Noble Blood - The Party to End Nicolas Fouquet's Career

Episode Date: May 9, 2023

In August 1661, the superintendent of finance in France threw the party of the century. In September, he was arrested. The lesson: don't fly too close to the sun (king).  Support Noble Blood: — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Merch! — Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot.

But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, The cat just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck.

Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of IHeart Radio and grim and mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. Hey, guys, this is Dana Schwartz, the host and creator of the podcast you're listening to, Noble Blood. Just a quick note before we see. start? If you like this podcast, I think you'll like the books I've written. I wrote a novel called Anatomy A Love Story, and just this year, the sequel, Immortality, A Love Story, came out. And both books tell the story of a young woman in the 19th century who wants to become a surgeon.

So it was really inspired by just my love and obsession about the transition that happened in surgery in the early 1800s. And in the sequel, Immortality, a Love Story. If you haven't read it yet, there are a lot of, I'll say, celebrity cameos from historical figures that I've covered on this podcast. So absolutely check it out. There's a link to buy it in the episode description.

And thank you so much. It was the most magnificent party that France had ever seen. On August 17, 1661, the who's who of French society traveled to a country estate called Val A Vicomte, which was owned by Nicola Fouquet, France's superintendent of finance. Val Vincompt was, without a doubt, the most magnificent house in the entire country, and after five years of extensive renovations, Fouquet was excited to show off the paradise that he had built 34 miles southeast of Paris.

The beautiful gardens running for nearly a mile and a half were in full bloom. Their elaborate waterworks were in full motion, with 1,100 jets of water, sprang up from the various fountains and canals. The house itself was stunning, seeming to float on air thanks to the sparkling moat that surrounded it. The food served that evening was sumptuous. Thirty buffet tables held the finest foods served to guests on plates of solid gold and silver. The entertainment, superb. The famous playwright Mulieri debuted his newest work, a comedy ballet for the delighted guests,

who also later enjoyed a 24 violin serenade. It was, in short, a party so elaborate that it would put any of Gatsby's to shame. It was a castle so beautiful that it would inspire one attendee, King Louis XIV, then just 22 years old, to hire the very team that built Volvicomte to create his own version, the Palace of Versailles.

But the party also sparked something else in Louis XIV. Jealousy. Who was this fouquet, a descendant of a simple cloth merchant, to so outshine the king of France? And how exactly had Fouquet obtained the funds required for such a lavish party? The king stewed and stewed some more. He had only recently become the independent ruler of France, after almost two decades with a regency council in place,

and he was desperate to assert himself, to prove he was an adult. Perhaps taking on a powerful minister was just. just the bold statement he needed. So on September 5th, just weeks after this amazing party, the king took action. Nicola Fouquet was arrested on charges of financial misconduct and treason. It was the party, observers whispered, that had tipped the king off to Fouquet's crimes. The story of Fouquet's downfall has been passed down through the ages as a cautionary tale, a warning against hubris. Its message is a simple one. Don't fly too close to the sun, lest you be burned by the sun king. But what if I told you that there's more, much more, to the story?

I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood. The Fouquet had always been an ambitious family. Just take their emblem, a squirrel. It's not a surprising emblem given that Fouquet means squirrel in the dialect of the Lower Luar Valley, but the Fouquet's added their own meaning to the image, a motto that read, when translated, What heights will he not ascend? It's a symbol of ambition, of a determination to get ahead. of acting, well, squirrelly, to do so.

Nicholas Fouquet had the emblem and motto placed all over Valvi-Comte. By the time Nicholas was born in January 1615, the Fouquet family had already ascended to great heights. Descended from cloth merchants in Angier, the Fouquet's had established themselves in Paris in the late 1500s, steadily rising through the ranks of the non-exieres,

non-royal elite. Nicholas's father, Francois, served in a high-up position in the government and became a protege of the influential Cardinal Richelieu, Chief Minister of France. After receiving a superb legal education, Nicholas followed his father into government and quickly won notice for his skill. He married well to a woman named Louise, and the couple soon welcomed a the future was looking bright. But tragedy soon befell the family. In early 1640, Nicholas's father died, followed by his grandfather less than a year later, and then his wife, only six months after that. At 26, Nicholas was now responsible for raising his young daughter and supporting his widowed mother and 12 siblings. In addition to his personal troubles, Nicholas was also confronted with a France

in turmoil. The country itself was at a crossroads in the 1640s for a number of reasons. First of all, their king was a child. Louis XIV was only four years old when his father died in 1643. Until he came of age, a regency council ruled the country, headed by his mother, Anne of Austria, and her controversial advisor, a protege of Richelieu's, named Cardinal Jules Mazarin. Secondly, the country was in the midst of the devastatingly expensive and bloody 30 years' war, and thirdly, civil war in France was brewing. In the late 1640s and early 1650s, a series of uprisings known as the frond saw local governments and hereditary princes attempting to fight off the encroaching power of the crown. Throughout the frond, Nicholas Fouquet stayed loyal to the crown, earning him the favor of Cardinal Mazarin.

