 In the French empire, slave trade and other colonial rules were regulated by Louis XIV's 1689 "Code Noir".From its very outset, Western colonialism was operated as a joint public-private venture.Columbus' voyages to the Americas were partially funded by Italian investors, but whereas the Spanish state maintained a tight rein on trade with its colonies (by law, the colonies could only trade with one designated port in the mother country and treasure was brought back in special convoys), the English, French and Dutch granted what were effectively trade monopolies to joint-stock companies such as the East India Companies and the Hudson's Bay Company.