CHAPTER - I1 PONDICRERRY AND ITS TRADE ECONOMY ON TEE EVE OF TEE EIGRTEENTA CENTURY

CHAPTER - I1 PONDICRERRY AND ITS TRADE ECONOMY ON TEE EVE OF TEE EIGRTEENTA CENTURY Pondicherry was Poduke in the Exacavations first conducted...
Author: Karin Johnston
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CHAPTER

-

I1

PONDICRERRY AND ITS TRADE ECONOMY ON TEE EVE OF TEE EIGRTEENTA CENTURY Pondicherry was Poduke

in

the

Exacavations

first

conducted

known to the

century at

of

Roman

the

Arikamedu in

traders

Christian the

there

and

Roman

traders

Pallavas

of

existed

it had discontinued after the withdrawl of the 1 in the third century A.D. The rule of

witnessed the diversion of trade and

Pondicherry

to the northern port of

commerce

Mahabalipuram.

the Chola kings developed the southern port of and

era.

environs

Pondicherry show that flourishing maritime commerce

as

of

Later,

Nagapattinam

so commercial activities of Pondicherry region

on

the

east coast dwindled. A recent study of the Coromandel region during

the

Kunimedu

sixteenth century points out that the

to

the

north

of

2 international trading centre.

the

Pondicherry

emerged

port

of

as

an

The Portuguese who traded on

Coromandel coast settled at Devanampattinam,

south

of

Pondicherry in order to divert the commerce of Kunimedu; but they

could

Marakkayars trade it.

not

succeed

in

their

attempts

of Kunimedu who were rich and

since

powerful

the

having

contacts with South East Asia successfully prevented

Such a development made it possible for the

French

in

the

Seventeenth

century to settle down at

Pondicherry

to

participate in the commerce of the region. The medieval economy of Pondicherry was on

agriculture.

because

of

the

Ariyankuppam

Land

in this

Gingee

river

river

and

region and

its

Kilinjiyar

or

was

dependent

very

fertile

tributaries

like

Chunambar

which

provided sufficient quantity of water for irrigation. food crops and cash crops such as paddy, indigo, coconut,

Kambu,

chillies,

cholam, groundnut, tobaco,

gingili,

cotton

and

pulses

Both

sugarcane,

betel

leaves,

were

chiefly

3

cultivated. Some

vegetables and fruits

were

grown.

studies show that handicrafts were well developed

catered However, in

Besides,

to

the needs of both local and

overseas

we shall examine how the arrival of the

Europeans

general and the French in particular subsequent

establishment

and

markets.

to

of a factory by them at Pondicherrry in

the 1674

contributed to considerable changes in its trade economy. EARLY EUROPEAN CONTACTS WITH PONDICHERRY The Portuguese The

Portuguese who came to the Malabar

coast

the end of the fifteenth century conducted trade in As

time went on they diversified their trade by

by

pepper.

purchasing

cotton

textiles

establishments Coromandel

for

for

coast

West

Africa,

trade.

because

where

Thus the it

was

they

had

Portuguese

very

famous

firm

came for

to its 4

textiles, along

and established a trading lodge

with

other settlements at

Devanampattinam,

St.Thome

at

Pondicherry

Nagapattinam,

and

PortoNovo,

Masulipatanam.

conducted great trade and carried excellent cotton from

the

aforesaid ports to Pegu, Siam, Malacca

They textiles

and

West

5

Africa.

However, they could not continue their trade

long in Pondicherry and in

1614

had to abandon their lodge

Muthukrishnappa

nayak

of

Gingee

for

because

expelled

the

Portuguese from Pondicherry which was under his control. The Danes At

the beginning of the seventeenth century,

the

Danes appeared on the Coromandel coast and between 1616

and

1620, they established their factories at Tranquebar and 6 Pondicherry. In 1624, the lodge at Pondicherry was given

7

to

them by the Nayak of Gingee.

mansion

at

manufacturing

Pondicherry

They constructed a

and

developed

the

industries by providing necessary

large cotton

facilities

8

to the weavers and other artisans. continue

there

for

a

long

However, they could not

period.

When

they

left

Pondicherry, the weavers and other artisans entered into the

services

of

other

European

Companies

and

worked

as

intermediaries for their export trade. The Dutch In the early part of the seventeenth century, when the Dutch realised the significance of textile trade of Coromandel

coast

factories

at

with

Petapoli

Malacca, and

they

Masulipatanam

in

Tirupapuliyur in 1608 and at Pulicat in 1610. closed

their

the

established

factory at Petapoli due to

the

their

1606,

In 1616

at they

extortionate

9

demands

of local haveldar.

In 1618 they

abondoned

their

factory at Tirupapuliyur because of the civil war among

the

Nagaks of this region and so they shifted their commerce to 10 Pondicherry. Later in 1620 they left the Pondicherry lodge and settled at Tenganapatanam.

