LOUIS XVI 1774 - 1793 - Lot 218

LOUIS XVI 1774 - 1793 LUDOV - XVI - FR - ET NAVAR - REX. His bust in court dress, hair held back in a catogan. Underneath, DU VIV. Ornate listel. R/. Shield of arms of the Compagnie des Indes on a crowned cartouche set on palm leaves, supported by two Amerindians. At right, a ship on the sea. In the exergue, COMPE. DES INDES MDCCLXXXV. Ornate listel. Smooth edge. ♦ Feuardent 1594 Compagnie des Indes octagonal silver token 1785. (20.22 g) Ø 35.14 mm Very rare. Very handsome. The first French trading companies were founded in the early 17th century under the reigns of Henri IV and Louis XIII. Under the impetus of Colbert, the State set up powerful companies to compete with the English and Dutch. The East and West India Companies were created in 1664, the Compagnie du Nord in 1669, the Compagnie de la Chine in 1698, the Compagnie de Guinée in 1701, and the Compagnie d'Occident in 1717, which became the Compagnie des Indes in 1719 with a monopoly on Senegal, the West Indies, Canada and Louisiana. In 1769, free trade was granted, generating an increase in activity, but in 1785 a new Compagnie des Indes was reconstituted, "His Majesty having recognized that competition, useful for other branches of commerce, could only be harmful in this one".