Jean-Baptiste Colbert

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/jean-baptiste-colbert

1. When was Jean-Baptiste Colbert born?
2. Where was Jean-Baptiste Colbert born?
3. What is the related legislation?
4. Who was Jean‑Baptiste Colbert and what did he do for France?
5. How did Colbert help France make its own products instead of buying from other countries?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Jean-Baptiste Colbert born?August 29, 1619
2. Where was Jean-Baptiste Colbert born?Reims, France
3. What is the related legislation?Commissioned the initial project for the Code Noir (enacted 1685)
4. Who was Jean‑Baptiste Colbert and what did he do for France?He was a finance minister and chief advisor to King Louis XIV, and he made France richer and stronger by improving taxes and industry.
5. How did Colbert help France make its own products instead of buying from other countries?He put high taxes on imported goods and created new factories, like a mirror factory, so French people could buy things made in France.

Colbertism: A state-driven economic policy aimed at increasing national wealth through protectionism and industrial development.
Mercantilism: An economic theory advocating for government regulation to maximize exports and minimize imports, thereby accumulating wealth.
Balance of Trade: The difference between a country's imports and exports; a favorable balance means exports exceed imports.
Protectionism: Economic policy of shielding domestic industries from foreign competition through tariffs and other restrictions.