The special privileges accorded to Joseph-François Lambert and his partners under the Lambert Charter - including the implementation of public works projects (fallen trees, making roads, building canals etc.), control over minting coinage, exclusive mining rights and more as part of the purview of Lambert's proposed "Compagnie de Madagascar" (French Madagascar Company) - were especially controversial. The citizens' concern stemmed from clauses in the agreement that would have permit Lambert's company to become permanent owners of Malagasy lands. Until this point, land in Madagascar, which was viewed by the populace as the sacred ground of the ancestors, could only ever be temporarily possessed by foreigners until their death, at which point the land would revert to the crown. The threat of permanently losing any part of sacred Malagasy soil to foreigners was deeply troubling and galvanized many in Radama's court against him.