Share of 250 Gulden of the Ostend Company on the name of Marquis of Prié, interim General Governor of the Austrian Netherlands.

Folio: 1 f., handwritten on laid paper watermarked "HONIG", in Dutch, numerous signatures dated 1723, 1724 and 1726, Company woodcut coat of arms at the top (sl. browning, a few sm. margin. holes, some sm. ink spots). Good condition.

The "Generale Keizerlijke Indische Compagnie", commonly known as the Ostend Company , was founded in 1722 under the auspices of Emperor Charles VI. It set up trading posts in the Bay of Bengal and Canton and prospered, especially with Chinese tea, but its growth disturbed rival companies from England, France and the United Provinces, who demanded its abolition. Charles VI, anxious to have the rights of his daughter Maria Theresa to succeed to the Austrian throne recognised, decided to dissolve the Company in 1731. Our share has been established in the name of "S. Ex.ce den Heere Marquis de Prié", Hercule-Joseph-Louis Turinetti (1658-1726), acting governor of the Austrian Netherlands between 1716 and 1724, in the absence of Prince Eugene of Savoy. He ruled in a highly despotic manner, occasioning tumults in Brussels, Antwerp, and Mechelen.
Ref. Biogr. nat. XVIII:231-243.
Prov. Hercule-Joseph-Louis Turinetti, Marquis of Prié.
Joined: Prié, Hercule-Joseph-Louis Turinetti Marquis of - Letter to the bishop of Antwerp. Brussels, 15th September 1722. Bifolio, folio: 1 p., on watermarked laid paper, in French, autogr. sign. "Le M de Prié", countersign. "J.B. de Heems" (folds). The Marquis orders a mass to be sung in the Cathedral of Antwerp for Emperor Charles VI's birthday, "afin d'implorer la clémence divine pour la conservation de Sa Sacrée Personne, qui intéresse si fort ses bons et fidels sujets, et pour la prospérité de Sa Monarchie". (2 pcs)