14
John Law’s Finance Operations
The Compagnie d’Occident did increase its commercial activity, obtaining the tobacco monopoly in September 1718 and the Senegalese Company for trade with Africa, that is, the slave trade, in November 1718.18 In January 1719, the Banque General was taken over by the regent and renamed the Banque Royale, with a note issue guaranteed by the crown. Law remained in control of the new bank. In May 1719, he acquired the East India Company and the China Company; and he reorganized the entire conglomerate as the Compagnie des Indes, an organization that monopolized all French trade outside Europe. On July 25, 1719, the Compagnie purchased the right to mint new coinage for fifty million livres tournois to be delivered in fifteen monthly payments. The livre tournois was the unit of account and was officially valued at weights of gold or silver that varied during Law’s regime. To finance this expenditure, Law issued 50,000 shares at 1000 livres per share to cover this acquisition, requiring
