During his long stay at Rochefort, Hocquart received a lengthy training which prepared him to handle most of the bureaucratic functions of a colonial Intendant. However, he possessed only a "rudimentary grasp of the kind of productive economic infrastructure that was needed to spawn commercial prosperity" in New France. This lack of understanding led Hocquart to believe that "the commercial bourgeois' capital was the key to both the expansion of trade and to the diversification of commercial enterprise." This belief would prove costly; although some industries like fishery and private shipbuilding were greatly enhanced by Hocquart's' financial support, most of the economy suffered from a lack of organization.