French West India Company
The creation of the Sovereign Council was part of a broader effort to reform the administration of New France by Louis XIV and his finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert. The King and Colbert felt that New France’s administration had been badly mismanaged by charter companies and that the colony should be brought under tighter monarchal control. There was also a concern in the colony over the growing power of the Governor, especially in regard to the Church. In 1663, the colony was made an official province of the Kingdom of France. The crown's contract with the Company of One Hundred Associates, the main charter company in New France, was cancelled, and a new Charter company called the French West India Company was created.