Question

Who established the French East India company in 1669?
A.Lalley
B.Colbert
C.Dupleix
D.Bussey

Answer 1

Hint:
French were the last European people who arrived in India. During the reign of king Louis XVI in 1664 AD, the French East India company was formed mainly with the aim of establishing trade with India.

Complete answer:
 After French East India company arrived in India they established their first factory in the 1668 area at Surat and established another factory in 1669 AD at Masulipatam. The French were allowed to set up their township at chandanagar in 1673 AD by the Mughal Subedar of Bengal. A state in India called Pondicherry was obtained by the French in 1674 AD from the Sultan of Bijapur and later on this village was made into a thriving city by the French that became France's stronghold in India. Till 1741 AD from the arrival, French had only one objective and purpose in India and that was trade and commerce just like the British. But, the motives of French changed as the time passed and they started considering India as their colony. For the first time this realization in the French East India company came in 1741 AD with the appointment of Joseph Francois Dupleix as the governor of the company and it is during his tenure that political motives of the company clearly started to surface that overshadowed all of their commercial objectives in India. Now, the French East India company wanted to establish their Empire on the territory of India.The French East India company in 1669 was established by Jean- Baptiste Colbert.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Note:The French East India company had come to India for the first time with the clear objective of commercial ties with India, but at the time they looked at India as their colony and started looking for opportunities to establish their empire in India.