Mazarin's approval facilitated Fouquet's further rise in government. In 1650, Fouquet became Attorney General of the Parliament of Paris. In 1651, he remarried to Marie Madeline Castile, a wealthy heiress from a prominent family. The couple would go on to have five children together. Two years later, with the fronde finally over, Fouquet reached the pinnacle of his power. To reward his unwavering loyalty, Cardinal Mazarin. appointed him superintendent of finance. Pouquet now served directly on the King's Council. In his new job, Pouquet was in charge of making sure the Crown had enough money to fund its various

projects, wars and other expenses. It wasn't an easy job. The financial system of 17th century France was, to put it lightly, a mess. Tax revenues were not enough to cover the Crown's expenses, leaving the government reliant on personal loans from private citizens, called financiers. The superintendent often served as the loan recipient in order to shield the Crown from liability. The terms of these loans were flexible and irregular, what was documented on on paper was usually only part of the true picture, which, as you can imagine, makes delightful work for historians. In other words, being superintendent was a highly powerful position, but it was also a very vulnerable one, particularly because Fouquet's mentor and de facto boss,

Cardinal Mazarin, had a taste for dipping into the state coffers, the under unregulated nature of the financial system allowed for substantial corruption, which Mazarin took full advantage of. He accepted bribes, rigged contracts, and skimmed off state accounts, to the tune, one modern scholar estimated, of 23 million livres a year. His actions weren't secret. Many high-up finance officials, including Fouquet, knew what Mazurbanes. was doing, but the Cardinal was simply too powerful to be stopped. Fouquet himself was becoming quite powerful. With his dual positions of Attorney General of the Paris Parlamas and Superintendent of Finance,

he was making an estimated 500,000 livres a year, more than most nobles, though nothing compared to Mazarin's income. Fouquet put that money to good use, building lavish estates like Valle Vicomte, and regularly entertaining the Crown's creditors in order to convince them of the Crown's solvency. He also personally advanced the Crown millions of lever. But under the surface, things were shakier. Fouquet's patron, Cardinal Mazarin, was becoming more demanding and less supportive. Mazarin also had a new protege, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, an ambitious and clever man who wanted the job of superintendent of finance for himself.

Fouquet began to fear that Colbert would turn Mazarin against him and even went so far as to draft a plan of defense in case Mazarin arrested him. But nothing came of it. and in 1661, Cardinal Mazarin died. With the all-powerful Cardinal dead, King Louis XIV, now 22, could finally come into his own. He shrank the royal council and began personally supervising much of the business of government,

including financial matters. Part of Louis' motivation for this level of involvement was political. When he was a child, he had been terrorized by the rebellions of the front, and he was determined to strengthen the crown's power in order to protect the crown from any future challenges. His motivations were also personal. After 18 years under the thumb of powerful advisors, the king wanted to do things his own way. When writing his memoirs, the king would make his point clear, quote, it was not my intention to share my authority." By this point, 1661, Fouquet had spent nearly 20 years in government, though,

and he was accustomed to a particular way of life and of doing business. He failed to recognize the king's determination to become the only center of power, and instead he continued to flaunt his own wealth and power, as he had done under Mazarin's reign. Fouquet's rival, Colbert, wasn't so oblivious. He quickly cozyed up to the king, whispering in his ear about Fouquet's impudence and inappropriate conduct. It didn't take much for Colbert to convince Louis that Fouquet was bad news.

Louis would later write that he believed Fouquet was, quote, continuing his extravagant expenses, fortifying strongholds, decorating palaces, forming conspiracies, and purchasing important offices for his friends at my expense, in hope of soon becoming the sovereign arbiter of the state." End quote. Long before the August party at Val Viscont, the king had Fouquet in his sights. Instead of being the catalyst for Fouquet's arrest, as many have asserted, the party was just the final nail in his coffin. By early September, the king was ready to move.

