{"product_id":"the-agency-of-empire-connections-and-strategies-in-french-overseas-expansion-1686-1746-9789004409439","title":"The Agency of Empire: Connections and Strategies in French Overseas Expansion (1686-1746)","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 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","brand":"Brill","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53210781647191,"sku":"9789004409439","price":92.8,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-agency-of-empire-connections-and-strategies-in-french-overseas-expansion-1686-1746-9789004409439","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}