March 26, 2019 | Meeting 1473 | “Embezzlement and High Treason in Louis XIV’s France” presented by Vincent J. Pitts, Quinnipiac University

Photo of Vincent Pitts

Vincent J. Pitts, Department of History, Quinnipiac University will speak about the trial (1661-1664) of Nicolas Fouquet.  

From 1661 to 1664, France was mesmerized by the arrest and trial of Nicolas Fouquet, the country’s superintendent of finance. Prosecuted on trumped-up charges of embezzlement, mismanagement of funds, and high treason, Fouquet managed to exonerate himself from all of the major charges over the course of three long years, in the process embarrassing and infuriating Louis XIV. The young king overturned the court’s decision and sentenced Fouquet to lifelong imprisonment in a remote fortress in the Alps. read more