Nicolas Fouquet

Nicolas Fouquet (Paris, January 27, 1615-Pignerol, March 23, 1680) was a French statesman. Viscount of Melun, Viscount of Vaux, Marquis of Belle-Île and all-powerful Superintendent of Finances of King Louis XIV, protector and patron of writers and artists, he was deposed in 1661 by the young monarch and imprisoned, where he died under mysterious circumstances.

Youth

Nicolas Fouquet was the son of François IV Fouquet, Councilor of State in the Parliament of Paris and partner of the Compagnie des îles d'Amérique. His family made a fortune in the textile trade before entering the judiciary. Contrary to the conjectures that were made at that time, his was not a family of noble origin, but rather he acceded to the so-called toga nobility when his father bought the position of counselor of Parliament.

When he turned 12, he began his studies at the Clermont College, run by the Jesuits. At the same time, he helps his mother, Marie de Maupéou, in preparing medicine for the poor. His hobby and interest in chemistry and pharmacy will persist throughout his life. In January 1631, he is tonsured, becoming treasurer of the Abbey of Saint-Martin de Tours and receives a reward from the Priory of Saint-Julien de Doüy. He then graduated in law and enrolled in the bar.

Political career

Magistrate

In June 1633, his father purchased a position as a councilor in Parliament for his eldest son. Not having enough money, he can only get Nicholas a position in the parliament of Metz, which Richelieu had created not long ago. At Richelieu's request, Nicholas drafts a draft declaration to Charles IV of Lorraine. It was about justifying the entry of French troops into his states. Young Nicolás dedicates himself to the assigned task with intensity. In 1638, the Court of Metz elected him to participate in the sovereign council imposed by France in Nancy. There he enjoyed the theater season and participated in dances and feasts. That same year, his father gave him his participation in the Compagnie des îles d'Amérique.

On June 24, 1640, he married Marie Fourché, who belonged to a good Breton family. She brings a significant dowry of £160,000. On February 1, 1641, he purchased the Viscounty of Vaux, in the bailliage (territory over which a bailiff had jurisdiction) of Melun. Very soon his good luck changes. In August his wife died shortly after giving birth to his daughter Marie. In 1642, Richelieu's death put an end to his dreams of making a fortune through trade with the colonies, and he then had to resign himself to a career as a magistrate. In 1644, he was appointed Intendant of Justice, Police and Finance in Grenoble. During that summer, shortly after taking office, he made the mistake of leaving his position without authorization. Taking advantage of the absence of his immediate superiors, he travels to Agda to attend the ceremony in which his older brother François is named bishop. But during his absence, a revolt breaks out in protest of the taxes, although it is quickly put down. During the return trip, other riots begin. This is the "Women's Sedition" in Valence. Fouquet demonstrates calm and control to calm things down and as a reward is readmitted to the body of Maîtres des requêtes. In 1647, once the Thirty Years' War was over, he was appointed quartermaster of the army in Picardy.

The Fronde period

In 1648, he became Intendant of the Generality of Paris. The Fronde gives this position unexpected importance. Fouquet immediately sides with Anne of Austria and Mazarin, thus gaining the sympathy of the queen. After Union's arrest, he sends the queen a letter in which he advises her to negotiate with her enemies in order to divide them, an attitude that he maintains throughout the Fronde. During the siege of Paris, Fouquet is in charge of subsistence services. In 1652, he took a great step forward in his claims by acquiring for 450,000 livres the position of attorney general.

On February 5, 1651, he married again. The new Madame Fouquet, née Marie-Madeleine de Castille-Villemareuil, belongs to a family of merchants who had acquired noble titles. She is only 15 years old, he is 36. Her dowry is less than Marie Fourché's, but she brings in compensation a vast circle of contacts.

On July 31, a ruling transfers the parliament to Pontoise. Fouquet supervises the operation, carried out to the great satisfaction of the masses. Fouquet will get his revenge at the end of the Fronde. During the reading of the sentence on October 22, 1652, after the reading of the amnesty act, Fouquet made a great speech praising the king's clemency and lambasting his colleagues.

