Note 381 — Chapter XII
Reading edition
Petit, vol. i., p. 24. Colony Records. There are no books of record in the secretary's office before this period. The old records were either carried to France, or destroyed at the fire, when the intendant's palace was burned down in 1725.
"The company, 'des Cents Associés,' formed in 1628, though one of the most powerful, according to Charlevoix, that had ever existed, with respect to the number, the rank, and the accorded privileges of its members, had allowed the colony to fall into a deplorable state of weakness. In 1662, when it relinquished its rights to Louis XIV., the original number of 100 had diminished to 45."—Charlevoix, ii., p. 149.
The East India Company was erected by the great Colbert in 1664. This company, having fallen into decay, was united with the West Indian Company, which was founded by law in 1718, and survived the ruin of its projector.