French East India Company

History glossary

Also called: Compagnie des Indes Orientales · Topic: Europeans in India and the Rise of Company Rule · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 4 "The Colonial Era in India"

Meaning

The French East India Company (Compagnie des Indes Orientales) was a French trading company set up in 1664 under the minister Colbert. Its aim was to trade with Asia. In India it opened its first trading post at Surat in 1668. In 1674 it founded Pondicherry, which became its headquarters. It was the last European power to arrive in India. Later it tried to build a French empire there, but the British checked it in the Carnatic Wars (1746–63).

Example

Dupleix, Governor-General of French India from 1742 to 1754, trained Indian soldiers in European methods. These soldiers were called sepoys. He also ruled indirectly through "puppet" rulers, meaning Indian rulers whom the French placed on the throne and controlled. In 1746 the French captured Madras. Even so, by 1763 they held only Pondicherry and a few small enclaves (small pieces of land surrounded by someone else's territory).

Don't confuse with

  • English East India Company: it arrived earlier, with footholds at Surat, Madras, Bombay and Calcutta in the 1600s. It won the Carnatic Wars and went on to rule India.
  • Dutch East India Company: it came in the early 1600s and cared mainly about the spice trade. Its power began to fall after Colachel in 1741.

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