What was the role of French colonial companies?
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What was the role of French colonial companies?
Studying the role that commercial and colonising companies played in the formation of the French empire and state reveals some surprising connections between business and governance. At the Université de Montréal in Canada, Associate Professor Helen Dewar explores how these companies shaped the French Atlantic world, balancing economic interest with political power.
Talk like an… Atlantic historian
Ancien régime — the political and social system of France before the French Revolution of 1789, characterised by absolute monarchy and a hierarchical society
Chartered companies — businesses granted special rights and powers by a government, such as monopolising trade, governing colonies, making laws and raising armies
Corporation — a group of individuals (who have equal status with each other) which was granted legal status as well as the power to regulate themselves (eg., guilds or municipalities)
Indigenous peoples — the original inhabitants of lands, whose cultures, lands and lives were severely affected by European colonisation. They shaped European colonisation and actively responded to European invasion
Joint-stock companies — a business model where investors own shares in the company, sharing profits and risks
Royal officeholders — individuals who held positions of authority within the monarchy or government, often involved in administrative or financial roles, many of whom bought their positions from the king or previous officeholder
Sovereign — as a noun, a king or queen. As an adjective, having the highest or an independent power
Nowadays, we think of companies as offering services or manufacturing products, providing jobs and generating profit. In the past, they also played a part in building empires. In 17th century France, new types of organisations, called chartered companies, were founded to trade beyond Europe, colonise lands and expand France’s power. These were complex entities that combined commercial aims with political power.
At the Université de Montréal, Associate Professor Helen Dewar researches the vital role that these French colonial companies played in the formation of the French empire and the development of state structures.
How did French companies develop their commercial activities across the Atlantic Ocean?
In the 17th century, French expansion across the Atlantic involved various types of business organisations, mainly partnerships and the newly established chartered companies. At first, most French ventures were partnerships. These were small groups of merchants, often family or close friends, who pooled their resources for specific voyages like fishing trips. Profits and losses were divided based on each member’s contribution, and the partnership would end if members left. “An early example is Pierre du Gua, sieur de Monts, a French merchant and nobleman who, in 1603, was granted extensive powers and privileges to develop a vaguely defined territory in North America,” says Helen. “De Monts founded the Compagnie de Monts, involving merchants from the French ports of Rouen, La Rochelle and Saint-Malo.” Each port contributed funds and ships, sharing profits and losses proportionally at the end of each year.
However, as European powers faced the risks and costs of long-distance voyages, they started using more complex organisational models. In England and the Netherlands, joint-stock companies and corporations emerged. These allowed investors to buy shares and gave the company a legal status to own property, enter contracts and manage its affairs independently.
Inspired by the success of the Dutch and English East India Companies, France established its own chartered companies, like the Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France (the Company of New France, 1627). This company adapted the joint-stock and corporate models, integrating them with traditional French methods to support colonial ventures across the Atlantic.
What power did these companies have?
Chartered companies, such as those in France, England and the Netherlands, were granted extensive powers by their sovereigns or governing bodies. These powers included establishing courts, building settlements, raising armies and even declaring war. Such authority made these companies semi-governmental bodies, blurring the lines between commerce and governance.
Though France was not a dominant power in the 17th century, these companies were vital in advancing its colonial ambitions. “They served to develop the infrastructure of colonisation (e.g., forts), transport colonists, and promote colonisation in the context of a cash-strapped state,” says Helen. For example, the Compagnie des Indes occidentales (the Company of the West Indies) had trading posts in West Africa and managed territories from New France (in North America) to the West Indies, playing a key role in the early transatlantic slave trade and commerce.
However, this growth came at a high cost. “The activities of European chartered companies played a role in the exploitation and dispossession of Indigenous peoples and their lands,” says Helen. While the Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France granted lands in relatively small numbers to French settlers in comparison to the great expanse of northern North America, the French Crown’s goal was to create Indigenous Catholic subjects and, through them, gain control of territory they controlled.
The overall ‘success’ of the French chartered companies is debateable. “For a time, The Campagnie des Indes occidentales enjoyed monopolies on all commerce, but, before long, they lost these monopolies (except on the slave trade) because it could not meet the demand of planters or compete with the prices and merchandise of the Dutch,” explains Helen. In theory, these French companies were granted vast powers and privileges – but in practice, their power was limited.
“French companies are usually presented as poor imitations of their English and Dutch counterparts because they didn’t make a profit, and their membership was dominated by royal officeholders and financiers rather than merchants. In other words, they are usually considered failures due to a heavy-handed government approach,” explains Helen. To understand why these companies took the form they did, Helen studies them in the legal, commercial, social and political contexts of France at the time.
What do these companies reveal about the ancien régime French State?
“First, they reveal that the lines between ‘public’ and ‘private’ were not clear in the early modern period (1600-1800)” says Helen. These companies were given significant powers by the Crown, showing that the French Government relied on them to handle many responsibilities it could not manage alone, often due to lack of funds.
Since the state often lacked money, it turned to these companies to support its colonial and administrative efforts. The involvement of nobles and financiers in these companies also shows how personal interests were closely tied to state functions. Essentially, these companies helped the Crown extend its influence and manage distant territories, demonstrating how business and government roles were intertwined in early modern France. “Studying these companies in an Atlantic framework, rather than simply internally to the colony/colonies they had jurisdiction over, allows us to see surprising connections, for example, between metropolitan (i.e., the ‘mother’ country) and colonial activities and power struggles,” explains Helen.
Dr Helen Dewar
Associate Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Université de Montréal, Canada
Field of research: French Atlantic history
Research: Studying the role of commercial and colonising companies in the formation of the French empire and state
Funder: The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
About Atlantic history
Being a historian involves more than memorising dates and events. “The ‘meat’ of history – and what makes it fascinating – is the study of primary sources, the piecing together and contextualising of them to develop an interpretation of the phenomenon being studied,” explains Helen. This process is continuous; history is never ‘done’, as new discoveries and perspectives continually add to the conversation.