Superintendent of Finance

On February 7, 1653, he was appointed by Abel Servien, Superintendent of Finances. His appointment is due to his good conduct during the Fronde, but he must also thank his brother Basile, known as "Abbot Fouquet", head of Mazarin's secret police. His social ascension is ratified with the marriage of his daughter Marie to Armand de Béthune, Marquis of Charost, a descendant of Sully. Fouquet endows his daughter in a princely manner since he contributes 600,000 livres in kind to the marriage.

After the bankruptcy of 1648, royal finances were in a disastrous state. Louis XIV needs money both for his personal expenses and to pay his regiments. Fouquet then goes to the mayors. In July 1653, he imposed the revaluation of the tournois pound, raising the price of the gold pistol from 12 to 10 pounds. Thanks to the measures promoted by Fouquet, some credit is obtained and the situation improves.

However, this situation of economic prosperity makes us forget the previous difficulties and spending skyrockets again, with the crisis reappearing in 1654. To face the situation Servien, Mazarin and Fouquet must compromise their personal fortunes. Fouquet and Servien, for their part, hardly understand each other. In December 1654, Fouquet requested a regulation to delimit the functions of each of them. Servien intends to take responsibility for the expenses, and Fouquet for the income. Fouquet's fortune and contacts allow him to regain the trust of the traffickers and thus obtain money for the king. In November 1657, Fouquet granted a loan of 11.8 million livres to Mazarin.

Fouquet also resorts to the formula of "extraordinary matters", that is, taxes. In 1655 he created 17 new taxes, coming into force on March 20 of that same year. As happened during the Fronde, criticism rained down on him, which led to the famous act in which Louis XIV himself appeared suddenly in Parliament, dressed in hunting clothes, to impose his will.

Upon Servien's death in 1659, Fouquet would continue alone in office until 1661. That year, Mazarin, on his deathbed, recommended him to the king, stating that "he is capable of great things, provided he takes away buildings and women from the head. Fouquet is appointed Minister of State by Le Tellier and Hugues de Lionne.

Protector of Arts and Letters

Saint-Mandé

Fouquet had numerous residences. In his youth he lived in the family home on the rue de Jouy in Paris. He then acquired a house near the rue de Matgnon, before moving to the hôtel de Castille, an estate included in the dowry of his second wife. He then acquired the Hôtel de Narbonne and the Hôtel d'Émery, adjacent to Mazarin's domicile. He also buys a large property in Saint-Mandé. He has it rebuilt and beautified. He forms a large collection of books, only surpassed by that of Mazarin (50,000). He develops a taste for gardens: he arranges them, decorating them with statues, greenhouses and orange trees. However, he does not demonstrate a very refined taste, he simply limits himself to looking for decorative and lavish pieces. He gave numerous and important receptions, thus on March 25, 1656 he received the entire Court in full.

Vaux-le-Vicomte

Starting in 1653, he ordered the construction of a magnificent château in Vaux-le-Vicomte (in the current commune of Maincy). The initial property, acquired before his appointment as Superintendent, consisted solely of an old chatêau surrounded by uncultivated land. Fouquet begins to acquire the surrounding properties, dismantles the town of Vaux and some villages and forests, diverts a river and uproots vineyards. Work was also carried out to collect water.

He hired Luis Le Vau, Charles Le Brun and André Le Nôtre and surrounded himself with a small court of writers, such as Molière, La Fontaine, Madame de Sévigné or Madame de Scudéry. The king visited the property for the first time in July 1659. On July 17, 1660, Fouquet welcomed him back into his house, accompanied on this occasion by the infant on the return trip from Saint-Jean-de-Luz.

On July 11, 1661, he received another visit from the Court. Louis XIV cannot attend the party, so it is repeated on August 17. It is a sumptuous celebration, with water jets, fireworks, a banquet for 1,000 guests and supervised by François Vatel, Molière's work Fâcheux, created especially for the occasion, is performed. Louis Fouquet's offer to give him Vaux only increases the king's irritation.

