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Histoire Monétaire Des Colonies Françaises D'après HISTOIRE MONETAIRE COLONIES FRANÇAISES Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from University of Ottawa http://www.archive.org/details/histoiremontaiOOzayeuoft ^2)9?K HISTOIRE MONETAIRE DES COLONIES FRANÇAISES D'APRES LES DOCUMENTS OFFICIELS avec 278 figures PAR ,i E.,TW' ZAY MEMBRE DE LA SOCIÉTÉ FRANÇAISE DE NUMISMATIQUE B PARIS > TYPOGRAPHIE DE J. MONTORIER 16, COUR DES PETITES-ÉCURIES, l6 1892 /' La numismatique coloniale exige deux choses : la description des monnaies émises, appuyée des documents officiels en vertu desquels ces mon- naies ont été créées, et la connaissance des faits historiques ou géographiques qui ont modifié successivement les droits de possession des colo- nies. C'est dans cet ordre d'idées que depuis longtemps nous avons conçu notre œuvre de vulgarisation et multiplié nos investigations pour assurer l'authenticité des émissions, la valeur des pièces et leur classement régulier. La tâche était assez ardue, on en conviendra, avec des points de départ aussi incertains que ceux qui nous sont parvenus jusqu'à ce jour. Pour les monnaies coloniales frappées en France, nous avons recherché les Edits, Décla- rations, Ordonnances et Arrêts rendus en Conseil fabrication en même d'Etat qui en prescrivent la Tusage, et Taide temps qu'ils en déterminent à etc., en dépôt au des titres, mémoires, lettres, Colonies, nous Ministère de la Marine et des monnaies. avons retracé l'historique de ces de plusieurs L'identité, jusqu'alors controuvée, définitivement établie. pièces a pu être ainsi travail. C'est la première partie de notre monnaies La seconde partie qui traite des été plus émises par les colonies elles-mêmes a qui laborieuse. A Texception de Pondichéry Saint-Domingue avait un hôtel des monnaies, de par circonstance, ont et de rile-de-France qui, en géné- frappé une monnaie locale, les colonies ne possédaient ral, et notamment les Antilles, fabrication des pas l'outillage nécessaire à la du monnaies. Afin de remédier à l'insuffisance numéraire importé de France, elles avaient poinçon- adopté des monnaies étrangères qu'elles menue naient ou découpaient pour obtenir une monnaie de valeur purement conventionnelle. Nous avons relevé un certain nombre d'arrêts dont la plu- relatifs à ces émissions; les autres, étran- part ont été rendus pendant l'occupation locale, gère, ne se sont pas retrouvés et la tradition s'est qui aurait pu expliquer certaines pièces, pour perdue. D'ailleurs les éléments font défaut monnaies établir une nomenclature complète des 3 émises par les colonies, et c^est le plus souvent à un concours de circonstances imprévues que nous devons la découverte des quelques pièces qui, jusqu'alors, nous étaient inconnues et dont nous avons essayé de démontrer, par induction, rorigine d'après le type qu'elles représentaient. Il y a donc nécessairement des lacunes. Nous croyons néanmoins que notre Etude apportera la lumière dans ce domaine inexploré et que bientôt la numismatique des colonies françaises, si intéressante, si patriotique, prendra place à côté des aînées que les maîtres nous ont fait connaître et apprécier. Nous avons ouvert la voie, à ceux qui nous suivront de Télargir. Nous ne saurions terminer cet exposé sans offrir le témoignage de notre vive gratitude à M. A. Gambey, le sympathique archiviste du Ministère de la Marine et des Colonies, qui nous a facilité nos recherches dans Timportant dépôt de documents confiés à sa garde et compulsés pour la première fois au profit de la numisma- tique. L'ANCIEN REGIME MONETAIRE DES COLONIES Les colonies françaises, dans l'origine, furent pau- vres en numéraire, et les premiers colons, artisans ou agriculteurs, engagés parles Compagnies, ne pos- sédaient qu'un léger pécule. Les transactions ne pou- vaient donc se faire alors qu'à l'aide de denrées et de marchandises. C'est ainsi qu'au Canada les peaux de castor servirent longtemps de monnaie, et qu'en i66g, le Conseil déclara le blé ofFre légale à quatre livres le minot. Cinq ans plus tard, tous les créan- ciers reçurent l'ordre de recevoir les peaux de rennes en paiement au cours du marché. Aux Antilles, c'é- taient les sucres et les petuns qui remplaçaient l'ar- gent. 11 en fut de même à peu près partout. Sous Louis XIV, les colonies n'avaient pas encore de monnaies particulières. Elles se servaient de quel- ques monnaies de la métropole, toujours distribuées par elle avec parcimonie et qui ont continué d'avoir cours dans la suite mais avec augmentation de valeur 6 l'ancien régime monétaire. comme garantie contre l'exportation. A la livre tour- nois de 20 sols de France, elles opposaient la livre co- loniale d'une valeur nominale plus élevée et qui pou- vait s'accroître ou diminuer suivant les besoins et les localités. D'ailleurs, l'ordonnance