Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/162

* COLA-NUT. 130 all, but a glucoside, the fermentative decompo- sition of which yields caffeine, glucose, and cola- red. COLBAN, kol'ban, Adolphi>-e JIabie (1814- 8-1). A Norwegian novelist, whose literary genius was developed late and by necessity. She was born in Christiania, December IS, 1814. Left a widow without resources in 1850, she went to Paris, where a friend published part of her correspondence as Lettres d'line' harbare. These were received with such favor that she was led to essay iietion, and between 1869 and 1881 published seven volumes of tales, most of which were translated into German. Jeij lever (1877) is the most characteristic, but nearly all are charming for their sympathetic insight into Norwegian character. COLBERG, kol'berK. See Kolbeeg. COLBERT, kol'bar', Jean Baptiste (1619- 83 ). A French statesman. Minister of Finance under Louis XIV. He was born at Rheims, August 29, 1619, and served his apprenticeship in a woolen draper's shop. He afterwards went to Paris, and soon obtained a position rin, the War Office, where his tireless activity brought him into notice. He became secre- tary to Le Tellier, then at the head of the War Office, and through his influence was made a counselor of the King and introduced to Ma- zarin, who soon employed him in important afi'airs of State. On his deathbed jSIazarin rec- ommended Colbert to the King, who in 1665 ap- pointed him C'omptroller-C4eneral of the Finances. Colbert found the finances in a ruinous condi- tion, and immediately entered upon an elaborate programme of reform. Fouquet, the Superin- tendent of Buildings inider Mazarin, was found guilty of maladministration, and was imprisoned for life. The new Comptroller instituted a council of finance and a chamber of justice, to call to account the farmers of the State revenues, who were forced to yield up all the wealth of the Crown of which they had fraudulently pos- sessed themselves. In twentv vears the revenue rose to 116,000,000 livres, of which but 23,000,- 000 were spent in collection and administration, whereas before Colbert took the finances in hand the revenue had amounted to only 84,000.000 livres, of which 52.000,000 were absorbed in col- lection. Colbert did not rest satisfied with being a financial reformer, but in various ways devel- oped the industrial activity of the nation by State support. He was created Minis- ter of Marine in 1669, and shortly afterwards he acquired control of commerce, the colo- nies, and the royal expenditure. French trade was extended, and roads and canals — including the great canal of Languedoc — were built. Cer- tain features of his economic policy, such as a too stringent regulation of commerce, high pro- tective duties, and the maintenance of the cor- poration system, have been frecpiently criticised, hut they were rather the faults of the age than of the man. He organized anew the colonies in Canada, Martinique, and Haiti, and founded those of Cayenne and Madagascar. Perhaps the most successful of all Colbert's reforms was the creation of a French na'y. He found France in 1669 with a few old hulks, and provided her in three years with a fleet of sixty ships of the line and forty frigates. The mercantile marine was also developed, and boun- COLBURN. ties were givep on ships built in France. Col- bert revised tiie Civil Code, introduced a code of marine law, as well as the so-called Vode ^'oir for the colonies. Statistical tables of the popu- lation were first made out by liis orders. Jlen of learning and genius found in him a generous jjatron. The academies of inscriptions, .science, and architecture were founded by him. In short, he appears as the promoter of industry, com- merce, art, science, and literature — the founder of a new epoch in France. Xotwithstanding his remarkable ingenuity, the unbounded extrava- gance of his master forced him to raise money in ways objectionable to his reason, and to main- tain war taxes in time of peace. The last years of his life were a constant struggle to find money for Louis's ruinous wars, and he died Septem- ber 6, 1683, bitterly disappointed because his great services were but ill appreciated by the King, whose confidence in Colbert had been un- dermined by the favorite Louvois. The people of Paris, enraged at the oppressive taxes, would have torn his dead body to pieces, but for the intervention of the military and his burial by night. He left large estates in France, and some of his offices descended to his sons, one of whom became Minister of Marine and another Superin- tendent of Buildings. A third was made Arch- bishop of Eouen. It is not the least of Colbert's merits that he saw the wisdom of Richelieu's tolerant course toward the Huguenots, and re- strained the King from that fatal policy of persecution which began with the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (q,v.) soon after the great Iilinister's death. Among Colbert's posthumous papers were found Hcmoires siir les affaires de France (c,1663), and a fragment, I'articuUirit^s secretes de la vie du Roy, which have been pub- lished several times. Consult: Clement, Tie de Colbert (Paris, 1846) : id.,'Lettres, instruetions, et memoires de Colbert (9 vols., Paris. 1861-82) ; id., Histoire de Colbert et son administration, edited by Mme. Clement (Paris, 1874) ; Gourdault, Col- bert, ministre de Louis XIV. (Tours, 1885). Sargent, Economic Policy of Colbert (London, 1899), contains a bibliography of works relat- ing to Colbert and his time. See Fk.4.nce: Louis xiv. COLBERT, .Jean Baptiste, ^Marquis de Sei- gnelay (1651-90). A Frencli statesman, Minister of Marine, and son of the famous Minister of Fi- nance. In 1683 he succeeded his father as the head of the navy, and successfully continued the policy which raised that branch of public defense to high efficiency. He was ambitious of attaining success both as diplomatist and warrior, and per- sonally led a naval expedition against Genoa in 1684. ■ COLBTJRN, kol'bflrn, Wakren (1793-1833). An American educator, born in Dedham, Mass. He graduated at Harvard in 1820. and in the same j-ear opened a private school in Boston. His taste turned to mathematics, and in 1821 he published First Lessons in Intellectual Arith- mclic, the sale of which far exceeded that of any previous mathematical work. It was trans- lated into nearly all the languages of Europe, and into some of those of India. From teaching, Colburn went into manufacturing, and was superintendent of large establishments in Walt- ham and Lowell ; but nuich of his time was