the Indian Ocean. King Philip III of Portugal put the idea in motion in 1624 and appointed D. Jorge Mascarenhas, mayor of Lisbon and member of the Council of State, to head a committee to implement Solis proposal. Despite being supported by Olivares, the proposal faced much skepticism and opposition, particularly by the Duke of Villahermosa (head of the Council of Portugal), and Mascarenhas had considerable trouble securing investment commitments. The Company The Companhia do commércio da Índia (or Companhia da Índia Oriental) finally came into existence in August 1628, when it was granted a charter by King Philip III. The Companhia was to be governed by a Câmara de Administração Geral, composed of a president (Jorge Mascarenhas) and six administrators, elected by the investors, with full powers, although its judicial acts, administrative practices and finances were subject to review by an advisory Conselho do Comércio (Board of Trade) in the king's court in Madrid. The charter envisaged a two-year transition period, during which the royal Conselho da Fazenda would continue to supervise the India fleets, the Casa da Índia and the Armazém da Índia, before passing them all over to the Companhia's administration. The Companhia would be in charge of running & collecting the customs dues payable at the Casa. The Companhia was established with a joint-stock block of six years, renewable for another six with a minimum subscription of 100 cruzados. The Companhia was granted a monopoly on trade in coral, pepper, cinnamon, ebony and cowrie shells, and could be extended to other items upon request. It had full administrative & juridical privileges, including the right to keep all spoils from seizures of Dutch and English ships (after deducting the royal fifth). The crown was the largest investor, committing 1,500,000 cruzados for the first three years. Although some municipalities (esp. Lisbon) also invested, private individuals were less interested. To make it attractive, subscribers were guaranteed an annual return of 4% plus dividends and the subscriptions were laced with various privileges (e.g. title in king's household, protection from debt seizure, even the capital of New Christians convicted by the Portuguese Inquisition, had a measure of protection). Although there were provisions against allowing any other East Indies company to be formed in Habsburg territories, investment in the Companhia was open to all subjects of Philip III and his allies (thus Spaniards, Italians, Flemings, etc.) Nonetheless, none of this was enough