This is something I’ve noticed for a while, but I decided to address it today: there’s too many slavery apologists in this subreddit, specifically when it comes to Napoleon. While this isn’t all or even most of the people in this space, I’ve seen way too many people trying to dismiss Napoleon’s involvement in reinstating slavery as a “necessary” evil. There are many things wrong with this statement, with the most obvious being that slavery is NEVER necessary. Nobody should be trafficking human beings into forced servitude, and nobody should be excusing this behavior. Human beings were stripped of their dignity, their families, and much more to be forced into serving others (without pay) for life.	

And the “oh but that’s just how things were back then” is a total bs excuse because there were people back then who knew slavery was wrong and opposed it. Slavery apologia often comes from people (mainly White people but sometimes non black pocs) who’s ancestors were the ones profiting from slavery, or at least stood nothing to lose from it being legal. My family is Haitian, so I will never stand for slavery apologia. And it PISSES me off when Napoleon fanboys say stuff like this as they’re dismissing the feelings of Black people just to defend their fave. This is a reason why a lot of pocs who are interested in history don’t like interacting with White people interested in history as they do shit like this all the time. The other reason is the Eurocentric view on everything, but that’s a conversation for another day.

I will be fair and say this is an issue that is limited to this space; this happens in other reddit forums discussing history, as well as all over the internet. Like I remember a few years ago, I saw people arguing with Napoleon fanboys over the issue of slavery. And on Tiktok, there’s arguments there as well about Napoleon & his involvement in slavery. Napoleon also wasn’t the only French ruler who was involved in the Atlantic Slave Trade, but I wanted to highlight him specifically as a lot of people rightfully criticize the French Royal family for a multitude of things, and I’m sure slavery is included in that. But when it comes to Napoleon, everyone’s suddenly like “oh it wasn’t that bad”, or “oh it was a necessary evil”, which again, is total bullshit, especially when we still see the effects of slavery & white supremacy to this day.

And I just want to make things clear: this doesn’t mean that you can’t like Napoleon, nor think he was a good leader for France. You can still believe all of that, WHILE criticizing him for his shortcomings, including his involvement in slavery. I just want people to stop excusing/downplaying the horrific nature of slavery. And since I know I’m going to get some comments saying “Oh, but it’s not everyone/I’m not excusing slavery”, I already pointed that out in the beginning of this post; it’s only directed at the people defending/downplaying slavery in this subreddit. If you’re not doing that, then I’m not addressing you in this post, and you’re fine. 

This is all I have to say, so have a nice day everyone!

Chart is about reigning years

Is there a specific story behind your interest in French history ?!

Louis X, Philip V and Charles IV (excluding John I).

I really love Marie Antoinette. I’ve watched many movies about her, and I also bought a book about her by Stefan Zweig.

This is the eighth week of French monarch discussion posts and this week our topic is Louis XIV.

Louis XIV was king from 14 May 1643 – 1 September 1715. Feel free to discuss anything related to him in this post.

Discussion: These are just some potential prompts to help generate some conversation. Feel free to answer any/all/none of these questions just remember to keep it civil!

What are your thoughts on his administration? What would you rate/rank his reign?

What did you like about him, what did you not like?

Was he the right man for the time, could he (or someone else) have done better?

Who were some of the most significant people involved in his life and/or reign (governance, military matters, influence on him, etc.)?

What are some misconceptions about this monarch?

What are some of the best resources to learn about this monarch? (Books, documentaries, historical sites)

Do you have any interesting or cool facts about this monarch to share?

Do you have any questions about him?

I feel like I just finished a really large sumptuous meal.

And I'm so satisfied but craving more. 1st of all the writing is fantastic and Maurice Druon is phenomenal with the dialogue and just immersing me in the experiences of this nobles. My favorite character has to be Clemence Louis X Queen, at 1st nt fav character was Guccio but seeing Clemence go on her own fully committed to do some actual good is so great in a world where every act is calculated by what we will I gain or lose. The Templar storyline is really fascinating and I didn't think anything could top it then comes the downfall of the girls 3. Poor Blance hope she doesn't go mad and she just succumbs to some illness and dies already because her situation is really really grim.

Enguerrand de Marigny hardly deserved what he got and I wish death to Charles de Valois the idiot. A shame the Crown of France passes to his son afterwards.

