The story
On 28 May 1664 the Conseil du Roi created the West India Company and gave it a monopoly on commercial exchanges between France and "... all lands of our obedience in North and South America and the islands of America" as well as in French trading posts on the coast of Africa from Cape Verde to the Cape of Good Hope. It was primarily intended to reclaim the profits and geopolitical advantages of long-distance trade for France, as well as developing the maritime and shipbuilding industries and the activity of French ports.
At its foundation, the company benefited from a large-scale commitment of state financial resources. The King subscribed for two million French livres to its initial capital, against only 1.3 million from private-sector subscribers. Moreover, the state committed to finance the company's losses during its first four years of activity and granted it subsidies indexed on its trade volume.
The company's operational base on the French mainland was initially in Le Havre. Using the large initial capital of the company, in less than six months 45 vessels were equipped and sailed to the various places in the company's grant.
From Wikipedia’s article on French West India Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3