Colbert and the Nièvre

At the end of October 1660, Colbert was about to complete his second voyage to the Duchy of Nevers. Faced with the magnitude of the task he still had to accomplish, Colbert warned his mentor that he would be forced to return to the Duchy the following year to carry out his mission: “And I […]

Cardinal Mazarin’s private secretary, in charge of his possessions and his immense fortune, Colbert takes possession of the Duchy of Nièvre on behalf of Mazarin in 1659. During Autumn 1660, Colbert starts a second journey in the Duchy to implement the necessary reforms for its reorganization. Once there, he sends a letter to Mazarin on […]

Just returned from his first tour in the Nièvre, Colbert asked to Mazarin on 23 November 1659 to give him “during winter, 16 guards for the duchy to work on the conservation of forests”.   Colbert wanted to streamline the management of forest. He was able to convince Mazarin to reform the forests of his […]

Key handover ceremony of the Duchy of Nivernais to Jean-Baptiste Colbert   On October 23 1659, Colbert wrote to Mazarin to describe the key handover ceremony of the Duchy of Nivernais which took place on the previous Sunday (October 19 1659). The festivities went forth till the day after as specified by Colbert : “The […]

360 years ago, on October 16 1659, Colbert wrote to Mazarin from Entrains-sur-Nohain to tell him about his arrival in the Nièvre and how expansive and beautiful the Duchy was. This journey follows the acquisition of the Duchy of Nevers by Cardinal Mazarin (July 11 1659) who sent Colbert in the Nièvre to appraise its […]