Charles Colbert, marquis de Croissy (1625 – July 28, 1696) was a French statesman and diplomat.

Biography

Colbert was born in Reims. Like his elder brother Jean-Baptiste Colbert, he began his career in the office of the minister of war

Le Tellier Le Tellier or Letellier is a surname, and may refer to: * Camille le Tellier de Louvois (1675–1718), French cleric * Charles-Maurice Le Tellier (1642–1710), Archbishop of Reims *Francis Letellier (born 1964), French journalist * Franç ...

. In 1656 he bought a counsellorship at the parlement of

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

, and in 1658 was appointed intendant of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

and president of the newly created sovereign council of Alsace. In this position he had to re-organise the territory recently annexed to France. The steady support of his brother at court gained for him several diplomatic missions to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

(1659–1661). In 1662 he became marquis de Croissy and ''

président à mortier The ''président à mortier'' () was one of the most important legal posts of the French ''Ancien Régime''. The ''présidents'' were principal magistrates of the highest juridical institutions, the ''parlements'', which were the appeal courts. ...

'' of the parlement of Metz. After various intendancies, at

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital o ...

(1665), at

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

(1666), and at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

(1667), he turned to diplomacy for good. In 1668, he represented

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

at the conference of Aix-la-Chapelle; and in August of the same year was sent as ambassador to the Court of St. James in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he was to negotiate the definite

Treaty of Dover The Treaty of Dover, also known as the Secret Treaty of Dover, was a treaty between England and France signed at Dover on 1 June 1670. It required that Charles II of England would convert to the Roman Catholic Church at some future date and th ...

with Charles II of England, (1630-1685). He arranged the interview at Dover on the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

between King Charles and his sister Henrietta of Orléans, gained the King's personal favor by finding a mistress for him, Louise de Kéroualle, maid of honour to Madame, and persuaded him to declare the

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...

against the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

. The negotiation of the

Treaty of Nijmwegen The Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen ('; german: Friede von Nimwegen) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republ ...

(1676–1678) still further increased his reputation as a diplomat and King Louis XIV, (1638-1715), made him secretary of state for foreign affairs for

after the disgrace of Arnauld de Pomponne, brought about by his brother in 1679. He at once assumed the entire direction of French royal diplomacy. Foreign ambassadors were no longer received and diplomatic instructions were no longer given by other secretaries of state. It was he, not de Louvois, who formed the idea of annexation during a time of peace, by means of the chambers of reunion. He had outlined this plan as early as 1658 with regard to Alsace. His policy at first was to retain the territory annexed by the chambers of reunion without declaring war, and for this purpose he signed treaties of alliance with the elector of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

(1681), and with

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

(1683); but the troubles following upon the revocation of the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...

(1685) forced him to give up his scheme and to prepare for war with Germany (1688). The negotiations for peace had been begun again when he died at the Palace of Versailles, outside of

, on 28 July 1696. His clerk, Bergeret, was his assistant.

Marriage and children

In 1664, he married Françoise Béraud, daughter of a rich banker, who brought with her the territory of Croissy, which name he took to be turned into a Marquisate in July 1676. They had 7 children: *

Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Torcy Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquess of Torcy (14 September 1665 – 2 September 1746), generally called Colbert de Torcy, was a French diplomat, who negotiated some of the most important treaties towards the end of Louis XIV's reign, notably the ...

(1665–1746), succeeded him as Minister of Foreign Affairs. * Charles-Joachim (1667–1738), Bishop of Montpellier. * Marie-Françoise (1671–1724), married the Marquis de Bouzols. * Louis-François-Henri, comte de Croissy (1676–1747), military and diplomat. * Charlotte (1678–1765), abbess of the

Maubuisson Abbey Maubuisson Abbey (french: Abbaye de Maubuisson or ) is a Cistercian nunnery at Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, in the Val-d'Oise department of France. It was founded in A.D. 1236 by Blanche of Castile, Queen of France, who may have been buried there in 125 ...

. * Marguerite-Thérèse (1682–1769), married the Marquis de Reynal and later the Duke of Saint-Pierre. * Olympe-Sophie (1686–1705), did not marry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Croissy, Charles Colbert, marquis de 1625 births 1696 deaths Politicians from Reims 17th-century French diplomats French Foreign Ministers People of the Anglo-Dutch Wars Ambassadors of France to Prussia Ambassadors of France to England