In the second half

of

the seventeenth century, they again appeared at

Pondicherry

for

there

procuring textiles and continued to remain 11

from

1664 to 1670. The English The English also wished to establish their factory at

Pondicherry, for which in 1624 they sent their ships to 12 this port. In 1639, Francis Day visited Pondicherry twice

and

stayed

in

the Danish lodge with a

view

to

starting

13

commerce

there.

permission French

tried their

level

best

the local ruler of Gingee even

from

settled

efforts

They

in Pondicherry.

to

after

But they failed

to obtain the requisite permission from

get the

in

their

the

local

ruler, as the French influence with the court of Gingee very

strong,

and

so the English could not

set

up

was

their

trading factory at Pondicherry. EARLY EFFORTS OF THE FRENCH TO TRADE WITH INDIA Indeed, like other Europeans, the French merchants had a strong desire to secure a share in the lucrative trade in orrental commodities.

During the reign of Louis XII,

in

1502, Paulmier de Gonneville, captain of Honfleur, sailed in

his

ship

ltEspoir from the port of

Havre

towards

Indian

Ocean,

round the cape of Good Hope, but a storm in the sea 14 carried his ship to the coast of Brazil. In 1526, some

merchants

of

Rouen

sent

their

ships

commanded

by

a

Portuguese

mariner named Estevao Dias Brigas from the

port

of

with some pieces of artillary towards

the

East

of

Good

Dieppe

reached Diu in 1527 after rounding the cape

which 15

Hope.

Jean Ango, a famous shipowner, fitted out two ships

Sacree

and Pensbe in 1529, in which two brothers Raoul

and

Jean

Paramentire undertook a commercial expedition

towards

East

Indies,

visited

leaving

the port of

Dieppe.

They

Sumatra,

Malacca,

returned

to France with a considerable cargo

Maldives

and

Madagascar

islands of

and 16 spices.

But these voyages did not leave any serious impact. Neverthless, ~ o u i s XII, voyages. as

the

encouraged

King Francois I,

his merchants

to

successor

undertake

But later from 1531 onwards he changed his

to long

policy

the Portuguese prevented the French sailors from entering 17 the Portuguese colonies. In addition, since there

into

was the civil war in France, no serious efforts were made in this

direction.

However, in 1600, Pierre Vamperue, a

ship

of Rouen, had a fleet of seventeen ships which 18 employed in the Indian commerce. A Company

were

owner

was

established on 18th May, 1601 at Saint Malo which fitted out two

vessels, Le Croissant of 400 tonnage and Le

Corbin

200 tonnage in which Francois Pyrard de Lava1 travelled reached

Madagascar

of and

on 18th February 1602. Not less than 19 After three months,

forty one persons died at Madagascar. on

July 3rd Le Corbin was wrecked at Maldives Islands,

ship

Le

Croissant however survived and

visited

the

Maldives,

Ceylon,

Nicobar and Sumatra islands and returned to 20 after a successful voyage. During the peaceful and prosperous reign of

IV, who cherished greatly the importance of overseas

France

Henry trade,

the French East India Company was established in 1604 the

letter

patent

of

the

king

with

exclusive

under

trading

21

privileges was

for fifteen years.

renewed

funds.

However,

regularly petition

in

towards to

privileges

In 1611, when the

project

under Louis XIII, trade declined for

the

1615, in order to

the East, two merchants king to transfer, in

granted

send

to

movement was opposed.

the

previous

want

their

of

their

of

ships

Rouen

gave

favour,

the

Company,

but

this

However, after hearing the arguements

from all the concerned, the king reorganised the Company 2nd

July

called

1615.

This Company assumed a new

name

and

on was

Compagnie des Maluques, it was conferred exclusive 22 for 12 years. This Company fitted out two

privileges ships

of

600 tonnage each, namely, Saint Louis

and

Saint

Michel under commanders Nicolas Frotter de la Bardeliere and Louis Hans de Decker respectively port Dutch

They set sails from

of St.Malo in 1616 towards Java. They included among

Pondicherry Achin

.

their crew.

The ship Saint Louis

in July 1617, from where she proceeded

carrying considerable cargo of textiles to

other ship ; but as the ship Saint Michael

a

arrived

the few at

towards

join

was captured

the by

the Dutch at Java, it returned to St.Malo after a successful 23 expedition. Subsequently, on 2nd October 1619, the Company sent another expedition of three ships

L'Eermitrge,

L'Esperance, Moutonorenci with an advice boat of 7 5 tonnage from

the

port

of

Hanfleur

towards

aforesaid ships reached Achin. L'Esperance with

East

Indies.

At Java one of these

The ships,

her cargo worth 5,00,000 ecus,(coins)

was

attacked and sunk in the sea by Schouten, the Dutch ship and 24 her cargo worth 5,00,000 ecus was set on fire at Batavia. The Beaulieu on

commander

of

this

expedition

started his return voyage alone with

the

Augusten

de

Y~IItonoren~i

1st of February 1622, leaving L'Aermitage

to

his

assistant Andre Jocet who made the coastal navigation

under

the

name of Petite Esperance between the islands

of

Sunda

and

Malacca.