royale du 4 mars 1699 défendait l'exportation aux colonies de toute monnaie nationale d'or et d'argent. Il fallut donc remplacer cette monnaie par l'argent étranger que le commerce indigène avec les riches possessions de l'Espagne et du Portugal apportait dans nos colonies et admettre cet argent à un cours légal et forcé afin de créer une unité monétaire qui pût servir de régulateur pour la fixation de la valeur respective des différentes espèces. Cependant cette unité n'a été que purement nominale tant que la France, usant elle- même d'une monnaie de compte, n'a pu arriver à une computation qui convînt également à la métropole et à ses colonies^ D'autre part, la masse du numéraire étranger en circulation eût bientôt excédé les besoins, si le commerce extérieur ne l'avait absorbé et souvent dans des proportions tellement inquiétantes, que le gouvernement crut prudent d'y mettre un terme en décrétant (ordonnances des 13 février et 20 mars 171 2) que le taux de cet argent serait rehaussé, en même temps qu'il conservait intact celui de la monnaie na- tionale. Cette opération avait le double but d'empê- I. Cette régularisation n'a eu lieu que sous Charles X. L'ordon- nance royale du 30 août 1826, en adoptant la computation mo- nétaire en francs, abolit la livre coloniale, et les monnaies aux co- lonies eurent dès lors la même valeur qu'en France. L ANCIEN RÉGIME MONÉTAIRE. 7 cher la réexportation des monnaies étrangères circu- lant aux colonies et l'exportation de la monnaie de France dans ces mêmes colonies. En somme,, on peut dire, et c'est l'opinion qu'en exprime le ministre de la Marine et des Colonies dans son rapport au roi du 30 août 1826, que les colonies eurent longtemps un système monétaire des plus vi- cieux, car il reposait sur la fausse théorie qui sup- pose la faculté parle gouvernement d'ajouter à la va- leur réelle par une valeur fictive, et de rehausser le cours des espèces pour en arrêter la sortie et provo- quer un plus grand débit de denrées. °[ LES COLONIES FRANÇAISES PRÉCIS HISTORIQUE La première colonie française date de la fondation de Québec, en 1608, et l'expansion coloniale de la France acquit son plus grand développement sous le ministère de Colbert, pendant la seconde moitié du xvii' siècle. A l'avènement de Louis XIV, nous ne possédions que le Canada avec l'Acadie, Cayenne^ l'île Bourbon et quelques comptoirs à Madagascar et aux Indes ; le Canada seul était colonisé, Colbert voulut rendre la vie à notre système colo- nial fort négligé depuis Richelieu. Il racheta, au nom du roi, de la Compagnie française des Indes occiden- tales', pour moins d'un million, la Martinique, la Guadeloupe, Sainte-Lucie, la Grenade et les Grena- dilles, Marie-Galante, Sainte-Croixj Saint-Chris- tophe, Saint-Martin et la Tortue qui furent réunies à la couronne (1674). Il plaça sous la protection de la France les flibustiers français de Saint-Domingue qui, venus de la Tortue, s'étaient emparés de la par- I. Fondée par Richelieu en 1627. 10 PRÉCIS HISTORIQUE. tie occidentale de l'île (1664;; il envoya de nouveaux colons à Cayenne (1664) et au Canada (1665); il prit Terre-Neuve pour dominer l'entrée du Saint-Laurent (1680) et commença l'occupation de la iTiagnifique vallée du Mississipi ou Louisiane qui venait d'être explorée par un hardi capitaine, Robert de la Salle. En Afrique, il enleva Gorée aux Hollandais, dans le Sénégal, et prit possession des côtes orientales de Madagascar (1665) d'où les colons ne tardèrent pas à être expulsés. En Asie, la Compagnie des Indes s'établit à Su- rate, à Chandernagor et, plus tard, à Pondichéry. Pour assurer l'existence de ces possessions loin- taines, Colbert substitua les associations privilégiées aux efiforts isolés des particuliers. Reprenant le pro- jet qu'Henri IV n'eut pas le temps de réaliser et que Richelieu ne put qu'effleurer, il établit, en reformant sur de nouvelles bases celles qui existaient déjà', cinq grandes compagnies sur le modèle des sociétés hollandaise ou anglaise : celles des Indes orientales et des Indes occidentales, en 1664; celles du Nord et du Levant, en 1669; celle du Sénégal, en 1673. Il leur accorda, avec des primes, le monopole exclusif du commerce et de la navigation dans les parages que chacune d'elles devait visiter, et, secondé par le roi et la nation tout entière, il leur fit des avances considé- rables. Le traité d'Utrecht (1713) porta une première at- teinte à notre puissance coloniale en nous forçant d'abandonner à l'Angleterre la baie d'Hudson, l'île de I. La Compagnie des Indes occidentales créée en 1 027, et, de- puis Henri IV, trois Compagnies s'étaient ruinées dans les Indes orientales. En 1664, la Compagnie de Dieppe et de Rouen céda ses privilèges à la nouvelle Compagnie des Indes occidentales pour la somme de i 50,000 livres.
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