- £225.00
French Colonies. (India). 1906. French Settlement in India postal stationery envelope 15c blue cancelled by Chandernagor/ Inde double ring '18th Mai 06' addressed to Paris with arrival '3/5' on reverse. Very fine.
The French Establishment in India 1664 during the reign of Louis X1V the Compagnie des Indes Oriental was formed for the purpose of obtaining holdings on the Subcontinent of India. Between 1666 and 1721 French settlements were established at Surat, Arcot, Mahe, Karikal, Pondichery, Masulipatam, Chandernagor, Balasor, Yananon and Calicut.
Chandernagor was established as a French Colony in 1673 and became a permanent French settlement in 1688, two thousand brick houses were erected and a large volume of maritime trade began. For a while this small settlement only 4 Square miles became the main center of European trade in Bengal. Chandernagor was ruled by the French unlike the rest of India which for 200 years had been a British colony.
