Louisiana: Louisiana: The History of an American StateThe History of an American State

Chapter 6Chapter 6Louisiana’s French Colonial Louisiana’s French Colonial

Era: Era: Struggle and SurvivalStruggle and Survival

Study PresentationStudy Presentation©2005 Clairmont Press

Chapter 6:Chapter 6:Louisiana’s French Colonial Era: Louisiana’s French Colonial Era:

Struggle and SurvivalStruggle and Survival

Section 1: Section 1: The French Come to LouisianaSection 2: Section 2: Louisiana as a ProprietorshipSection 3: Section 3: A Royal Colony Again

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:–What were the effects of the

French exploration of Louisiana?

Section 1: The French Come Section 1: The French Come to Louisianato Louisiana

Section 1: The French Come Section 1: The French Come to Louisianato Louisiana

What word do I need to know?

1. colony

Section 1: Section 1: The French Come to LouisianaThe French Come to Louisiana

• France wanted to expand trading area in New World

• 1673: exploration of Mississippi River (to discover Northwest Passage) by Louis Joliet & Father Marquette

• Return trip north due to risk of encounter with Indians / Spanish soldiers

Timeline:1673 A.D. – 1712 A.D.

• 1673: Joliet & Marquette explored the upper Mississippi

• 1682: La Salle claimed Louisiana for France

• 1699: Iberville est. Fort Maurepas

• 1712: Crozat became proprietor

Timeline: 1714 A.D. – 1736 A.D.

• 1714: Natchitoches founded• 1717: Company of the West became

Louisiana proprietor• 1718: New Orleans founded• 1729: Natchez uprising• 1736: Chickasaw War

Exploring the Mississippi• 1682: exploration of La Salle, to find water route

to China & spread religion of France– All land drained by Mississippi River claimed by La

Salle for Louis XIV– Land named Louisiana (“Land of Louis”)

• Return of La Salle to France to report discovery• Continuation of La Salle’s mission (a failure)

– Off-course route of fleets– Frustration / deaths of many colonists– La Salle’s men mutinied & he was murder by his men

The French Colony

• Set in motion by La Salle• French fort needed to guard Mississippi

River (recognized by Louis XIV)• Spanish fort built on the Gulf of Mexico at

Pensacola Bay• British hoped to build at the mouth of the

Mississippi River• French interests represented by French

Commander Pierre Le Moyne and his younger brother, Jean Baptiste Le Moyne

Fort Maurepas• Fort at Pensacola: held by Spanish – the

best harbor near the Mississippi River• Ship Island claimed by Iberville• Primitive huts built as a temporary camp• Letter to La Salle found in 1685 – proof 13

years later of French discovery of Mississippi River

• Gulf Coast: a better location for Iberville’s fort (near present-day Biloxi)

• Trees plentiful to build the fort

A Struggling Colony

• Challenges facing French colonists:– the British– the local Indian tribes

• Bienville successfully bluffed a British captain into leaving the Mississippi River

• English Turn, along the Mississippi River, still on today’s map

• Blended with the Indians at first, but conflicts later initiated to keep them from unifying against the French

Other Forts• Fort Mississippi built 54 miles above the

mouth of the river

• Fort Maurepas, French headquarters, moved due to flooding

• New fort, Fort Louis: built to keep the English out of Mobile Bay – later became the city of Mobile– Commanded by Henri de Tonti until his death

from yellow fever in 1704

Leadership• Happenings as Iberville returns to France

– War in Europe

– Iberville required to return to military duty

– Iberville’s requests for colonists / supplies ignored

• Hard times in France created by war

– Supply ships involved in war effort

– Louisiana colony left defenseless / inadequate supplies

Leadership

• 1702: Death of Iberville (in Havana)

• Challenges facing Bienville

– New leader of colony (1701)

– Faced criticism / complaints from officials & priests

• Conflicts regarding confusing structure of government

Click here to return to Main Menu.

Section 2: Louisiana Section 2: Louisiana as a Proprietorshipas a Proprietorship

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:– What were the effects of the Company of

the West and the collapse of the Mississippi Bubble?

