This bearer beneficiary share of the Société Foncière de Tunisie, issued in Paris on 27 May 1885, is a direct witness to the early years of the French presence in Tunisia. The French Protectorate in Tunisia, established by the Treaty of Bardo on 12 May 1881, opened the way to intense land colonization: "foncière" (land) companies were created to acquire, manage and develop Tunisian land for metropolitan investors. The Société Foncière de Tunisie, with a capital of 4 million francs, is part of this movement of financial colonization. Beneficiary shares, distinct from capital shares, entitled the holder to a fraction of distributed profits without participation in the nominal capital: it was a mechanism for compensating founders or contributors in kind.