What does it mean to be a French Atlanticist?
Atlantic history is a framework for studying the connections and interactions that developed between societies on the continents bordering the Atlantic Ocean (North and South America, Africa and Europe) from the 15th to the early 19th centuries. This approach looks at the circulation of people, goods, ideas, plants, animals and even diseases across the Atlantic, encompassing subjects such as commercial networks, the Atlantic slave trade and military operations.
For Helen, being a French Atlanticist means focusing on these circulations within the context of France and its imperial ambitions. This approach allows her to trace the movement of legal and governmental practices and understand how processes of empire formation in the Americas and state formation in France influenced each other. However, this framework also considers the diverse peoples that shaped the Atlantic world, including Indigenous peoples, other Europeans and Africans, and the interactions between them.
Why pursue this specialism?
Helen chose to specialise in Atlantic history due to its dynamic and multifaceted nature. The challenges are considerable. Moving between different topics and time periods requires extensive effort to become acquainted with each specific field, its major historical works and ongoing debates. However, this variety keeps the work engaging and despite the challenges, the rewards are substantial.
“One of the rewards of studying history for me is that it satisfies my curiosity about other people’s perspectives on the world,” says Helen. “As a historian, I’m trying to understand the lives, thoughts and actions of people in another time, place and context, who have in common with us our humanity but who are also responding to historically specific circumstances.”
A major highlight of Helen’s research has been her ability to juxtapose France and New France. By comparing these two entities, she has uncovered new insights about their interconnected histories. This Atlantic perspective has highlighted the critical role of naval power and sea control in 17th-century state formation, offering a deeper understanding of how both the mother country and its colonies shaped each other.
Helen is continuing her research into French chartered companies with the goal of showing the particular role that the companies played in French empire-building in distinction to their counterparts in other European empires.
Pathway from school to history
To pursue a career in history, particularly in Atlantic history, students should focus on a broad range of subjects. Courses in history, geography and social studies are fundamental.
“There are many other subjects that relate to history and from which historians have adopted certain research methods and approaches, notably archaeology and anthropology,” says Helen. “Depending on your interests and your existing language skills, I would recommend language classes, especially in those you would be using if you pursued your interest in history.”
“The Université de Montréal’s history department organises a day where students from secondary school and cégep (grade 12 and a preparatory year for university) attend a history class, meet history majors, visit the university’s archives, and learn what themes are covered by the department’s programmes,” says Helen.
To learn more, visit Cap Campus and histoire.umontreal.ca/ressources-services/sejour-decouverte-en-histoire (where information is provided in French).
“The university also offers a summer school programme where students can enrol in a history-focused workshop to see what it is like to be at university,” adds Helen. For more information, visit: ecole-dete.umontreal.ca/en/2024-program/themed-workshop
At university level, students should consider majoring in history, with a focus on early modern or Atlantic history. Language courses and archival research training, such as palaeography (the study of historical manuscripts), are also important.
Explore careers in history
“Being a history professor or a teacher is only one option; several of my students have gone on to do library science (including archival) degrees, and degrees or certificates in editing and urban planning (specialising in built heritage),” says Helen. “We also have former students who work in museums, government departments, research libraries and other cultural institutions.”
“I would recommend visiting local museums and historic sites, and contacting local historical societies for volunteering opportunities,” says Helen. “If possible, consider a summer job at a museum or historic site. Often, these sites rely on college and university students to be interpreters or guides during the summer season.”
While salaries vary, Glassdoor reports that the average salary for a historian in Canada is around C$131,000.
Q&A
Meet Helen
What experiences have shaped your career?
When I was younger, my family visited lots of museums and living history sites, which sparked my interest and imagination. As an undergraduate student, I worked in museums and historic sites during the summer. The most formative moments have been in relation to other people, in the context of teaching or workshops and discussions with colleagues. At a workshop, a well-known historian of Latin America, Jeremy Adelman, asked me and the other presenters, “What’s the puzzle?” In other words, what do we want to figure out, and why does it matter? I think of that often and it shapes my writing and teaching.
What has been the best advice you have ever been given?
It came from Allan Greer, who was my soon-to-be doctoral supervisor at the time. I decided that I was not yet ready to begin the PhD programme I had been accepted onto, and he suggested that I defer for a year, which I didn’t know I could do. He said he had taken time between his degrees and that it had been valuable. I did as he suggested and went to France for four months, enrolling in a certificate programme in an international centre of French studies. It was my first time in mainland Europe and allowed me to see how another society functioned. It also exposed me to fellow students from different countries around the world. When I went to pursue my doctoral work the following year in a major Canadian city, I felt more confident. That year off had been an important period of growth, and the broader perspective served me well afterwards, in both life and work.
What are your proudest career achievements?
Writing and publishing a book! In history, the main type of publication is a book, whereas in other social sciences and humanities, it’s articles. My book, Disputing New France, was based on my doctoral thesis, but was a thorough reworking and expansion. I also won the Canadian Historical Association’s best dissertation prize for a history thesis completed in a Canadian university in 2013, and my book was shortlisted for the best book prize of the Wilson Institute for Canadian History at McMaster University.
Helen’s top tips
1. Follow your interests and curiosity.
2. Talk to family acquaintances, parents of friends, or neighbours who are working in a job connected to history and learn what it is like.
Do you have a question for Helen?
Write it in the comments box below and Helen will get back to you. (Remember, researchers are very busy people, so you may have to wait a few days.)
Learn how historical letters teach us about past societies:
www.futurumcareers.com/what-can-historical-letters-teach-us-about-past-societies
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