Guillaume

Gauthier

de

He

was massacred

by

the

Dutch.

la Terrerie, successor of Andre Jocet

with a 25 cargo of one million, was also captured by the Dutch. But Augustin de Beaulieu reached the port of Havre in France

on

26

the 1st December, 1622. When Finance

cardinal

Minister

of

de Richelieu became

France, he realised

fully

importance of the French Commerce in the East. concerned against crafty

very

much

with the Dutch

and

powerful well

He was

their

the French interests in the Far East. Richelieu put to good use

the

And

the also

jealously so

his diplomacy and so

the in

1624, Richelieu lent the French support to the Dutch against

the house of Austria, in exchange he obtained from the Dutch favour of

non-interference in the French trade in the

and

Indies

West

harassment

East

and released the French merchants from 27 In 1626, he made a declaration

by the Dutch.

in the French Assembly that as in neighbouring countries he was

going to form big trading companies and thus to

compel

the

French merchants to participate in

trade.

the eastern

He decided to grant large privileges to the traders to

similar 28 those enjoyed by those of neighbouring countries. In

October

1626, he was proclaimed the Great Master Chief

Superintendent General

of the Navigation and

and

Commerce

of

29

France. In

1630, two financiers, Berruyer and

established

a

Company

under

the

title

Desmartins

of

Compagnie

particuliere de Nevigation pour exploiter les Isles'a 1' Est de Madagascar and made an expedition towards Madagascar with Rigault

as

surveyed

captain. He reached that island

it.

in

Between 1630 and 1632 Gilles de

1632, and

Regimont,

a 30

Dieppean,

travelled

Between

1633

towards

the

and

to

India

and

1637, several

the

Persian

voyages

East Indies and Madagascar, by

were

Gulf.

undertaken

one

Dieppoise

Society which drew the attention of Cardinal Richelieu. Cardinal

noting

the success of these

voyages

granted

The to

Rigault

and his assistants on 29th of January 1642 certain

concessions and privilages to reach the Madagascar and other 31 neighbouring islands and establish colonies and commerce. With

the

efforts

of Richelieu

,

King

Louis

signed

XI11

letters of patent rights on 15th of February 1642 which also changed

the Dieppoise Society into Compagnie

de

ItOrient.

By the letters patent signed later on 24th June of 1642, the 32 king also granted exclusive privilege for ten years. When l'Orient

the

first

French

ship of

Compagnie

commenced its expedition, Richelieu died.

expedition

was

intended to establish a

French

de This

colony

in

Madagascar, so that it might serve as a halting point on the sea route to reach India from France.

This expedition under

captain Rigault reached the island of Madagascar in 1643 on its south east coast. There

fort Dauphin was founded and a 33 small colony grew in and around fort Dauphin. But however the later expeditions did not achieve any success due to the mismanagement

of

expeditions by the leaders

and

also

account of unfavourable climate of the place, and above 34 on account of the hostility of the natives.

on all

Under these circumstances, Etienne de Flacourt was sent to fort Dauphin on 19th May, 1648 in the ship Le Laurent

with

nineteen

colonists. He

took

Saint

possession

of

Governorship sent

of the Fort Dauphin on 5th December, 1648

and

Le

called

Bourg to occupay the island of Mascarin which he 35 Bourbon island. Between 1650 and 1660 the French

sailors explored the sea route to India through the cape Good Hope and their vessels frequently sailed to the coasts.

At

completely

the the

same time, the

French

did

of

Indian

not

neglect

much shorter land routes to India,

through

Aleppo, Baghdad, Isfahan, Quandahar and Multan through which several

French travellers such as the

Capuchin

missionary

Father Raphael Du Mans, and others like La Boullaye Le Gouz, Jean

de

Thevenot,

Franpois

Bernier

and

Jean

Baptiste

36

Tavernier Finance

reached

Minister

commercial

expansion

neglected because serious

India. in

the of

When Cardinal long reign France

of

Mazarin Louis

abroad

was

became

XIV,

the

completely

of frequent wars with Spain

and

efforts were made in this connection until

so

no

Colbert

became the finance minister. COLBERTISM IN FRANCE Mercantilism Colbert

took

spread

all over

office as Finance Minister

Europe of

when

Jean

France.

The

principal object of Mercantalism was the economic of

interests

the nation as a whole, rather than the interests of

individuals

or

parts

of

the

nation

and

the

consequently

accumulation

of bullion, and establishment of importance of

exports

over

imports etc.

This

already

inspired France as well.

mercantile

policy

had

When Colbert

became

the

finance minister upon the death of cardinal Mazarin in 1661, he

found the weakness of the French financial position

noted

also the unanimous desire of the

were

and

mercantilists, who

mostly government officers and intellectuals, for

the

development of country's wealth. In

such

a

context,

Colbert

naturally

desired

France to be in the forefront of the prosperous countries of Europe

by securing for her a right place

trade.

Therefore,

policy.

Later

he followed strictly

in

international

the

this policy came to be known

mercantilist

in

France

as

In order to strengthen the economic might

of

37

Colbertism. the

French

commerce and

nation,

directed

agriculture,

industry,

and maritime trade to one common future of

expansion

entire

he

of

financial

overseas trade; administration,

he

also

for

which

growth

reformed he

the

did

not 38

neglect He

to get favourable opinion even from

cancelled

taxation, domestic from

and

the

claims of the nobles

imposed indirect taxes.

industry not only did he invite

outside

the

public.

for

freedom

from

To

safeguard

the

skilled

France, but also encouraged

the

artisans import

of

foreign

raw

materials;

and he

prohibited

the

entry

foreign products whenever it meant precious metals

of

leaving

39

French

kingdom.

