Beik underlines the fact that collecting a huge amount of data required much more personnel and a far better way of communicating with the city and the village representatives, than Colbert could have ever dreamed of at that time. Nevertheless his achievements in collecting this date are remarkable. Based on these gatherings and his intuition and economic knowledge, Colbert was able to prepare and present to the king reforms destined to improve the macro economic situation as well as to solve some of the deficits that were already adding up as a result of the king's insatiable passion for war. While Colbert was the advocate of reducing taxes and favoring the revenues resulting from manufacturing and trade, the actual royal response comes from the receipts dated from the year Colbert started his collecting data and Madame de Maintenon's time. The king decided when to pay and how much the taille...
[ View Full Essay]