Section 2: Louisiana Section 2: Louisiana as a Proprietorshipas a Proprietorship

What words do I need to know?1. proprietorship2. Superior Council3. land grant4. Mississippi Bubble5. slave6. plantation7. Code Noir

Louisiana Louisiana as a Proprietorshipas a Proprietorship

• Introduction- Ending of costly war in Europe- Push by British colonies to expand trade with

Native Americans- Colony needed as buffer against British

• Proprietorship established by King Louis XIV• Charter (contract) given to one individual

(proprietor)- Total control by proprietor- Certain requirements of proprietor

• Operate colony as a business• Send on regular basis supplies/settlers• Maintain French laws of government

Antoine CrozatAntoine Crozat• 1712: Proprietorship of Louisiana given to

Antoine Crozat by French royal government– Money loaned to King Louis XIV by Crozat– Expectations by Crozat to find gold/silver in

colony– Little interest in settlers/agriculture– Primary motive as proprietor profit– Selection of new governor (Antoine de

Lamothe, Sieur de Cadillac)

Antoine CrozatAntoine Crozat• Difficulties faced by Cadillac (as leader)

– Refused to smoke Indian calumet– Exhibition of rude personality– Ongoing conflicts among government officials

• Cadillac’s credits for organizing colony– Establishment of Superior Council to help

govern colony– 1st official suggesting indigo & tobacco be

grown to sell– Efforts to convince Crozat to send more

people to Louisiana

NatchitochesNatchitoches• Louis Juchereau de St. Denis selected by

Cadillac to command fort at Natchitoches– Possessed knowledge of Indian

languages and frontier skills– Educated in Paris

• 1714: Fort St. Jean Baptiste (present-day Natchitoches) built by French on banks of Red River– Established to build trade with nearby

Spanish (illegal)

NatchitochesNatchitoches

• Missions by St. Denis to seek trade

– Eventually St. Denis jailed

– Warned to stay out of Spanish territory

• Continued trade efforts between Spanish colonists

– French goods desired by Spanish (especially medicine)

– Spanish silver desired by French

Crozat’s FailureCrozat’s Failure

• Continued struggle of Louisiana colony– Ending of government support (death of Louis

XIV, 1715)– Trading with Spanish (illegal) and Indians - a

failure– French disinterest in farming

• No profit made from colony• Contract as proprietor not totally fulfilled• Gave up proprietorship (after 5 years)

The Company of the WestThe Company of the West• Next proprietor of colony (group of

investors) • John Law (head of proprietorship group)

– Developed paper money system for France

• 1717: Company of the West created by John Law to operate Louisiana colony

• 1718: Settlement designed / laid out by Bienville (became city of New Orleans)

• Land grant given to directors in exchange for settlers to live on the land

A Search for Colonists• Early real estate advertising used by John Law in

efforts to attract people to Louisiana• German farm families recruited as colonists

– Experienced, hard-working people– Cleared land, planted gardens– Saved colony from starving

• Need still for more settlers– Prisoners sent to colony rather than jail– Arrival of dangerous criminals (unable or unwilling

to work)• Problems in the colony

– Vagrants (homeless people) shipped to colony– Goods not often sent to colony by the Company– Available goods more costly

The Collapse of the Mississippi Bubble

• Continued investments / expansion of the Company

• 1721: Collapse of the Company (called Mississippi Bubble)

• The Company of the Indies (in charge of colony)

• Continuation of Bienville as governor• Needs of Louisiana

– an adequate army– more dependable settlers– a good export crop

The Code Noir• 1716: Beginning of slavery in Louisiana (to

provide workers for colony)– slaves from West Africa– rice added as staple food for colony

(assistance from slaves)• Indigo & tobacco (Louisiana’s 1st cash

crops)• 1724: Code Noir established by Bienville

– governed conduct / treatment of slaves– protected slaves as property

A New Governor

• Complaints about Bienville as governor

• Etienne de Perier – new governor

– Mission: to bring harmony to colony

– Well-respected in French navy

– Saw potential in Louisiana’s forests– Desired to improve trade with French

colonies of West Indies

The Natchez Uprising • Peaceful relations between colonists and

Indians at Fort Rosalie (built 1716: Fort Rosalie built on land belonging to Natchez Indians)

• Good land seized from Natchez Indians by fort’s commander

• Natchez Indian attack of Fort Rosalie (called “Natchez Uprising” – deaths of 250+ colonists)

• Loss of farms / tobacco plantations / desire to stay in colony

• 1731: Colony returned to King by Company of the West

Click here to return to Main Menu.

