½ Fanon – Puducherry

In 1723, Puducherry (then Pondicherry) was a French colonial enclave amidst a complex monetary landscape. The French East India Company, which administered the settlement, faced the persistent challenge of establishing a stable and authoritative currency system. While the Company had the right to mint coins, its limited territorial control and economic reach meant that a multitude of currencies circulated simultaneously. The most dominant of these was the Arc rupee and other fanams (smaller units) from the neighbouring Mughal Empire and the increasingly powerful Nawab of Arcot, reflecting the region's deep integration into South Indian trade networks.

The French attempted to introduce their own silver rupee, often stamped with the fleur-de-lis and the monogram of the French Company, to facilitate local trade and assert sovereignty. However, these issues struggled to gain exclusive acceptance. Spanish silver dollars (pieces of eight), gold pagodas from various South Indian kingdoms, and coins from other European trading companies like the English and Dutch were all in concurrent use. This multiplicity was driven by pragmatic commerce; merchants and weavers in Puducherry's bustling textile economy accepted any currency of reliable intrinsic value, regardless of its issuer.

Consequently, the monetary situation was one of de facto bimetallism and competition, requiring constant evaluation and exchange between gold, silver, and copper units. The French administration was forced to publish official "tariffs" or exchange rates to fix the value of their coins against this plethora of foreign currencies, a testament to their lack of monetary control. This environment created opportunities for money changers (shroffs) but also posed significant challenges for colonial accounting, tax collection, and long-term economic planning, as the settlement's financial foundation remained tied to the ebb and flow of regional political and economic powers.