Chapter 5: French Louisiane

Early ExplorationEuropean nations began sending

explorers to the New World in hopes of finding riches.

Hernando De Soto1. In 1541, De Soto and about 600 men landed in Florida to

search for gold. 2. They wandered across the southeastern United States3. Treated Indians brutally as they hunted for riches. 4. he discovered the Mississippi River, crossed into

Arkansas, discovered Hot Springs, and then traveled down the Ouachita River.

5. De Soto died from fever in southeast Arkansas 6. Few of his men survived and they had no gold or riches7. Europeans did not send another expedition for over 100

years.

De Soto’s route

European Colonization• Late 1600s, Spain, England, and France

had established colonies in North America.• Spain had colonies in Texas and Mexico.• English were establishing colonies along

the Atlantic seaboard.• France had created New France in

Canada.

La Salle, the Opportunist1. French explorers Marquette and Joliet

discovered the upper Mississippi River which exploring the Great Lakes region.

2. La Salle realized this was the river De Soto had found.

3. He wanted France to establish a colony at the mouth of the River.

4. He thought the Gulf Coast would be an ideal location for a French naval base.

Louisiane1. Lower Mississippi had to be explored before a

colony could be established. 2. King Louis XIV of France gave La Salle

permission to lead an exploration party down the river.

3. They traveled from Canada to the Gulf in two months.

4. In 1682, LaSalle declared that France owned the land drained by the Mississippi River and would be known as Louisiane “Louis’s land”.

La Salle’s claims

How big was Louisiana?

Fort Louis1. La Salle returned to France to gather settlers,

supplies, and ships to set up a Mississippi colony.

2. On his return trip he missed the mouth of the River and ended up lost in Texas.

3. He and his men built Fort Louis, but starvation and hostile Indians took their toll.

4. LaSalle was killed by his own men in East Texas.

Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur de Iberville• France and England were enemies.• France learned the English were planning

on building a colony at the mouth of the river.

• France was worried about the English invading Canada by traveling up the River.

• It became a race for control of the Mississippi River.

GLEs: 65, 66, 72, 78

Iberville Comes to Louisiane1. French Minister

Pontchartrain choose Sieur de Iberville to lead the expedition.

2. Iberville and his brother Bienville arrived in the Gulf of Mexico and anchored at Ship Island.

Finding the Mississippi1. Iberville and Beinville

explored the mainland and met Biloxi Indians.

2. They searched for and found the Mississippi River on March 3—Mardi Gras.

Baton Rouge and Pontchartrain1. Iberville and some friendly Indian guides found a red

pole sticking out of the ground.2. Iberville called it baton rouge or “red stick”.3. Iberville and his guides also found a shortcut to the Gulf

and discovered the largest lake he had ever seen –Pontchartrain after his superior, Count Pontchartrain.

4. He named the smaller lake after his son—Count Maurepas.

5. They established Fort Maurepas, the first French settlement in Louisiane.

6. He had to return to France twice for supplies.

English Turn1. Bienville entered the Mississippi River and

spotted a large English ship anchored in the river.

2. Bienville lied and told them it was too late to start a colony because France had already established one and French troop were nearby.

3. He claimed the French would attack if they did not leave.

4. The English turned the ship around and this is how it got it’s name—English Turn.

English Turn

Fort de la BoulayeBienville established this fort on land 50 miles upstream from the mouth to

the Mississippi.

Fort Louis de la Mobile and Dauphin Island

1. Fort Louis de la Mobile became the colony’s capital, and most of the settlers moved there.

2. Dauphin Island was another post built for the French.

Early Louisiana settlements

The Early Colonists1. The major problem was the small

population.2. Population was made up of soldiers,

sailors, explorers, voyageurs, and 13 Caribbean pirates.

3. Voyageurs made their living paddling canoe, pirogues, and other boats for explorers and traders.

Voyageurs

A New Governor • Since they were short on supplies, Iberville

returned to France where he found the French at war.

• He was unable to send supplies and died in Cuba on the return voyage in 1706.

• Bienville became governor at age 22.

GLEs: 64, 66, 72, 73, 74, 76, 78, 80, 81

The Coureurs de Bois1. There was a lack of European women in the

colony which was a major problem.2. Coureurs de bois or “runner of the woods” were

hunters and trappers who depended upon Indians to keep them alive.