In every area he laid down strict

rules

and exercised detailed supervision of the central power. also

established

hundred

a powerful French naval

Ae

force with

warships, sixty thousand soldiers, and

one

constructed

naval ports such as Brest, Toulon, Rochefort and bought port

of

Durkirk from the English to protect

the

the

merchant

40

marine. Colbert planned to form a group of powerful,

rich

and strong companies protected by the Royal Government

like

the

Dutch

Company to establish colonies and

to

carry

on

41

regular trade with India.

In all these efforts,he

echoed

the

unanimous desire of the merchants to his

XIV

and with his consent the La Royal Compagnie

master

aux

Indes Orientales was established with a capital of

de

Louis France one

42

thousand General

livres Chamber

and was placed under the management of of

twenty one

directors.

This

Chamber had rights to appoint Governors for its

a

General

possessions

and to renew one-third of the members every year and also to prepare

the

assembly

of

Company

was

accounts

every six months to

shareholders registered

yearly.

The

submit

charter

in the parliament on

the

to of

the this

1st

of

September

1664.

An exclusive privilege of fifty years

granted to this Company to trade in India and was to

promote christianity in Madagascar and its 43 islands.

was

permitted

neighbouring

ESTABLISHMENT OF A FRENCH FACTORY AT PONDICHERRY In

1664,

merchants land to

the

namely

Company

sent

a

group

of

Mariage and Dupont

Bebber,

three through

route to Isfahan with the letters from king Louis XIV 44 the king of Persia. They arrived at Isfahan in July

1665 and were cordially welcomed by the king of Persia, granted special concessions for trade. de for

Here, Bebber

joined

la Boullaya Le Gouz, who had come much earlier and Surat,

where

Thevenot

and

welcomed

by

Capuchin

Father

they arrived

Tavernier. the

in

March,

At Surat,

Mughal Governor of

they

1666 were

and

friendly

the situation

met

the

with

the for

trade, de la Boullye Le Gouz sent a detailed account of

the

country

the

After

to

Colbert

in which

he

relations

to

useful

Governor.

finding

left

cordially

Surat,thanks

Ambroise's

who

very

advocated

strongly

dispatch of French vessels to India and concluding alliances with Indian princes. the

two

merchants

In spite of opposition from the Dutch, went to Agra

and

obtained a favourable firman from him.

met

Aurangazeb

and

Aurangzeb on the 4th

of September 1666 ordered the Governor of Surat to earmark a site off Swally

to the French for trade there just like the 45

Dutch and the English. At sea

four

sailed

to

Franpois port

this juncture, the French Company put

ships

of three hundred tons

Madagascar.

It was in

each.

this

out

These

expedition,

Martin was employed as submerchant.

He

of Brest on 1st of March 1665, boarding on

to

ships that

left the

the ship,

Aigle, and arrived at fort Dauphin at Madagascar by the 46 of July 1665. Another expedition was fitted out by

end

Company

who

next year in 1666.

Meanwhile, Franpois

the

Caron

had gained wide experience in eastern undertakings while was

with the Dutch, left the Dutch Company and

he

joined

the

services of Colbert, who was only too eager to take him

and

appointed him Director General of French Commerce in The

expedition

France named

fitted

out by the Company

in

India.

1666

left

under the leadership of Francois Caron and a Persian Marcara,

customs

a

of India.

native of Isfahan, who

knew

the

local

They arrived at Madagascar in 1667.

The

Company resumed all activities necessary to establish direct commerce

with

India after trying to found

a

Company

at

Madagascar twice. On French

reaching Madagascar, Franpois Caron found

establishment in so deplorable a condition

that

the he

disliked

to waste his efforts.

Franpois Caron,

therefore,

decided to have direct commercial relations with India. left

fort Dauphin in October 1667, and arrived at Surat

the beginning of 1668, passing through Cochin. met

He in

At Surat

Bebber and established the first French factory on

he the 47

strength of the firman obtained by Bebber from Aurangazeb. He

sent

extend

the

ship back to Madagascar.

French

Having

decided

Commerce on to the Coromandel coast

to

in

the

same year, Franpois Caron directed Marcara to proceed to the court

of

Golconda

and

to

obtain

trade

establish a factory at Masulipatanam. proceeded to the court of Golconda. opposition

from

privileges

On the way he met

the English and the Dutch.

He,

to tide over all the difficulties created by

and

5th

December 1669, he obtained from

with

however,

managed on

to

Marcara, accordingly,

the

them

king

of

Golconda a firman which permitted the French to trade in his 48

kingdom,without In

the

paying any tax for imports and

same year the French secured

another

exports. firman

from

49

Aurangazeb to found a factory at Masulipatanam.

and

did

in fact establish a factory at that place, where Marcara was temporarily appointed buildings

in a 50

France Petta

.

as the Director in 1670 and

village which later came to

be

put

up

known as

Franpois

Martin

who

had stayed

four

years

at

Madagascar, moved to India and made his voyage from Surat to Red

Sea region between 10th of March and 21st

that

of

Later he came to India and met Caron at

1669.

time, Caron

sent G O U J O ~ and

Franpois

November

Surat.