Section 3:Section 3:A Royal Colony AgainA Royal Colony Again

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:–What problems were faced by the

various groups that attempted to colonize French Louisiana?

Section 3:Section 3:A Royal Colony AgainA Royal Colony Again

What word do I need to know?

1. casket girls

Bienville Returns

• Challenges facing Bienville upon return as governor:– Calm the settlers / restore ties with

Indians– Shortage of livestock & good tools– Inadequate supply of money– Few ships available to transport goods

• Food rationing in colony & reliance on barter and warehouse credit

War with the Chickasaw• Conflicts between tribes used often to advantage of

French and British– French goods generally preferred by Choctaw– British (trading partners & allies with Chickasaw)– Chickasaw (enemies of French & Choctaw)

• French fearful of peaceful relations between Chickasaw and Choctaw

• France’s colony threatened by possible trading partnership between Choctaw and British

• Eventual war lasting for several years between Chickasaw and French– Several defeats suffered by Bienville– 1742: Retirement of Bienville as governor of colony

A Different Kind of Governor

• 1742: New governor (Pierre Francois de Rigaud,

Marquis de Vaudreuil)– Halted Indian raids on settlements– Worked out peace agreement with Chickasaw – Used kindness and dignity to calm internal conflicts in

colony

• Improved living conditions & prosperity for colony

• Formal ceremonies & parties established• Governor credited with 1st Louisiana Mardi Gras

ball

The Last French Years• 1752: Vaudreuil designated as governor of

Canada• Louis Billouart, Chevalier de Kerlerec

appointed governor of colony– Tensions between French and British

increasing– Stage set for French and Indian war– Caught in middle of squabbles with

commissary commissioner• 1762: Colony given to Spain

Life in the ColonyLife in the Colony

• Began as a struggle in French colonial Louisiana in the wilderness

• Challenging environment• Adaptation of people to suit location• Daily hardships faced by colonists• Elements of culture added to improve

their lives

The PeopleThe People

• Early explorers and promoters (hardy French Canadians)– Free-spirited woodsmen (coureur-de-bois –

“woods runner” in French– Preferred independent lifestyle to settling in

colony• Early French colonists

– Lacked survival skills for harsh environment– Many interested in search for gold & silver

• German farmers (hardy, saved colony)

The PeopleThe People

• African slaves (hard labor, created economic growth in colony)

• Soldiers (considered as rejects of army)• Women

– Scarce in the colony– Absence, causing instability in colony– 1728: Arrival of “casket girls”– Some women of bad reputation sent

from the streets of Paris

ReligionReligion• Roman Catholic: official religion of France

and the Louisiana colony

• Church supported by the government

• Nuns & priests provided for the colony

• Few of the early priests lived among the Indians as missionaries

• Schools established by nuns & priests

• Early days: Mardi Gras & other church holidays celebrated

LifestylesLifestyles

• Early population of Louisiana between 6,000 & 7,000 when colony given up by France

• Gambling & card playing main entertainment• Few elegant homes, majority of logs or bricks• Ignorant about diseases / health awareness• Jean Louis: money left in will (provisions for a

charity hospital in New Orleans)• Clothing: made mostly from imported cloth –

elegant clothing (from France) worn by wealthy

Success or Failure• Factors contributing to success or failure

of French colony of Louisiana– Colony under regulations of France– Colony affected by hurricanes, mosquitoes,

heat, & humidity– The first colonists – a poor choice? – Leaders of the colony

• Those seeking to benefit colony• Those seeking profits for themselves

– Trade restrictions– Inadequate funding & supplies

Click here to return to Main Menu.

Click here to return to Main Menu.