Internal tariffs amongst feudal states were also very important in the eyes of Colbert. He noticed that the internal tariffs were a big problem within the fuedal states so he chose to remove them completely from existence. This was crucial for building the economy in France because business owners were more willing to trade with other feudal states which resulted in the domestic trade within France to flourish. All of the work Colbert did to influence the state economy had a great impact within France over the next decade. The implemented tactics of Colbert helped the economy to thrive and within ten years the wealth of France doubled deeming Colbert an elite member in the success of France during the 1600s. Colbert also believed that it was critical to invest in an overseas empire.
Colbert believed that a great deal of success would come to France if he invested in the French royal navy as well as the merchant marine. Firstly, Colbert had to make the navy and merchant marine operable and to do so he needed sailors willing to work. One of the ways that Colbert tried to get sailors was to ask French justices to provide criminals to work.ii Instead of the criminals being incarcerated and punished Colbert saw that he could benefit off their crime and he used their services as a replacement for the punishment they served benefitting his goal of increasing the size of the overseas empire. Another way Colbert made the navy and merchant marine popular within France was to use an incentive to help potential sailors make a their choice. Colbert told that if you were to help sail for the country of France then you would receive benefits along with your choice, some of which included: tax exemptions, military pensions, fishing rights, free education, and life insurance for your family if something were to happen to the sailors when they were on the job.iii Both of these helped to make the navy and merchant marine immensely popular within France.