3. They often dressed and acted like them, even marrying Indian women.

4. Bienville wanted these men to marry French Christian women and farm the land to end the chronic food shortage in the colony.

The Pelican Girls• 23 young women sent from Paris to

marry and help the population grow.

• Nearly all the Pelican Girls found husbands and the population quickly rose to 195.

Bienville Stays 1. Bienville practiced nepotism, appointed family

members to important positions and used the colony’s money and supplied as if they were his own.

2. He flaunted his power and wealth and feuded with the commissary.

3. As a result, he was convicted of corruption and he ordered back to France.

4. He eventually used his influence and was reappointed to his former position.

Economics in LouisianeMercantilism was the belief that each

country or empire should have access to, and control of, raw materials needed to build and maintain a healthy economy.

Mercantilism

Mercantilism1. It was a closed system, so Louisiane was not

allowed to trade with any country but France.2. France sent finished goods such as clothing,

furniture, and ink to the colony.3. Louisiane shipped raw materials such as fur,

timber, and indigo back to France.4. It was not a very profitable system and since it

was easier and cheaper to trade with the Spanish, illegal trade with them was common.

The Fur Trade1. Fur trade was the main economic activity.2. It was not very profitable.

Bartering

Farming1. There was never enough food.2. Lack of knowledge, poor soil, flooding,

and few seeds contributed to the problem, and the period became known as the Starvation Times.

3. Indians taught the French how to grow corn, squash, and beans and how to hunt and fish.

French Government in the Colony

• The top official was a governor, chosen carefully by the French government.

The Commissary1. This official was in charge of

warehouses, trade, and supplies, while the governor was responsible for everything else.

2. The governor and the commissary began feuding over power.

A Proprietor• The King Louis XIV was tired of sinking

money into the colony and getting nothing except trouble in return.

• He needed to retain control of the Mississippi River, or England could travel up it and threaten Canada.

• He began looking for a proprietor, an individual who took economic responsibility for the colony.

GLEs: 65, 66, 70, 71, 72, 75, 77, 81

Antoine Crozat1. A monopoly is when a person or group has

exclusive control over the production or sale of a product or service.

2. King Louis gave such power to Antoine Crozat.3. Crozat was able to keep all the profits, appoint

officials, and remain exempt from trade tariffs for 15 years if he met certain conditions.

4. He had to give the king 1/5 of any gold found in the colony, send a few settlers to Louisiane each year, buy goods from France, and govern by French law.

B. Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac1. He was a LA Governor who was a hungry,

pompous, and corrupt man who loved fancy clothes and wigs.

2. He was very unpopular but succeeded in improving the colony and its leadership while serving as its governor.

3. The Superior Council began as an advisory group composed of the colony’s leading officials.

4. Its power grew and eventually it served as a legislature able to pass laws.

Melrose plantation

Louis Juchereau de St. Denis and Natchitoches

1. St. Denis explored much of Louisiane and learned Indian languages and customs.

2. Several tribes honored him by tattooing his legs.3. The Caddo called him “Big Leg”.4. He established an outpost in the western part of the

colony to protect the border against the Spanish in Texas and Mexico.

5. The trading post he established on the Red River in 1714 was Fort St. Jean Baptiste.

6. It became Natchitoches, the oldest permanent settlement in the entire Louisiana Purchase territory.

Fort St. Jean Baptiste

The First Natchez War1. Natchez murdered four French traders.2. Governor Cadillac sent Bienville and

soldiers to punish the Natchez.3. The Natchez were forced to execute the

guilty warriors, live near Fort Rosalie, and cut the 2,500 logs required to build the fort.

4. The Natchez hatred of the French grew even more.

Bousillage

A New Proprietor - John Law1. John Law came from Scotland2. He gambled and he killed a man in a duel.3. He traveled to France.4. While there, he established a taxation system and started a

national bank that slowed inflation.5. He created the Company of the West and received a 25-year

monopoly over both Louisiana and Canada. He kept all the profits.6. He used a variety of methods to bring people to Louisiane.7. His business interest met with both success and failure.8. Law was involved in many scandals.9. He lost all his money and died penniless in Italy. 10.He reinstated Bienville as Governor.

