French East India Company

2020-04-27 14:55:09

1664 : During the reign of Louis XIV minister Colbert estd FEIC w/ 50 years monopoly to trade in Indian and Pacfic Ocean
1667 : Francois Caron expedition to India estd a factory in Surat.
1669 : Mercara founded another factory at Masulipatnam
1673 : permission from Shaista Khan (Bengal) to estd township Chandernagore
1673 : Sher Khan Lodi gov of Valikondapuram (Bijapur) granted Francois Martin land thus Pondicherry was founded in 1674

![[French-East-India-Company-image1-23544691.gif]]

Administrative Limitation of FEIC

#todo
Inferior system of Governance in France which was despotic where everything depended on the personality of the Monarch
Lack of a democratic constitutional set up further limited the scope of imaginative means to improve inefficiencies of the govt/administration

FEIC was a dept of the state w/ most of the capital subscribed by the Monarch. Directors were nominated by the King, who were under 2 High Commissioners.
State guaranteed return to shareholders not the FEIC -> led to administrative indifference ^f8e12c
Company frequently borrowed capital and sold trading rights in lieu to annual sums of money. Coy was also heavily subsidised ^eb9621
English superiority on the seas

Bussy and Lally looked down upon their subordinates alienating their compatriots
Continental Policy followed by France got her involved in wars near her home that disallowed them to send colonies abroad.
French had only one seat of power that was Pondicherry. British had many.

#todo
1769 : was abolished by Louis XVI. He agreed to pay FEIC’s debt and obligations all its properties were transferred to the state
1785 : Reconstituted its monopoly was abolished in 1790 due to French Revolution. It was liquidated in 1794 when FEIC failed to bribe ministers to carry out its own liquidation
The Carnatic wars (1740-63), Austrian war of Succession (1740-48), Seven Years war(1756-63) and French participation in the American War of Independence(1765-83 ) stretched finances.
Simultaneous expansion in colonies and continent . This divided its scarce resource.
The aristocrats and French Nobility were corrupt and spent way too much in debauchery and unecessary lavishness. French Revolution was final nail in the coffin
Administrative Limitation meant that they could not strengthen their foothold in India -> Lower economic remuneration from Indian colonies
Losses in War had them further lose influence on native rulers and grant of territory dec and thus their revenue.
Financial Losses apparent esp in 2nd and 3rd Carnatic war ex Bussy’s recall because of it, unpaid soldiers.
Bussy was indifferent towards financial losses, his lack of imagination or innovation to counter financial problems at a time when EIC was gaining so much from its India trade ![[#^f8e12c]] ![[#^eb9621]]