Content area
Full Text
Colbert, Mercantilism, and the French Quest for Asian Trade. By Glenn J. Ames. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-87580207-9. Maps. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xiv, 245. $36.00.
The phenomenon of the European expansion into the Indian Ocean had a lasting effect on world history; a new world system emerged. Around 1660, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was a major economic force in the Indian Ocean and dominated European-Asian trade. In Europe, too, the Dutch were the dominant trading power, mainly due to a large fleet. The French economy was totally dependent on Dutch imports, greatly frustrating the French.
This book examines the concerted attempts of France under Louis XIV to establish a mercantile empire in the East. During the decade between 1664 and 1674, under the direction of...