Jean-Baptiste Antoine Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay (1 November 1651 – 3 November 1690) was a French politician. He was the eldest son of

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 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 organization of the countr ...

, nephew of Charles Colbert de Croissy and cousin of

Jean-Baptiste Colbert 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 ...

Life

In 1679 Seignelay married twice; firstly to Marie Marguerite d'Alegre, who died in 1678. Secondly he married ''Catherine'' Thérèse de Goyon de Matignon Thorigny (1662–1699). Catherine was a daughter of Henri Goyon and Marie Françoise Le Tellier, herself a sister of

François Michel Le Tellier de Louvois François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

. Their four children included: * Marie Jean-Baptiste Colbert de Seignelay (known as Jean-Baptiste) (1683–1712) * Théodore Alexandre Colbert de Seignelay (known as Théodore) (1690?–1695?) Catherine later married again to

Charles de Lorraine, Count of Marsan Charles de Lorraine (8 April 1648 – 13 November 1708) was the Count of Marsan. He was the youngest son of the Count of Harcourt and brother of the Chevalier de Lorraine. Biography Charles was the youngest son of Henri de Lorraine, Count of Ha ...

a member of the powerful (and more noble)

house of Lorraine The House of Lorraine (german: link=no, Haus Lothringen) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Fran ...

. She died in childbirth in December 1699. On the death of his father in 1683, Seignelay was named Navy Secretary by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

and held the post until his death. He accompanied

Abraham Duquesne Abraham Duquesne, marquis du Bouchet (2 February 1688) was a French naval officer, who also saw service as an admiral in the Swedish navy. He was born in Dieppe, a seaport, in 1610, and was a Huguenot. He was the son of a naval officer and there ...

at the

bombardment of Genoa The Bombardment of Genoa was a military event during the War of the Reunions when France bombarded the city of Genoa from the sea between May 18 and May 28, 1684. Background The Republic of Genoa was strategically a very important ally of the ...

in May 1684. He completed the

Code Noir The (, ''Black code'') was a decree passed by the French King Louis XIV in 1685 defining the conditions of slavery in the French colonial empire. The decree restricted the activities of free people of color, mandated the conversion of all e ...

begun by his father. He was named Minister in 1689. Seignelay continued his father's work of expanding the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

; between 1660 and 1690 the Navy increased under their control from 18 sailing vessels to some 125. While the arsenals too were reconstructed, modern studies criticise the Colberts, father and son, for concentrating on ships rather than infrastructure. In 1675

Nicolas Boileau Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

dedicated his ninth epistle, ''Nothing is beautiful but the truth'', to Siegnelay and he was named Grand Treasurer of the

Order of the Holy Spirit , status = Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC , founder = Henry III of France , head_title = Grand Master , head = Disputed: Louis Alphonse, Duke of AnjouJean, Count of Pari ...

. In 1683 he inherited the

Château de Sceaux The Château de Sceaux is a grand country house in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, approximately from the centre of Paris, France. Located in a park laid out by André Le Nôtre, visitors can tour the house, outbuildings and gardens. The Petit Château o ...

, which he improved, employing the services of

Jules Hardouin Mansart Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Grand ...

. He was succeeded as Navy Minister by Louis Phélypeaux.

Sources

* Laurent Dingli,
Colbert, marquis de Seignelay. Le fils flamboyant
', Paris, éditions Perrin, 1997 * Jean-Philippe Zanco,
Dictionnaire des Ministres de la Marine 1689-1958
', S.P.M. Kronos, Paris 2011. 1651 births 1690 deaths Colbert, Jean-Baptiste Antoine Secretaries of State of the Navy (France) {{France-politician-stub br:Jean-Baptiste Colbert