The Compagnie Des Indes and the Politics of Trade in Old Regime France
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Carolina Digital Repository PRIVILEGING COMMERCE: THE COMPAGNIE DES INDES AND THE POLITICS OF TRADE IN OLD REGIME FRANCE Gregory Mole A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2016 Approved by: Jay M. Smith Lloyd Kramer Susan Pennybacker Philip Stern Laurent Dubois Ines Zupanov © 2016 Gregory Mole ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Gregory Mole: Privileging Commerce: The Compagnie des Indes and the Politics of Trade in Old Regime France (Under the direction of Jay M. Smith) This dissertation explores the history of the Compagnie des Indes (French East India Company), the privileged corporation established by the monarchy to oversee French settlement and trade in India from 1719 to 1769. Underfinanced, overly centralized, and wracked by infighting, the Company nonetheless became a key site of political experimentation in the final decades of France’s Old Regime. It also came to occupy a central place within the public life of the eighteenth century. A source of ongoing controversy, the corporation attracted a range of both critics and commentators, from jurists and Enlightenment philosophes to shareholders, crown officials, and colonial administrators. As these various groups wrestled over the principles and practicalities of Company trade, they also revisited prevailing assumptions about the political authority of the absolutist monarchy. The politics of the French state were thus reconfigured to accommodate the exigencies of its empire. Focusing on a series of colonial scandals, this dissertation examines how concerns over empire inflected the political language and governing principles of the Old Regime. It uses the Company to place previously unexplored tensions over colonial governance, economic management, and labor regulation at the center of eighteenth-century public debate. It likewise connects political developments in India to the constitutional crises that beset the monarchy in the final decades before the French Revolution. In so doing, this dissertation ultimately reframes iii the evolution of the early-modern French state as a global process driven by controversies and rivalries that originated far outside France’s borders. iv To my parents v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is appropriate that a dissertation on commerce begins by acknowledging the many debts incurred in its making. For all the hours spent alone in front of a computer screen—or in the dark recesses of the microfilm room in the Archives nationales d’outre mers—this project was in every sense a collective one, shaped through the support and comradery of friends, mentors, and family members. I am particularly grateful to Jay Smith for his guidance over the last seven years. Whether providing incisive criticism or well-timed reassurance, Jay has done so much to transform the scattered thoughts that began this project into a completed dissertation. Editor, advisor, and friend: he has worn many hats, and in so doing left an indelible mark on my graduate career. Going back to my undergraduate years at Colgate, Alan Cooper provided unceasingly honest advice about graduate school, and remains a model for good teaching and scholarship. I would also like to thank the other members of my dissertation committee: Lloyd Kramer, Susan Pennybacker, Ines Zupanov, Laurent Dubois, and Philip Stern. Each has provided their own insights and inspiration, and I am grateful for their collective expertise. Particular mention should be made of Phil Stern, who has constantly pushed me to refine my arguments, expand my analytical perspective beyond France, and become a more well-rounded scholar. This dissertation could not have been written without the generous support of the Georges-Lurcy Foundation, Harvard-Cambridge Joint Centre for Economics and History, Medieval and Early Modern Studies Program, and UNC graduate school. Over the many research trips and conferences that these organizations funded, I have benefitted from the kind vi words, generous advice, and invaluable archival tips offered by Kenneth Margerison, Philippe Haudrère, Colin Jones, Anoush Terjanian, Peter Marshall, and Pierre Boulle. Special thanks go out as well to the helpful archivists at the Archives nationales d’outre mers, British Library, and Puducherry branch of the National Archives of India. I have benefitted from many wonderful friendships over the course of my graduate career. In France, the hours of archival work were made easier by the conviviality of the Aix crew: Yan Slobodkin, Terry Peterson, Christy Mobley, Flavio Eichmann, Emily Fransee, and Sarah Cook. I was particularly lucky to meet Mélanie Lamotte during my time in Europe. A wonderful friend, she has provided countless hours of thankless translation help as I have turned English dissertation chapters into French-language articles. Anyone who has spent more than five minutes with me knows that ultimate frisbee occupies a central place in my life. For keeping me sane and in reasonably good shape, I thank Judy Winglee, Doug Fowler, Jason Bivins, Robert Harris, Danielle Gorka, and Kelly Learned. I am especially grateful to Patrick Ledbetter, Kerry Green, and Alan Shaw—fierce competitors on the field who have become great friends off it. My time at UNC has been undeniably enriched by the friendships I have made within the history department. Through their comradery, Sam Finesurry, Joseph Bryan, Julia Osman, Christina Carroll, Mike Paulauskas, Andrew Haeberlin, Brad Proctor, John Robertson, and Zach Smith have all lightened the load of dissertation writing. Laura Sims has been an indefatigable editor and close friend. Andrew Ringlee remains a source of constant humor and support—whether in his tireless, and always futile, requests that I run a marathon with him to his acceptance that I cannot hang out because I have “yet another Frisbee tournament” to attend. Gary Guadagnolo deserves special mention here. From lending out his parking pass to joining me in mangling the German language, from offering insightful advice on my work to spending countless hours vii toiling away beside me in local coffee shops, he has been a true friend ever since my first day of graduate school. None of this would have been possible without the support of my family. To the many aunts, uncles, and cousins who believed in me when I did not, and who encouraged me even as they wondered why someone would devote his life to writing about defunct companies and long- dead merchants, I remain ever grateful. Kate Morrison came into my life during the second half of my graduate career. Her love, never-ending words of encouragement, and heroic patience have sustained me throughout the writing process. I owe my biggest debt of gratitude to my parents, Tom and Sandra. A completed dissertation is a poor return for years of unwavering faith, emotional reassurance, and every imaginable form of support. For instilling in me a love of learning and the confidence to succeed, I can only say thank you. This dissertation is dedicated to them. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 “The very reason and nature of public credit” ...................................................................14 CHAPTER 1: COMMERCE, COMPANY, AND THE CROWN ................................................23 Absolutist Trade .................................................................................................................27 Commerce Reimagined ......................................................................................................37 An Equitable and Efficient Exchange ................................................................................46 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................57 CHAPTER 2: INTEREST, ABUSE, AND THE POLITICS OF COLONIAL TRADE ..............59 A Centralized and Directed Trade .....................................................................................65 Profit-Seeking and Public Interest .....................................................................................73 The Ambiguities of “Abuse” .............................................................................................88 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................96 CHAPTER 3: “I DON’T SELL HONOR”: EMPIRE, AMBITION, AND THE MADRAS IMBROGLIO ...............................................................................................................98 The Siege .........................................................................................................................101 Conceptualizing Madras ..................................................................................................110 The Emerging Scandal .....................................................................................................122 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................133 CHAPTER 4: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF JOSEPH DUPLEIX: COMMERCE, AUTHORITY, AND THE SECOND CARNATIC WAR .................................135 ix Empire and Trade .............................................................................................................137