At

Martin

to

Masulipatanam where they arrived on the 7th of August 1670. 51 Goujan became the chief of the French counter. In 1670 with

the efforts of Francois Caron, the French

their

established

at Rajapur, Tellicerry and Mirjan

factories

on

the

Malabar coast, but the last factory was abandoned by them in 52

1672 and it was later occupied by the Dutch

Caron suggested to Colbert to take of

Ceylon

advantages firm

and in

footing

Colbert.

Owing

impressed upon

.

Meanwhile,

possession of the island

him

the

great

commercial

spice trade of that island so as to in the country. to

have

His project was approved

a conflict, Marcara

was

arrested

a by at

Masulipatanam on the 21st of September 1670, and was sent to 53

Surat. was that

In the same month, Goujon died.

Francois

to become the chief of the Masulipatanam

Martin

factory.

time Sher Khan Lodi, Governor of Valikondapuram

At

under

the Sultan of Bijapur invited the French to trade in his own 54

territory This

for

prompted

Valikondapuram

the purpose of developing Francois to

Martin

explore the

to

textile

send

possibility

an

trade.

Armenian

of

to

developing

commerce.

The Armenian after visiting the country

reported

on the commercial potentiality to Francois Martin, who could not do anything on his own without the permission of

Caron.

He, therefore, wrote to Caron on French commercial prospects 55

in the country of Sher Khan Lodi.

On one

of

the three ships named St.Francoie

factory embarked time

the first of April 1671, Caron left to

Surat

establish

at Bantam. Marcara, being unable to work with with his supporters on the same vessel.

Francois

Baron, an ancient French consul

on

him,

At at

a

that

Allepo,

came to assist Caron for managing the affairs of the French 56 factory at Surat. After establishing a trading counter at Bantam, Caron left Bantam for Surat. there

long.

Marseilles

But he could not

He set sail in 1673, with all his

stay

wealth

as Colbert summoned him back to France, to

for hear

upon the petition given by the French Directors against him. His

ship

sailed

to Lisbon by way

of

Gibraltar,

but

entering the harbour it struck on a rock in which Caron 57 with his ill-fated death. Meanwhile, squadron

on

the 21st of March

1672 a

on met

French

under the command of admiral Bianquest de la

Aaye

came to anchor in the Bay of Trinkomali.

Having

with

to

the

king

of

Candy, he succeeded

negotiated

build

a

fort

58

there. the

But on finding some opposition from the natives of

island

and

resistance from the Dutch

who

had

their

settlements there, with exclusive trade right over the whole and

coastal Ceylon, he left the Bay on the 9th of July 1672 59

anchored

at

juncture,

St.Thome

the

on

the 20th

of

July.

At

French at Masulipatanam sought the

this

help

of

Bijapur Sultan and de la Haye attacked St.Thome and captured it on the 25th of July from the Sultan of Golconda. When Sher Khan Lodi came to know about the capture St.Thome by the French he wrote a letter to de

of and

offered

la

Aaye

his

own

In November 1672, de la Haye sent one of

his

a site for a French establishment in

60

territory. personal Sher

guards Bellanger de l'bspinay, to pay a

visit

to

Khan Lodi and to procure provisions for his troops

to

protect St.Thome. Bellanger de 1'Espinay left St.Thome an

able

Indian

Valikondapuram

interpreter, Antonio

on

18th

Catte1,and

of December where

he

with

came

was

to

warmly

61

welcomed by Sher Khan Lodi. from

Valikondapuram,

successful

he

negotiations.

After arriving at Porto reported to de He

came

la

down

Haye

to

Novo

on

his

settle

at

62

Pondicherry

on

the 4th of February 1673.

Ae

sent

also

provisions French

to St.Thome. This was the beginning of the 63 settlement at Pondicherry. On 30th of June 1673,

de

Haye

la

himself came to Pondicherry

and

returned

to

St.Thome

on the next day soon after inspecting the site and 64 with a view to future development. When and

out in Europe between

the

the French, the Dutch joined hands with the

Golconda the to

war broke

and blockaded the port of St.Thome by

Dutch

Sultan sea,

Sultan sent his forces and attacked the French by drive

them

Bellanger

away from the

port.

In

this

of

while land

situation,

de 1'Espinay wrote to de la Haye in January

1674

to send an assistant to him. In compliance, Fransois Martin 65 was selected and sent to Pondicherry. Martin worked with de 1'Espinay in good faith to overcome the difficulties to

manage the opponents.

la

Haye

had

and

In spite of the best efforts,

to surrender St.Thome to the

Dutch

on

de 23rd 66

September Leaving

1674 and he recalled Bellanger

the

Pondicherry

letter of Sher Khan Lodi and with

de

1'Espinay.

the

affairs

Fran~0iSmartin, Bellanger

de

of

1'Espinay

went to St.Thome where he joined de la Aaye and embarked for France. Only Franpois Martin remained at Pondicherry sixty

Frenchmen.

