«COMPAGNIE DES INDES ORIENTALES»

19 Aug 2022

As of 26 August 2022, the permanent exhibition will feature a new highlight. The Finance Museum is now showing the French East India Company of 1665.

On 27 August 1664, Louis XIV, the Sun King, founded the French East India Company upon initiative of the French Minister of Finance, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, and merged the existing small companies into a large one based on the model of the Dutch East India Company VOC. However, the British and the Dutch had already divided up the territories among themselves, which resulted in armed conflict. The company focused on luxury goods from India, such as spices, tea, perfume or Indian cotton.

French East India Company 1665, nominal value: 6000 Livres

«COMPAGNIE DES INDES ORIENTALES»

As of 26 August, the permanent exhibition will also feature the "Compagnie des Indes Orientales" - the French East India Company from 1665. It is the oldest known security in financial history that already shows all the characteristics of a share-certificate. This historical security is one of only three still in existence worldwide, and the only one on display in a museum.

The stock issued is viewed as the oldest security still in existence which also indicates transfers of ownership and was therefore tradeable and transferable. The document is a standardized form confirming the first inflow of 2.000 livres out of a total of 6.000 livres (nominal value of the stock) to the company. Alongside the share of the Dutch East India Company VOC, the French East India Company (Compagnie des Indes Orientales) is the most important early share-based trading company of which copies of shares have been preserved.

Image: Stiftung Sammlung historischer Wertpapiere

Banque Royale

The company existed until 1720, when it merged with John Law’s Compagnie d’Occident (Mississippi or Louisiana Company) into the Compagnie des Indes. Despite much speculation with the new company’s stock on the Paris stock exchange in 1720 after the bankruptcy of the famous Banque Royale due to inflationary issuing of banknotes such as this, the new company persisted until the end of the 18th century.

This banknote is actually exposed in the exhibition "Money unleashed" the Bernisches Historisches Museum.

Port-Louis

The company’s ships left from the small port city of Port-Louis. Right next to it was the city of Lorient (French for “the orient”), a city founded expressly for the company. The citadel of Port-Louis is home to the Musée de la Compagnie des Indes, which casts a light on the company’s history.

Image: gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France

Founding

Copy of an announcement from 27 August 1664 giving notice of the foundation of the trading company for East India. The company was to receive a 50-year monopoly for the entire trading business beyond the Cape of Good Hope, meaning Asia and Asia Pacific. It was allowed to occupy land, declare war and trade in slaves, among many other things.