FRENCH INDIA BANK NOTES- (1875 -1954)

French Rule of India

The French Ruled India From 1674 to 1954. 

The earliest French East India Company came into India in 1664. In 1664, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the French Minister of Finance succeeded in establishing the first viable French Company (the French East India Company) during the reign of Louis XIV. The company established its factory at Surat in Western India and acquired a foothold in Southern India by acquiring Pondicherry in 1674. The disintegration of the Mughal Empire and the rivalry of local powers that strove to fill the vacuum, provided fertile ground for the English and the French to precipitate the Anglo-French struggle in India.  

The french colonies  included Mahe (Kerala), Karaikal, Pondicherry (Tamil Nadu), Yanam (Andhra Pradesh) and Chandernagore (West Bengal). 

They were called as "Etablissements Francaises dans L'inde", i.e. French establishments in India. The issue of paper money for the French settlements was entrusted to the Bank Indochine. 

Banque de l'Indochine

The Banque de l'Indochine was founded in 1875, initially with branches in Paris, Saigon, French India and Cochinchina. The bank expanded over the years, to include Tonkin, Haiphong, Phnom Penh and Cambodia, Tahiti and Singapore. A branch was even opened in Djibouti. The Banque de l'Indochine was eventually closed in 1952.

French India Bank Notes 

The Bank issued them under specific decrees. These decrees are denoted on the issued notes. The earliest 'Roupie' denominated notes were issued in 1875. The Roupie consisted of 8 Fanons and one Fanon was equivalent to two annas.. 

The early issues are of two denominations namely 10 and 50 Roupie. Notes of 1 Roupie were issued after World War - I. Notes of 5 Roupies were introduced in 1937. The new design of 50 Roupies issued simultaneously shows the picture of Mousieur Dupleix, the founder of the French Empire in India.