On the strength of the letter

with

issued

by

Sher Khan Lodi on April 1674, he built up the French factory strongly at

Pondicherry and became the first Governor 67 that factory on the Coromandel coast.

of

TRADE UNDER THE FRENCH INFLUENCE UPTO 1700 After began

to

grow

the

establishment of

rapidly

at

Pondicherry

administration of Franpois Martin. Company's and

the

the

factory,

under

In order to

the

Franpois Martin

brought

able

boost

trade in the midst of evil designs of English,

trade

the

with

the Dutch

him

an

eminent merchant, called Tanappa Mudaliar from Poonamalle to Pondicherry, where the latter made his permanent settlement. 68

He became the chief broker of the Company. forty were

Within a year,

houses were built for a small number of to develop and defend the factory.

weavers

Besides,

Martin received from Sher Khan Lodi three hundred men services

were

utilized not only as soldiers

who

Franpois whose

but

also

as

a piece of land to each of

them

to

69

colonists.

He gave

construct houses and also set up looms.

Thus he

encouraged

them to produce a large quantity of textiles for export.

No

sooner did he try to develop the economy of the region, than he

had

Shivaji

to

face the threat from

captured

Gingee

and

the

Marathas.

threatened

In to

1677

attack

Pondicherry. Franpois Martin managed to obtain a firmsn from

Shivaji by paying a large sum of money through one

of

the

Shivaji's

firman from 70 son Shambaji in 1689 to defend the factory. At

the

time, he was granted permission to

native

chieftains and

same

revenue as

later he got

another

collect

land

from the district of Pondicherry by Sher Khan Lodi 71 not able to repay the dues. Hence, Franqois

he was

Martin continued to construct houses and warehouses to store the

cloths for the shipment to France.

heavy from

expenses on account of transportation of interior parts, Franpois Martin invited

artisans and

In order

settle

at

Pondicherry. Thus

the

He

obtained

French

were

avoid

merchandise

the

and merchants of surrounding places to

Pakkumudayanpet.

to

weavers,

come

down

the

grant

of

able

to

get

72

manufactured there 5000 pieces of cloths per month. two

years after the establishment of the

Nearly

factory, Fran~ois

Martin

constructed houses, shops, markets and open bazzars 73 for the colony by spending 10,00,000 livres. He continued

to

encourage

the weavers and merchants

quantities of

cloths.

Thus

external, began to flourish

trade,

to both

produce

large

internal

and

gradually at Pondicherry.

In order to expand the Company's commerce, and bring

rice

Franfois

for

local

consumption,

on

Martin obtained the village of

16th

July

to

1686,

Kaveripumpattinam,

three leagues north of Tranquebar, and concession for

doing

74

business

in

Karaikal from the Nayak

textile

industries

bloomed

at

of

Tanjore.

Pondicherry

The

and

its

surrounding villages under the direct control of the French. Different were

kinds

of commodities such as textile

brought to Pondicherry from the interior

Company

merchants were also sent over to the

centres

in

the

interior parts

of

and

paddy

parts.

The

manufacturing

Gingee,

Golconda

and

To fulfil

the

75

Masulipatanam den~nnd of

to bring cloths for export.

the

growing population,

rice

by

several barges from

Porto

Pondicherry Nagapattinam

wns

brought

Novo,

to

Tanjore,

and Kaveripumpattinam and it was sold

to

the

76

poor people at the same price paid by the Company. Exports covered various goods.

Different kinds of

cloths such as painted cloths, handkerchiefs and food grains were

collected

exported

from various production centres and were 77 to France. The Company ships plied between the

port

of Pondicherry and the ports of Bantam,

and

Tenasserim

Siam,

Mergui 78

Merchandise other

carrying

Cargoes

of

various

such as silver, wine, broad cloths,

articles of commerce were imported

into

sorts. coral

and

Pondicherry

and these were sent to Cuddalore, Port0 Nova, Tranquebar and ~averipumpattinam

in

the

south

and

to

St.Thome,

Masulipatanam

and

Bengal in the north for sale 79

where

the

French had their own agents. In

the

beginning,

French

collected

made

quantities

of textiles from various centres But

in

trade

the

in

merchants.

textile

and

investment

1963,

when

the

regular

considerable through

Dutch

their

attacked

captured Pondicherry the brisk trade of the French

and

declined

fast in Pondlcherry and there was no active trade for nearly four

years when it was in the hands of the Dutch.

After

peace treaty was signed in 1697 in Europe between the

a

Dutch

and the French, the former returned the port of Pondicherry 80 the French. Their textile trade began to pick up

to

gradually import

in

of

reasonably

the Coromandel region.

spices good

by

trade.

them

was

In

not

this

enough

So, they started

that was not profitable.

period to

their

By the

end

the

conduct trade

in

of

the

coffee,

but

century

i.e. in 1699 their total trade in India recorded

a

peak of 30,00,000 pounds, of which 25,00,000 pounds worth of goods were accounted by exports and 4,00,000 pounds worth of 81 goods by imports. The hinterland of Pondicherry consisted of several fertile

paddy cultivating villages such

Ariyankuppam,

Olukarai,

Villianur,

as

Murungapakkam,

Tavalakuppam, Embalam,

Abishekapakkam, Nettapakkam and Bahur.

In the

seventeenth

century, Pondicherry and its surrounding villages were under the

control

of vnrious local rulers.

