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service. True, the rudiments of a naval administration existed in the
local admiralties created during the middle ages, loosely subordinate to the
Admiral of France. At times, powerful naval forces were assembled; in the early
sixteenth Francis I had waged an effective maritime war against Spain.
But the navy did not exist as a permanent arm of state policy[...] In
part the development of a navy was delayed by political factors: a naval
establishment had to wait until the state had evolved strong central institutions.
But the process was also conditioned by the evolutions of naval weaponry
and tactics. The sailing warship did not emerge as a distinct type until
the middle decades of the seventeenth century" (Sonnino 127). Louis
XIV had a "[...] somewhat distant, interest in naval matters, but her
never favored the fleet with the same passion that he displayed for his land
forces." (Sonnino 129). There was no such thing as a sailing warship
until the middle of the 17th century when "[...] Colbert began intensive
warship construction in the 1660s." (Sonnino 127). Then in 1661
"[...] Colbert took charge of the navy"(Sonnino 129). Louis XIV
"[...] supported Colbert's vigorous program of naval expansion and was
gratified by the fleet's victories. Nevertheless, it seems clear that the
king's attitude to maritime power-a view shared by Colbert himself, as his
policy during the Dutch War would demonstrate-was that although the fleet might
be desirable instrument of policy, it was only luxury when compared with
France's primary requirement for a strong army. This view was hardly the
the outcome of caprice or ignorance, for France was a continental power with
long land frontiers menaced by invasion. So during the years of relative
financial stability prior to the Nine Years' War, Louis XIV backed Colbert and
his successors in their drive to turn France into a great naval power."
(Sonnino 129-130). "Colbert's building program rapidly expanded the
French navy, until by about 1680 it had achieved rough parity with the fleets
of the maritime powers. To sustain this vast enterprise and entire system
of supply and procurement had to be created, almost from nothing. Timber
was the first requirement; much was imported [...] but Colbert strove for
self-sufficiency and systematically exploited France's own timber
reserves." (Sonnino 133). "[...] the great mechanism of naval
power that Colbert created for Louis XIV" was an unflagging effort on his
part (Sonnino 136).
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Daniel Krimmer
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