Back Franse Oos-Indiese Kompanjie Afrikaans شركة الهند الشرقية الفرنسية Arabic Ost-Hind şirkəti (Fransa) Azerbaijani ফরাসি ইস্ট ইন্ডিয়া কোম্পানি Bengali/Bangla Companyia Francesa de les Índies Orientals Catalan Francouzská Východoindická společnost Czech Det franske ostindiske kompagni Danish Französische Ostindienkompanie German Franca Kompanio de Orientaj Hindioj Esperanto Compañía Francesa de las Indias Orientales Spanish
Louis XIV's East India Company (French: Compagnie des Indes orientales) was a joint-stock company founded in the Kingdom of France in August 1664 to engage in trade in India and other Asian lands, complementing the French West India Company (French: Compagnie des Indes occidentales) created three months before. It was one of several successive enterprises with similar names, a sequence started with Henry IV's first French East Indies Company in 1604 and continued with Cardinal Richelieu's Compagnie d'Orient in 1642.[1] Planned by Jean-Baptiste Colbert to compete with the English East India Company and Dutch East India Company,[2]: 24 it was chartered by King Louis XIV for the purpose of trading in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Louis XIV's company was reorganized in 1685 and eventually went bankrupt in 1706.[3] In 1717 under Louis XV, a new company was formed by John Law that formed the basis for the French Indies Company active during much of the 18th century, which revived many of the efforts initiated by Louis XIV's company.
- ^ Guillemette Crouzet (6 September 2023). "Early French Endeavours in Global Asia and the Creation of the Compagnie des Indes Orientales (1664)". Capasia.
- ^ Mole, Gregory (2016). Privileging Commerce: The Compagnie des Indes and the politics of trade in old Regime France. Carolina Digital Repository.
- ^ Philippe Haudrère & Gérard Le Bouedec (31 May 2023). "Fondation des Compagnies françaises des Indes". France Archives.