Contrary to what traditional historiography includes, transmitted for example in Paul Morand's work Fouquet ou le Soleil offusqué, it was not this extravagant celebration in Vaux that motivated Fouquet's arrest. In effect, the decision had already been made, however, the party does explain Louis XIV's determination to put an end to this minister who overshadows him.

The living rooms

At the end of the Fronde, Fouquet founded a salon in Meudon. This salon would be frequented by Paul Pellisson, Charles Perrault, Philippe Quinault, Gilles Ménage and Jean de La Fontaine among others. Fouquet often coincides with scientists such as the doctor Samuel Sorbière or the philosopher François de La Mothe Le Vayer. From 1660 he became interested in the works of Molière.

The Vaux salon gathered quite a lot of wealth, not only material, but also intellectual. Fouquet himself wrote poems, songs, riddles and rhymes that contained small moral lessons. He also subsidizes numerous writers such as Pierre Corneille (2,000 pounds per year), Paul Scarron (1,600 pounds per year) or Jean Ogier de Gombauld (1,000 pounds per year).

Portrait

Despite his apparent physical fragility and youth, Fouquet showed great courage and sangfroid. He did not give up easily in the face of adversity and to overcome the greatest difficulties he counted on the resources of his intelligence and his eloquence.

Thanks to the persuasive power of his words, Fouquet is able to subjugate both the frustrated masses, overflowing with misery and anger, and the most refined spirits of the Court or Palace, who love to hear his opinions. In difficult situations, Fouquet always shows himself as a man of dialogue, always willing to negotiate. His abilities allow him to quickly adapt to circumstances and take control of the situation. In short, he demonstrates the qualities of a man of action, along with a sense of prudence that allows him to manage resources. He had a character that predisposed him to become a Superintendent of Finances, effective and flattered, capable, as if he were a conjurer, of making money appear where there was none.

Wherever Fouquet went he could see a phenomenon that would accompany him throughout his life, his seductive personality, his ability to impose himself on others worked wonders.

Nicolas Foquet had an adaptable and creative spirit, and possessed numerous qualities rarely brought together in a single man: he is full of charm and knows perfectly the fiscal and financial apparatus of the kingdom. His character also pushed him to be the best in fulfilling his duties, both because of his desire to serve and to achieve glory; He is always willing to lose everything to succeed.

During his adolescence and later in his youth, he had to face high political issues and the most serious economic problems that affected the kingdom; maritime and colonial themes are familiar to him.

Few women could resist Fouquet's charms, and those who, like Madame de Sévigné, did, were delighted to retain his friendship.

Processing

Arrest

On September 5, 1661, while the Court was in Nantes for the celebration of the States of Brittany, Louis XIV ordered his captain of the guard d'Artagnan (not to be confused with the fictional character to whom he lent his name) to arrest Fouquet on charges of embezzlement. Jean-Baptiste Colbert had denounced the enrichment of his rival and the magnificence of the party at Vaux-le-Vicomte only increased the jealousy of Louis XIV, precipitating the minister's fall.

His friend Hugues de Lionne asked the king to share the superintendent's misfortune, but Louis XIV rejected his request. Belle-Île surrenders without resisting the king's troops. All of Fouquet's residences were sealed, as were those of his clients. Madame Fouquet went into exile in Limoges, Louis and François were confined to their dioceses. Gilles was removed from his position as first squire, the famous Vatel, in his service at that time was unnecessarily exiled in England and Basile himself had to go into exile in Guyenne.

Instruction

On September 7, Fouquet is transferred to the Château d'Angers. The investigations begin, in the presence of Colbert, who attends as a simple private individual without any role in the investigation of the case. A plan with Fouquet's defense is discovered in Meudon hidden in a mirror. On the 12th of the same month, Louis XIV abolishes the superintendence, replacing it with a Royal Council of Finance. Colbert then takes Fouquet's place on the Council, with the rank of minister.