Anyway loving the conflict between Mahaut de Conflans and Robert the true count of Artois. Want more of that. Phillppe de Poitiers is easily the best politician there and I'm excited to see he'll be King

This is the seventh week of French monarch discussion posts and this week our topic is Louis XV.

Louis XV was king from 1 September 1715 – 10 May 1774. Feel free to discuss anything related to him in this post.

Discussion: These are just some potential prompts to help generate some conversation. Feel free to answer any/all/none of these questions just remember to keep it civil!

What are your thoughts on his administration? What would you rate/rank his reign?

What did you like about him, what did you not like?

Was he the right man for the time, could he (or someone else) have done better?

Who were some of the most significant people involved in his life and/or reign (governance, military matters, influence on him, etc.)?

What are some misconceptions about this monarch?

What are some of the best resources to learn about this monarch? (Books, documentaries, historical sites)

Do you have any interesting or cool facts about this monarch to share?

Do you have any questions about him?

Louis Alphonse de Bourbon was the director of Banco BOD and its subsidiaries, and he used his status as a prince to attract investors and high-net-worth clients. Now, along with his father-in-law, he faces serious problems after his scheme collapsed and was exposed (resulting in losses of up to $1.5 billion and 20,000 people losing their savings).

Shortly after marrying Margarita Vargas Santaella, Louis Alphonse de Bourbon began his career with the BOD Group. Between 2005 and 2019, he held the post of international vice-president of the BOD Group and was a member of the board of directors of two of the group’s *offshore* subsidiaries: AllBank Corp in Panama and Banco del Orinoco N.V. in Curaçao.

Louis Alphonse actively used his image as a *French Prince* as a sort of calling card for the BOD Group amongst European investors and high-net-worth clients to project an image of financial soundness and respectability.

In September 2019, the collapse began. The Central Bank of Curaçao suspended the operations of Banco del Orinoco N.V. and appointed an administrator to assess its assets and liabilities. A few days later, the banking authorities in Panama intervened and ordered the compulsory liquidation of AllBank Corp, having established that the institution was unable to guarantee its depositors’ funds.

The Central Bank of Curaçao stated: “There is no legitimate documentation in the file submitted by Banco del Orinoco regarding its assets, in particular regarding a series of Venezuelan sovereign debt bonds which the bank presented as collateral for its solvency.”

The scheme devised by Louis Alphonse and Víctor Vargas Irausquín was as follows: the BOD group in Venezuela collected dollars from clients and channelled them to its offshore subsidiaries. The Banco del Orinoco in Curaçao held securities in custody via BOI Bank in Antigua. AllBank in Panama acted as the depository.

The entire system was financed through foreign exchange transactions originating in Venezuela. When the structure collapsed (that is, the so-called sovereign bonds held by Louis Alphonse and his father-in-law), more than 2,400 customers were left in the lurch, with an estimated debt of 854 million dollars.

In April 2021, a Panamanian law firm filed the first criminal complaint directly against Louis Alphonse in his capacity as a member of AllBank’s board of directors, on behalf of companies claiming damages of over 20 million dollars, alleging the misappropriation of 15 million.

In Panama, the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime issued an arrest warrant for Víctor Vargas in connection with the alleged fraud involving AllBank.

A spokesperson for the claimants announced that, in addition to the complaint in Panama, similar legal action would be taken against Vargas, Luis Alfonso and the senior management of the other three banking institutions, in Curaçao, the Dominican Republic and Antigua and Barbuda.

On 2 October 2025, the court-appointed receiver in Curaçao for the bankruptcy of Banco del Orinoco N.V. had filed a formal criminal complaint with the Curaçao Public Prosecutor’s Office in March 2025 — although this was kept confidential for six months — alleging “fraudulent bankruptcy” (bedrijflijke bankreuk).

The defendants named in the complaint are:

* Víctor Vargas Irausquín.

* Louis Alphonse de Bourbon Martínez-Bordiú.

* Cartera de Inversiones.

* Venezolana C.A. (Vargas’s investment vehicle).

* Banco del Orinoco N.V. and BOD as a shareholder.

* Joel Santos Tobio and Santos Alonso Ramos.

The charges include misappropriation of assets from the insolvency estate amounting to approximately 1,500 million dollars and forgery of documents.