He summoned a loyal musketeer to orchestrate Fouquet's arrest, and on September 5th, 1661, the king's 23rd birthday, Fouquet was taken into custody, charged with financial misdeeds and treason. His homes were searched and his papers seized. The king delighted at how smoothly the arrest had gone, announcing it to the court, declaring that he would now manage the country's finances himself. With Fouquet in custody and the weight of the state behind him, Louis expected that prosecution would be swift. In this, however, the king was gravely mistaken. In this, however, the king was gravely mistaken. Nicola Fouquet would not go down without a fight. As he answered, knowing that the interrogations would be read by the chamber's judges, he began to weave his own defense and assert his right to a fair trial.

Fouquet never missed an opportunity to blame Mazarin for any financial irregularities, or an opportunity to question why he wasn't being allowed access to legal, counsel. As Fouquet fought from within the prison walls, his family and friends were taking the fight to the larger world. His wife and mother took to falling on the ground and begging for mercy whenever they saw the king or his mother, which was not a good look for the royal family to have sobbing women at their feet. And Fouquet had been a prominent literary patron, so many writers took up his cause, publishing pamphlets in his defense that spread through Paris like wildfire. Consider that a lesson, befriend writers. Colbert tried to fight back, publishing pamphlets of his

own and arresting the printers of pro-Fouquet materials. At the same time, Fouquet and his lawyers, he had finally been granted access to counsel, were bombarding the special counsel with requests to turn over evidence, to explain the charges, and to allow Fouquet regular access to his advocates, things that Colbert's specially appointed judges fought hard against. Despite the growing tide of public support and his occasional legal victories, Fouquet still must have been terrified as he contemplated his fate from his cell. There were small moments of grace, however. Throughout his imprisonment, Fouquet was supervised by the same musketeer who had initially arrested him,

and the two men grew to respect one another. In August 1664, as Fouquet was transported between two prisons, the musketeer noticed that Fouquet's family had lined the streets along the transport route. He was moved, and the musketeer ordered the transport to slow, and Fouquet's wife leaned through the windows of her husband's carriage, hugging him. It was the first time the family had seen each other in nearly three years. Another bright light came from a surprising source, one of Colbert's specially appointed judges.

In 1662, motivated by the overwhelming scale of the case, the decision was made for two reporters to be appointed, These reporters would be in charge of conducting the investigation and summarizing their findings to the judges before the final verdict. Once again, Colbert and the King made sure that the nominees came from their own camp. However, they miscalculated when it came to judging the moral fiber of one of the nominees. Olivier Ormison. Ormison was by no means a partisan of Fouquet, but he strongly believed in the rural, of law and balanced administration of justice. Throughout the trial, despite enormous pressure

from all sides, Armisen worked hard to achieve a semblance of fairness. He was a skilled orator, a clever mediator, and a thorough investigator, even uncovering proof that some of the financial documents being used as evidence against Fouquet had been forged, likely by some of the special court judges themselves, and he always made sure that Fouquet's petitions were heard. All of the legal back and forth took time, and as the months and then years passed, the king and Colbert became increasingly concerned with the length of the trial. After all, the longer the trial went on, the more chance there was for public sympathy to continue to shift to Fouquet, and for unflattering deep,

about the king in Colbert's personal involvement with the trial to emerge. People had already begun to whisper about what the drawn-out trial meant for Louis. How powerful was the king really if he couldn't complete such a simple prosecution? It was a question Louis hoped to lay to rest when the special court announced that they would finally begin deliberations in December 1664, more than three years of. after Fouquet's initial arrest. Though public sympathy had shifted toward Fouquet over this time, many of his allies doubted that Colbert's specially appointed judges

would be as sympathetic as the public. They had to hope that Fouquet's final defense of himself, conducted in person, and seemingly favorably received by the judges, would be a nut. Over the course of several days, the two rapporteurs Ormison and St. Helene presented their cases. Ormison, who went first, produced a balanced report in line with his behavior throughout the case. He concluded that Fouquet had been occasionally sloppy and negligent in his work, but that the evidence on hand

did not conclusively prove him guilty of intentional crimes. Ormison recommended that Fouquet be banished from France and that his estates be confiscated, which is harsh, sure, but it's nothing compared to what Ormison's fellow reporter St. Helene recommended in his own summing up several days later, which was death. Now it was all up to the judges. Louis, not wanting to leave anything to chance, began a concerted pressure campaign, sending emissaries to lecture judges about their civic responsibilities and making remarks in public about how dangerous Fouquet was. On December 17th, the judges gathered for a final time. One by one, they announced their verdicts.

