Intendant des finances
Encyclopedia
The Intendants des finances were intendant
s or agents of France
's financial administration under the Ancien Régime.
The number of intendants fluctuated significantly, from 3 to 6 in the mid 16th century, then 12 in the mid 17th century, before falling back to 3 in 1661. Each intendant was put in charge of a geographical département as well as (until 1661) specialist duties such as for roads and bridges or for directly imposed taxes.
In 1690, the intendants became officiers or office-holders, under the direction of the Controller-General of Finances
, who held a titular commission that could be revoked at any time (unlike the 'offices' of the intendants, who could ensure continuity in the financial administration thanks to the stability of their posts). The Controller-General and intendants were suppressed under the polysynody
but revived in 1722. In 1777 they were again suppressed and their duties transferred to the maîtres des requêtes
, who in 1787 received the commissions of the intendants des finances. It was briefly revived as the title for the French finance minister for the Dutch departments under the First French Empire
, being held in that form by Alexander Gogel.
They benefitted from a wide autonomy in exercising their powers in their own départements, directly answering to the chancellor of France, the secrétaires d'État
and the provincial intendant
s. The intendants des finances ended up informally gathering to prepare dossiers to present to the Conseil royal des finances, which resulted in its becoming a de facto substitute for that Conseil.
The intendants des finances and Controller-General were generally chosen from among the maîtres des requêtes
. This origin, allied to the stability of the intendants des finances and the instability of the Controller-General, tended to blur the hierarchy that in principle placed the Controller-General above the intendants. However, even if the rank of the intendant des finances became almost equivalent to that of a secretary of state, they did not have the privilege (reserved for the Controller-General) of working in particular with the king. The intendants des finances nevertheless continued to assert their importance and rank nevertheless right up to the reign of Louis XV
.
Each intendant des finances headed a département with a coherent assembly of duties:
Intendant
The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
s or agents of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
's financial administration under the Ancien Régime.
History
The role of intendant des finances was created in 1552 as a 'commission' or committee, to manage the subsidies raised for the 'trip to Germany', though these commissaires were only known by that title from 1556 onwards. They formed a collegiate ministry of finances, but it was common for one among them to be become preeminent or even sometimes be made surintendant des finances.The number of intendants fluctuated significantly, from 3 to 6 in the mid 16th century, then 12 in the mid 17th century, before falling back to 3 in 1661. Each intendant was put in charge of a geographical département as well as (until 1661) specialist duties such as for roads and bridges or for directly imposed taxes.
In 1690, the intendants became officiers or office-holders, under the direction of the Controller-General of Finances
Controller-General of Finances
The Controller-General of Finances was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. The position replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances , which was abolished with the downfall of Nicolas Fouquet.- History :The term "contrôleur général" in...
, who held a titular commission that could be revoked at any time (unlike the 'offices' of the intendants, who could ensure continuity in the financial administration thanks to the stability of their posts). The Controller-General and intendants were suppressed under the polysynody
Polysynody
Polysynody was the system of government in use in France between 1715 and 1718 and in which each minister was replaced by a council....
but revived in 1722. In 1777 they were again suppressed and their duties transferred to the maîtres des requêtes
Maître des requêtes
Masters of Requests are high-level judicial officers of administrative law in France and other European countries that have existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages.-Old Regime France:...
, who in 1787 received the commissions of the intendants des finances. It was briefly revived as the title for the French finance minister for the Dutch departments under the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, being held in that form by Alexander Gogel.
Organisation
The intendants des finances were only subsidiary by law to the Conseil privé, but they were not very diligent. Two of them sat on the Conseil royal des finances. Nearly all of them ended up being made conseillers d'État.They benefitted from a wide autonomy in exercising their powers in their own départements, directly answering to the chancellor of France, the secrétaires d'État
Secretary of State (Ancien Régime)
The Secretary of State was the name of several official governmental positions – supervising war, foreign affairs, the navy, the king's household, the clergy, Paris, and Protestant affairs – during the Ancien Régime in France, roughly equivalent to the positions of governmental...
and the provincial intendant
Intendant
The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
s. The intendants des finances ended up informally gathering to prepare dossiers to present to the Conseil royal des finances, which resulted in its becoming a de facto substitute for that Conseil.
The intendants des finances and Controller-General were generally chosen from among the maîtres des requêtes
Maître des requêtes
Masters of Requests are high-level judicial officers of administrative law in France and other European countries that have existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages.-Old Regime France:...
. This origin, allied to the stability of the intendants des finances and the instability of the Controller-General, tended to blur the hierarchy that in principle placed the Controller-General above the intendants. However, even if the rank of the intendant des finances became almost equivalent to that of a secretary of state, they did not have the privilege (reserved for the Controller-General) of working in particular with the king. The intendants des finances nevertheless continued to assert their importance and rank nevertheless right up to the reign of Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
.
Each intendant des finances headed a département with a coherent assembly of duties:
- impositions
- bridges and roads
- forests and royal domains
Holders
- Jean-Baptiste ColbertJean-Baptiste ColbertJean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing...
- Jean-Baptiste OudryJean-Baptiste OudryJean-Baptiste Oudry was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game.-Biography:...
- Isaac ArnauldIsaac ArnauldIsaac Arnauld , seigneur de Corbeville, was a member of the Arnauld family, a French family which during the 17th century produced several major Jansenists. He was the younger brother of Antoine Arnauld, and his son had a prestigious military career.He was made Intendant des finances of the...