The arrival

of

the

French on the Coromandel coast witnessed the development pondicherry

and

province. Khan

its neighbouring villages

in

Lodi who gave the site to the French for

Gingee

the

It was brought under the direct control

of

of

Sher

establishing

trading settlements. Pondicherry began not only to

develop

into a big town, but also to extend its boundary. It the west

was during the period of FranFois Martin

boundary of the region began to spread and south.

towards

that north,

The seat of the Council of the French

was

shifted from Surat to Pondicherry and the latter became

the

headquarters of the French in India subsequent to the

issue 82

of The

a Royal Edict in 1701 setting up a Conseil Sovereign

French

Council

was set up at

Pondicherry

as a court to render justice to the French

in India or involved in the transactions the rule of Louis XIV. as

Souverain.

in

the

headed

There were also Provincial

other French trading centres in

Company.

by

the

Merchants

Director General

the

residing

of colonies during

of

Councils

India,

evident from the Royal Edict of February 1701. was

by

the

The

as

Council

East

were associated to the extent

is

of

India the

three in civil matters and five in criminal cases. rendered

in

Council.

other establishments was

In

Council

addition to rendering justice,

dealt

with

administration

all

matters

Justice

appealable

relating

and expenditure of various

to

the to

this

Superior commerce,

trading

centres

83

and

it controlled the French trade in the East.

When

Daud Khan, the Mughal General conquered the

1703-6,

province,

in

Gingee

Franpois Martin obtained the villages of Kalapet,

Olukarai,

Murungapakkam,

Olandai,

Pakkumudayanpet

and

84

Knruvadikuppam

from

him.

In 1708, Herbert who

was

the

Governor of Pondicherry at that time acquired the village of 85

Ariyankuppam from the Nawab of Carnatic. Under Dumas, Pondicherry's boundary was

In September

extended towards the south and the west. Safdar

Ali

villages

Khan the Nawab of Arcot granted of

Thirukanji

Theduvanatham

and

to

Abishekapakkam,

Kottakuppam

for

the

gradually 1740,

Dumas

the

Odiampattu

assistance

rendered

86

against further

the

Marathas.

extended

additions

were

towards Villianur

Under Dupleix, the the and

west Bahur

and

the

boundary

was

south.

The

including

eighty 87

adjoining villages granted to Dupleix by Chanda Sahib.

It

is in this way, that the area of Pondicherry region came

to

be under the French territory.

These regions started to assume a new shape the

French.

With a view to

extending

the

under

manufacturing

industry in and around Pondicherry, to acquire timber and to collect

food grains and textiles in abundance to

requirements

of

growing population, the

French

meet

the

Governors

intended to expand the area by supplying arms and amunitions including presents to the local rulers.

We shall see in the

next

chapter how production was carried on in

and

contributed

eighteenth century.

towards

development

of

this

trade

region in

the

NOTES AND REFERENCES

G.N.B. Huntingford (ed), The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Hakluyt society, London, 1980, p.119; A.L. Basham(ed), A Cultural History of India, Oxford, 1975, p.434. of S.J. Stephen, "Pre-Industrial Coromandel: A s!udy Ph.D. Politics, Economy and Society (A.D. 1500-1600) Dissertation submitted to the Pondicherry University 1992, pp.255-282. Lotika Varadarajan, (ed), India in the 17th Century (Social, Economic and Political) Ydmoires of Franpois Martin (1670-1690) ,New Delhi, 1983, vol.I.part.1, pp. 5, 31O(Henceforth m6moires). Reveue Historique de 1' Inde Franpaise, PondichBry, 1952, p.167, (Henceforth R.H.).

vo1.8,

W.H.Moreland, From Akbar to 1972, pp.55, 92, 94,132.

Delhi,

Aurangazeb,

S.P.Sen, French in India: First Struggle, Calcutta, 1947, p.336.

New

Establishment

and

Om Prakash, The Dutch Factories in India 1617-23, Delhi, 1984, p.7.

New

R.B., v o 1 . 8 , p.166. S.P. Sen,

op.cit, p.336.

Ibid, p.67

V. Vriddhagirisan, The Nayaks of Tanjore, University, Chidambaram, 1942, p.103.

Annamalai

Henry Davison Love , Vestiges of old Madras (4 vols) reprint, Delhi, 1988, vol.1, p.13.

1640-1800,

Henri Weber, La Compagnie Francaise des 1875, Paris, 1904, p.53.

Indes

1604-

J O ~ O de Barros, De A s i a de Joiio De Barros Decada, Primeria parts sequnda, Lisboa, 1700-77, p.583.

16.

Henri Weber, op.cit, p.54; H.C.Fosses, L'Inde Franpaise au XVIIIe si&cls, Paris, p.32. Henri Froidevaux & A.Martineau, Ristoire des colonies, Francaises et de 1'Expansion de la France dans Is Yonde; Tome V, Paris,1932, p.3. Henri Weber, op.cit, p.55. J.Barassin, Compagnies FranFaises dans 1' ocean Indian in STVDIA, vol.11, Lisboa, 1963, pp.321, 375. Henri Weber, op.cit, p.55; H.C. Fosses,op.cit,pp.33-34. Ibid, p.35, H.H. Dodwell, (ed), Cambridge History of India, vol.V, Cambrrdge, 1929, p.61; Charles Bellanger, Histoire et Geograpbie des colonies de la France, Paris, 1886, p.154. H.C. Fosses, op.cit, p.35; Henri Weber, op.cit, R.R. vol.111, p.7. Om Prakash, p.379.