When the final result came in, the results were stunning. Of the 22 judges, only nine voted for death. The remaining 13 voted for banishment. It might not sound like a victory, but when an absolute monarch goes after you in court, any win counts. Three years earlier, no one expected Fouquet to escape with his life, but now it looked like that would just happen. But there was still one more hurdle to clear. King Louis had final say on Fouquet's sentence, and he was furious. Fortunately for Fouquet, King Louis was unwilling to risk the public outcry that would come

if he insisted on the death penalty, so he instead sentenced Fouquet to life in prison. Fouquet was immediately sent to a prison fortress in the Alps, where, as Vincent J. Pitts puts it in his book, Embezzlement and High Treason in Louis X. France, he experienced a kind of, quote, living death, end quote. All outside contact was forbidden, as were pens and paper. His windows were barred to prevent escape, blocking out the sunlight. It was only in April 1674, after 10 years in prison, that Fouquet was allowed to begin exchanging letters with his wife, and even then, only two a year. Five years later, the family was allowed to be allowed to. to visit. For the first time in 18 years, Fouquet could hold his children, all of whom were now

young adults. His youngest son, born in 1661, the year of Fouquet's arrest, likely barely recognized his father. However, there was hope of a more permanent reunion. In the late 1670s, rumors circulated that Fouquet was about to be pardoned, but it was an empty hope, and in March 1680, Nicola Fouquet died suddenly of a stroke at 65 years old. Though no one would suffer as much as Fouquet, those noblemen involved in the trial who had dared to defy the king would also feel his wrath. Olivier Ormison was essentially shunned from public life, and so were many of the judges who had voted against death. Conversely, many of those who had attempted to persecute Fouquet thrived under Louis XIV, none more so than Colbert, who rose to the highest ranks of government and was well rewarded for it.

He even, despite his role in orchestrating one of the most infamous and blatantly corrupt show trials of the age, was given the task of reorganizing the country's legal codes. The taint of Fouquet's disgrace would linger over his family, but not forever. Toward the end of Louis XIV's reign, the aging king welcomed some of Fouquet's nephews into royal life. Historians, however, took longer to soften on Fouquet. Until the late 20th century, most agreed that Fouquet was in fact guilty of the crimes he was accused of, and deserving of the punishment he received. However, that attitude has been changing.

In 1983, the eminent historian Roland Moussinier declared at a conference that Fouquet was, quote, not guilty according to the spirit and practices of the time. His trial was unjust, tainted with irregularities and manipulations, and quote. Fouquet's legacy has also been refurbished in a more literal way. Val L'Avacomte, Fouquet's estate, has undergone a four-decade restoration, and now welcomes more than 300,000 guests, a year, guests who can wander the beautiful grounds where the superintendent of finance once hosted the greatest party of a generation, blissfully unaware, that disaster awaited him just

beyond the gates. That's the story of the trial of Nicola Fouquet, but continue listening after a brief sponsor break to hear about a very specific literary connection to this story. everyone I'm Ago Wodom. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place they come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I would.

wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat.

Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Yeah. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network.

It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just, know the groundlings, I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come look for up-and-coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot.

He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Remember that kindly musketeer who allowed Fouquet to see his family briefly during his incarceration? Despite that musketeer's relatively small role in Fouquet's story, he would go on to have a much larger one in another famous story. After his time with Fouquet, the musketeer continued to serve the king, eventually being promoted to Captain Lieutenant. He later became governor of the city of Lille before being killed in battle on June 25, 1673. 27 years later, the French novelist, Gatienne Cortilles de Saint-Dess, published a fictionalized memoir of the Very Real Musketeer,

which contained a number of swashbuckling adventure stories. 144 years after that, another French author picked up to Cortille Desondres' work while doing research on Louis XIV, and he was inspired to write his own account of that very real Musketeer's world. That author was Alexander Dumas and the book. the novel he created, inspired by the very musketeer who had once guarded Nicholas Fouquet, Charles D'Artagnan, is, of course, the Three Musketeers.

Noble Blood is a production of I-Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky. Noble Blood is created and hosted by me, Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The show is edited and produced by Noami Griffin and Rima Il Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers Aaron Manky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Hey, everyone, I'm Ago Vodom. My next guest, it's Will Fordia. Farrell. Woo. Woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot.

But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah. It would not be. Right.

It wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to thanks, Dad, on the eye, heart. Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.