fouquet for embezzlement, an event that led to the abolishment of the office of Superintendent of Finances. He worked to develop the domestic economy by raising tariffs and encouraging major public works projects, as well as to ensure that the French East India Company had access to foreign markets, so that they could always obtain coffee, cotton, dyewoods, fur, pepper and sugar. He acted to create a favourable balance of trade and increase colonial holdings. As there was slavery in the colonies, Colbert also drafted the Code Noir which was to be promulgated two years after his death. In addition, he founded France's merchant navy (marine marchande) becoming Secretary of State of the Navy in 1669.
His effective market reforms included the foundation of the Manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs in 1665 to supplant the importation of Venetian glass, which was forbidden in 1672 as soon as the national glass manufacturing industry was on sound footing. Also encouraging the technical expertise of Flemish cloth manufacturing in France, he founded royal tapestry works at Gobelins and supported those at Beauvais. He issued more than 150 edicts to regulate the guilds. The Académie des sciences was founded in 1666 at his suggestion; he was a member of the Académie française from 1 March 1667 to his death, where he occupied the 24th seat, to which Jean de La Fontaine would be elected after his passing. His son Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay (1651–1690) succeeded him as Navy Secretary.
Colbert had built up an important library with more than 8,000 manuscripts and between 50,000 and 60,000 printed volumes (the offered book is one of them).
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