Op.cit,

pp.31,57,58; STVDIA,

p.63;

~01.11,

Ibid, p.380. Ibid. Ibid. R.R. ~01.111,p.8. Ibid, p.7. STVDIA, vol.11, p.38 Ibid, p.382. Ibid, p.383. R.R. vol.111, p.8.

V.G. Hatalkar, The Relations between the French and the Marathas 1668-1815, Bombay, 1985, p.2; R.E., Vol.111, p.8. 34.

Ibid. 38

STVDIA, vol.11, p.383. Hatalkar, op.cit, p.3. Henri Weber, op.cit., pp.63,102. H.C. Fosses, op.cit, p.44. Henri Weber,op.cit., p.103.

G.B. Malleson, History of the French in India, Delhi, 1984, p.11. Henri Weber, op.cit. pp.14,15. H.de Closets DtErry, Precis Chronologique de 1'Histoire de l'lnde Franpaise (1664-1816), PondichBry, 1934, p.1. Ibid, Tibulle Ilnmont, Dupleix d'apres sa correspondance Inedite, Paris, 1881, p.8. H.C. Fosses, op.cit, p.41.

H.C. ~osses,op.cit. p.48, H.de Closets D'Erry, p. 1.

op.cit,

Ibid, p.58; Henri Froidevaux, Un Project d'acquisition de Tranquebar par la France en 1669, Paris, 1897, p.3. H. de Closets D'Erry, op.cit,

p.2

Edmond Gaudart, Catalogue des ManuScrits des Anciennes Archives de 1'Inde Francaise Pondichdry 1690-1789, Tome.1, Pondichery ,1924, pp.51,58.

H. de Closets DIErry,op.cit, p.2. Ibid, p.23. Ibid. Ibid.

Ibid, p.6. 11. de Closets D'Erry, op.cit, p.3. 11.H. Dodwell (ed), op.cit, p.69. H. de Closets D'Erry, op-cit, p.3. Ibid, p.4, H.H. Dodwell (ed), op.cit, p.69. Ibid; H. de closets D'Erry, op.cit, p.4. Ibid;

Zenobia Bamboat, Les

Voyageurs Frangais

dans

1'Inde aux XVIIe et XVIIIe Siecles (ed. A . Martineau), Paris, 1933, p.60. Henri Froidevaeu, Memoires de la Bellanger de L'Esplnay, sur son voyage aux Indes-orientales (16701675), Vendome, 1895. p.XV. Ibid, p.5, M.V. Labernadie, Le Vieux 1815. Pondichkry, 1936, p.10.

PondichCry

1673-

MCmoires, vol.1. part.1, p.231. S.P.Sen, op.cit, p.336.

H. de Closets D'Erry, op.cit,

p.6.

Ibid, p.6, H. de Closets D'Erry Histoire be 1'Inde Franpaise (1664-1814), Pondichbry, 1940, pp.28-59. (henceforth Histoire ) ; Sir George Forrest, The Life of Lord Clive, (2 vols.), vol.1, Delhi, 1986, p.26. Martin had lent money to the Governor of Gingee who could not repay. So in return Martin received a village near the coast and permission to fortify a strip of land by sea, W.H.Carey, The Good Old Days of Honourable John Company, Calcutta, 1907, vol.11, pp.256. Francois Martin purchased a tract of land near the river Gingee and obtained permission to form a settlement by lending a portion of money to Sher Khan Lodi.

...

Histoire

...,

p.59.

H.C.Fosses, op.cit, p.89. Ibid, p.90; G.B. Malleson, op.cit, p.27.

Ibid, p.88. Ibid, pP.88-91. H. de Closets D'Erry, op.cit,p.9.

Ibid, vol.11, part.1, pp.354,435,1018,1020,1061. Ibid, vol.11, part.1, pp.823,1010,1069.

Ibid, vol.11, part.11, pp.1575-7. H. de Closets D'Erry, op.cit, p.12. H.C.Fosses, L'Inde 1887, p.142.

Franpaise

Avant

Dupliex,

Paris,

Gnanou Diagou, Arrhte du conseil supdrieur de Pondichdry, Pondichdry, 1941, Tome. viii, supplements, pp.6,7,---,Le General de Lally, PondichBry,l944, p.179. Ibid; John Charpentier, Dupleix et 1'Empire des Indes, Tours maison, Mame, 1937, p.12.

M.V. Labernadie, op.cit, p.60; H. de Closets D'Erry, op.cit, pp.13,16, Procbs-Verbaux, vol.1, pp.78,81,146; Histoire p. 14.

...,

Ibid, p.15. Ibid, p.16, H.H. Dodwell (ed), Calendar of Madras Despatches, 1744-1755, Madras,1920,p.76; A.Martineax, Lettres at conventions de Gouverneurs de Pondichdry avec Differents Princes Hindous 1666-1793, Pondich&ry, 1914, p.147; Ananda Ranga Pillai, The Private Diary of Ananda Ranga Pillai, 1736-1761, New Delhi, 1985, (ed.H.Dodwel1) 12 vols., vol. VI, p.15. H.H.Dodwel1, op.cit, p.81; Maurice Aventuriers Frangais aux Indes (1775 1932, p.10.

-

Besson, Les Paris,

1820),