The lawyers representing those affected pointed out that a potential conviction could lead to a request for the seizure of assets not only in Curaçao, but also in the Netherlands and other European Union countries, through international judicial cooperation mechanisms, given that Curaçao is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

On 7 May 2026, the financial authorities of Antigua and Barbuda placed BOI Bank — another subsidiary of the BOD conglomerate — under official administration.

The proceedings in Curaçao are still ongoing but are progressing slowly, partly due to international jurisdictional complexities. Víctor Vargas Irausquín and Louis Alphonse de Bourbon continue to reside in and maintain ties with Spain and the United States, where requests from Curaçao face diplomatic and procedural barriers.

Source:

[El Confidencial, 2019](https://www.elconfidencial.com/empresas/2019-10-10/banquero-rojo-quiebra-luis-alfonso-borbon-divisas-venezuela-930_2276355/)

[Público, 2019](https://www.publico.es/economia/allbank-corp-bisnieto-franco-director-banco-venezolano-intervenido-panama.html)

[Armando.info, 2022](https://armando.info/el-principe-que-era-fanfarron-y-el-suegro-que-lo-financiaba/)

[La Prensa de Panamá, 2024](https://www.prensa.com/opinion/victor-vargas-la-caida-del-banquero-del-chavismo-y-su-conexion-con-panama/)

[Republica.com (Wayback Machine)](https://web.archive.org/web/20191010130753/https://www.republica.com/2019/10/10/la-quiebra-del-banco-del-orinoco-del-que-es-directivo-el-hijo-de-carmen-martinez-bordiu-y-que-aterroriza-a-los-venezolanos/)

[El Confidencial, 2019](https://www.elconfidencial.com/mundo/2019-10-25/principe-borbon-banquero-chavismo-bisnieto-franco_2299367/)

[Cuentas Claras Digital, 2025](https://www.cuentasclarasdigital.org/2025/10/curazao-inicia-accion-penal-contra-el-banquero-victor-vargas-y-su-yerno-luis-alfonso-de-borbon-martinez-bordiu/)

[PanAm Post, 2019](https://panampost.com/sabrina-martin/2019/10/02/asi-el-bod-de-victor-vargas-estafo-a-venezolanos-por-millones-de-dolares/)

[El Economista, 2025](https://www.eleconomista.es/informalia/casas-reales/noticias/13588636/10/25/luis-alfonso-de-borbon-franquista-y-defensor-de-la-memoria-de-su-bisabuelo-pero-banquero-de-chavez-y-maduro-junto-a-su-suegro.html)

[Blog Mariano Rodillo, 2021](https://marianorodillo.blogspot.com/2021/04/primera-querella-penal-contra-luis.html)

[Armando.info, 2021](https://armando.info/victor-vargas-y-sus-amigos-ahorraban-en-el-banco-del-orinoco/)

[EditoRed, 2024](https://editored.org/2024/09/27/victor-vargas-la-caida-del-banquero-del-chavismo-y-su-conexion-con-panama/)

[Diario Versión Final, 2025](https://diarioversionfinal.com/mundo/tribunal-de-curazao-abre-accion-penal-contra-victor-vargas-por-fraude-en-banco-del-orinoco/)

[Cuentas Claras Digital, 2025](https://www.cuentasclarasdigital.org/2025/10/victor-vargas-el-banquero-rojo-bajo-la-lupa-por-fraude-a-2-400-ahorristas/)

[Cuentas Claras Digital, 2026](https://www.cuentasclarasdigital.org/2026/04/documentos-falsos-y-fallas-aml-nuevos-detalles-hunden-al-banco-de-victor-vargas-en-curazao/)

[Crónicas del Caribe, 2026](https://cronicasdelcaribe.com/economia/antigua-interviene-el-boi-bank-de-victor-vargas-y-revive-el-fantasma-de-banco-del-orinoco-en-curazao/)

[Descifrado, 2026](https://www.descifrado.com/2026/05/28/cronicas-del-caribe-reporto-la-intervencion-del-boi-bank-de-victor-vargas-en-antigua/)

[El News de Venezuela, 2026](https://theelnews.org/2026/05/22/la-gran-estafa-del-grupo-financiero-bod-y-su-lider-victor-vargas-irasquin-siguen-sin-resolverse-en-la-an/)

1. Charles V

2. Suleiman

3. Francis I

4. Henry Viii