Description
Book SynopsisIn The Agency of Empire: Connections and Strategies in French Expansion (1686-1746) Elisabeth Heijmans places directors and their connections at the centre of the developments and operations of French overseas companies. The focus on directors’ decisions and networks challenges the conception of French overseas companies as highly centralized and controlled by the state. Through the cases of companies operating in Pondicherry (Coromandel Coast) and Ouidah (Bight of Benin), Elisabeth Heijmans demonstrates the participation of actors not only in Paris but also in provinces, ports and trading posts in the French expansion. The analysis brings to the fore connections across imperial, cultural and religious boundaries in order to diverge from traditional national narratives of the French early modern empire.
Table of Contents Acknowledgements General Series Editor’s Preface List of Abbreviations List of Maps, Tables, Figures and Graphs Glossary Introduction 1When Principals Become Agents 1Structure and Continuity 2Metropolitan Directors 3Upward Social Mobility and the Chamber of Justice 4Safe Investment? Institutional Factors 5Market Access 2Overseas Directors as Mediators 1Overseas and Company Contexts 2Trading Systems and Commercial Actors in Pondicherry and Ouidah 3Multiplicity of Interests within Companies 3Cross-cultural Relations with Rulers 1Sovereign Powers 2Negotiating Cross-cultural Relations 3Competition and Foreign Intermediaries 4Inter-imperial Cooperation 1European Power Dynamics 2Means of Cooperation 3Motives of Cooperation 4Nuances of Competitive Interactions 5Attempts at Self-sustainability 1Accessing Funds 2Integrating Regional Trading Networks Conclusion Bibliography Index
