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3 Livres Tournois
| Issuer | Trésoriers Généraux des Colonies de l'Isle de Bourbon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1766 |
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| Value | 3 Livres Tournois |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed note on plain paper, framed by a decorative typographic border of repeating geometric units. A small royal arms vignette is centered at the top. The body of the note carries the denomination and issuing authority in period typeface, with a handwritten number and manuscript endorsements in ink at the upper left; a large cancellation cross has been applied diagonally in heavy ink across the entire face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ISLE DE BOURBON BON pour TROIS LIVRES Tournois, payables au Porteur, par le Commis des Trésoriers généraux des Colonies de l'Isle de Bourbon, en conformité de l'édit du mois de Décembre 1766. Vu & contrôlé au Bureau du Contrôle de l'Isle de Bourbon. (Translation: Isle de Bourbon. Good for three livres tournois, payable to the bearer, by the clerk of the Treasurers General of the Colonies of the Isle of Bourbon, in accordance with the edict of December 1766. Seen and checked at the Control Office of the Isle of Bourbon.) |
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| Comments |
The Île de Bourbon (present-day Réunion) operated a chronically cash-starved colonial economy throughout the eighteenth century, and locally issued paper instruments like this one were a recurring administrative solution to the chronic shortage of specie in the Indian Ocean colonies. The Trésoriers Généraux des Colonies held authority to issue such obligations backed by the metropolitan treasury in theory — in practice, redemption could be delayed by months or years depending on shipping schedules and the financial state of the Compagnie des Indes.
1766 is a significant date: the French Crown had formally dissolved the Compagnie des Indes just the previous year, and Bourbon had reverted to direct royal administration. Notes issued in this precise transitional window carry the old colonial treasury authority but under the new royal fiscal regime.