On the 15th, a Chamber of Justice was established, made up of magistrates from the Chamber of Aids and the Chamber of Accounts. Its objective is "the investigation of abuses and embezzlements committed in finance since 1635." On October 1, Fouquet is transferred to the château d'Amboise. The populace insults him wherever he passes.

The investigation of the trial begins on March 3, 1662. The next day the interrogations begin, while Fouquet is unaware of the charges against him. On March 13, at the request of Attorney General Omer Talon, the court annuls as fraudulent a loan of one million pounds, guaranteed by tailles (direct taxes of the time) and granted by Fouquet.

At the same time, the prisoner's friends publish writings in his favor. Pellisson, imprisoned in the Bastille, secretly publishes a Speech to the king by one of his faithful subjects regarding the prosecution of M. Fouquet , of which Louis XIV becomes aware. Public opinion begins to change, and is in favor of Fouquet. Colbert, furious, has the authors and peddlers of the newsletters persecuted in favor of Fouquet.

The sentence

In May Fouquet is accused. On July 6, the Council prohibited him from appearing before the Paris Parliament despite his status as former attorney general. On July 18 he faces witnesses. Until September 7, the court does not agree to a hearing for the accused. October 18 marks an important stage in the process: the procedure would continue in writing.

The president appoints a list of informants. Madam de Maupéou, acting on behalf of her son, using her right, recuses two of them from her. Louis XIV replies that he had chosen precisely those two magistrates and rejects any modification. On December 10, Colbert replaced Lamoignon, considered too favorable to the accused, with Séguier, whose hatred for the former superintendent was well known.

Finally, on March 3, 1663, the court agreed to communicate to Fouquet the pieces of his choice, and agreed to use only those that he had studied. During this time, Fouquet's accomplices are tried and convicted. Thus Jean Hérault de Gourville is sentenced to death in absentia and for the crime of «péculat» (diversion of public funds by an accountant of the kingdom) and «lèse-majesté i>» (attacks against the sovereign or against the symbols of his majesty, whether objects, decisions or people, including his representatives, etc.).

While the king discreetly but firmly requested that he be sentenced to death, on December 21, 1664 the Chamber decided to banish Fouquet, who was declared guilty of the charges of péculat and lèse-majesté. Furious, Louis XIV commutes the sentence to another life sentence in Pignerol, a royal stronghold located in the Alps. Fouquet's rich financier friends are also persecuted by the same chamber of justice until 1669. The nobles are not bothered.

The end

Officially, Nicolas Fouquet died in the fortress of Pignerol on April 3, 1680, but his death certificate was never found.

His friend Gourville would affirm in his memoirs that Fouquet, released shortly before his death, would have been poisoned by Colbert's henchmen.

His high social position at the time of his arrest and, therefore, the numerous secrets to which he would have had access due to his position; The king's special interest in imprisoning him, which even led him to ignore the judges' sentences by means of a lettre de cachet or reserved order, led numerous authors to mix Fouquet's fate with the of what became known as The Man in the Iron Mask. On the other hand, Alexandre Dumas in his work The Vicomte de Bragelonne, deals deeply with the historical character of Fouquet, intertwining his story with that of the famous prisoner, to whom he attributes the identity of the twin brother of King Louis In this novel, it is Fouquet himself who unmasks the fraud and frees the real Louis XIV from the Bastille, where he had been imprisoned by the conspirators. The king's gratitude is not enough to prevent his superintendent of finances from the fall and arrest, already planned and decided in advance with the collaboration of the mayor Jean-Baptiste Colbert.

However, it should be especially noted that the first reference to Louis XIV's twin brother, the 'man in the iron mask', was made by Voltaire - almost a hundred years before Alexandre Dumas - in his magnificent work The Century of Louis XIV. Reference made with sufficient ambiguity so that it could not lead to censorship, persecution and prison for Voltaire.