Jacques Savary
Encyclopedia
Jacques Savary was a successful French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 merchant who became a widely recognised expert on questions regarding commerce. He was the author of Le parfait négociant (1675), a manual on mercantile trade, which was translated into several languages.

Life

Savary was born at Doué
Doue
Doue is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Geography:Doue is located in eastern Paris basin, in the part of the Brie historically known for Brie lousy. The town is located about halfway between Paris and Reims 2.-External links:* * *...

 in Anjou
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...

 on 22 September 1622 from a noble family that was devoted to trade.
He studied law in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 with a procureur, then became a wholesale merchant of haberdashery.
By 1658 he had made his fortune.
His friend Nicolas Fouquet
Nicolas Fouquet
Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV...

, the Superintendent of Finances
Superintendent of Finances
The Superintendent of Finances was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1561 to 1661. The position was abolished in 1661 with the downfall of Nicolas Fouquet, and a new position was created, the Controller-General of Finances....

, gave him a contract for collecting the revenues of crown lands.
After Fouquet fell from power, he gained the favor of the Chancellor Pierre Séguier
Pierre Séguier
-Early years:Born in Paris, France of a prominent legal family originating in Quercy. His grandfather, Pierre Séguier , was président à mortier in the parlement of Paris from 1554 to 1576, and the chancellor's father, Jean Séguier, a seigneur d'Autry, was civil lieutenant of Paris at the time of...

, who charged him with arbitrating in numerous commercial questions.
With a growing reputation, he was asked to assist the commission revised the laws concerning trade, and had such influence that the ordinance of 1673 was named the "Code Savary".
After the death of Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-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...

 in 1683, the new controller general of finances, Pelletier, ordered him to make an investigation of the financial affairs of the Western crown lands.

Savory had seventeen children, eleven of whom survived him, including the writer on economy Jacques Savary des Brûlons
Jacques Savary des Brûlons
Jacques Savary des Brûlons was the French Inspector General of the Manufactures for the King at the Paris Customs in the 18th century, and a lexicographer who wrote the Dictionnaire universel de commerce....

 (1656-1716), and Louis-Philémon Savary (1654, 1727). He died on 7 October 1690.

Works

Savory was asked to prepare a book from the many memoirs he had prepared for the commission revising the trade laws.
This was published in 1675 with the title "Le parfait négociant ou Instruction générale pour ce qui regarde le commerce des marchandises de France et des pays étrangers." (The Perfect Merchant or General Instruction regarding the mercantile trade of France and foreign countries).
The book ran into many editions, and was translated into several languages.
In 1688, Parfait published a sequel: "Les Parères, ou Avis et Conseils sur les plus importantes Matières de Commerce" (Customary Business Rules, or Advice and guidance on the most important materials of Commerce).
These books and Savory's opinions were treated as having almost the weight of law.
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