Populating the Colony1. Law had to populate the colony with 6,000 white settlers and 3,00

slaves.2. Law offered large land grants called concessions to wealthy

Europeans.3. Those purchasing concessions would pay for settlers to travel to

Louisiane and work the land for them. 4. Poor Europeans who couldn’t afford to travel on their own become

redemptioners. 5. They worked for a merchant or land-owner for three years to repay

their passage to the colony. 6. During that time the employer had to provide free room and board. 7. At the end of the contract the employer was to provide land, tools,

and supplies for the redemptioner so he could start his own farm.

Criminals Come to Louisiana1. France didn’t want to lose its best people, so

they began gathering people France didn’t want to send to Louisiana.

2. People began to view the colony as a penal (prison) colony.

Mississippi Bandits1. Law hired gangs of thugs to seize homeless,

drunk, and street people from the slums of Paris and other large cities.

2. The “Mississippi Bandits” forced them onto ships bound for Louisiane in order to increase the population.

A New Capital1. The capital at Mobile was too far away.2. The capital was moved to Isle of Orleans

and the city New Orleans developed in the area.

A New Governor• Bienville was ordered back to France and

forbidden to return to Louisiane due to corruption.

• Etienne de Périer became the New governor.

GLEs: 65, 66, 72, 77

A Difficult Life1. Food shortages, crime, threats of Indian

attacks and diseases took a tremendous toll. 2. Dangerous wild animals were also a threat.

The Company of the Indies1. Law gained control of the East Indies

Company, which had a monopoly on France’s Far East trade.

2. He merged the East and West companies and soon had a monopoly over the French African slave trade.

3. People bought stock in the company.

The Colony Grows• The colony’s population grew and led to

the need of a local government.• Officials divided Louisiana into nine

districts.• Each district had a fort and settlement, a

commandant, and soldiers for protection.

GLEs: 64, 65, 66, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 78, 80

The Ursuline Nuns1. They established the first charity hospital

and began the colony’s first school for girls.

Ursuline Convent

The Code Noir-Marriage1. Forbade blacks and whites to live together

and to get married.2. Any children born through interracial unions

were slaves.3. Blacks and French colonists could marry

Indians.

The Code Noir-Freedom1. The Superior Council had to give

approval if a Frenchman wanted to free his common-law wife and children.

2. Freed slaves who had some French blood were called les gens de couleur libres.

The Code Noir-Cruelty1. Slaves could not be educated, congregate in

large numbers in public, or carry weapons. 2. Recaptured runaways could be branded,

beaten, or have their ears cut off. 3. A slave who struck his master or ran away

three times could be killed. 4. Since slaves were unable to testify in court,

owners had little fear of punishment.

The Code Noir-Slave Rights1. The Code recognized slaves as humans, so

slaves could not be prevented from marrying. 2. A child under 14 could not be separated from

his mother. 3. Slaves could not be forced to work on Sundays

or religious holidays. 4. Owners had to provide adequate food, clothing,

shelter, and medical attention and care for the slave if he or she was no longer able to work.

The Code Noir-Equal Rights1. Freed slaves were equal to whites.2. They could buy slaves, own property,

and serve in the government or military. 3. Because of these rights, many free

people of color were wealthy and influential.

Slave Culture1. Due to a long interaction with Africa, the

French did not consider Africans racially inferior and did not try to destroy slaves’ native culture like the English did.

2. African names, customs, food, language, and clothing survived better in Louisiana than in most American colonies.

Creoles• The meaning has changed over the years. • Originally, a Creole was an African slave from

Louisiane.• Children born to French or Spanish Louisianians

were called Creoles. • Finally it came to mean someone of mixed

blood. • Creole is also the name of a language that

evolved in south Louisiana and a term used to describe buildings or foods of Louisiana origin.

Religion1. Only the Catholic Church was allowed.2. All slaves had to be baptized. 3. The Code forbade Jews from entering the

colony.

Voodoo• A religion based on a mix of Catholic and

African beliefs.• Nature and natural objects have life. • There are many spirits.• Magic, chants, spells, potions and charms

are used.

Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau’s tomb

The Fort Rosalie Massacre1. Occurs when Perier is governor.2. Great Sun and a small group of Natchez

warriors snuck into the fort on November 28, 1729.

3. The Natchez sneaked weapons into the fort and attacked the French.

4. Over 200 people died.

The Second Natchez War1. The entire colony was a part of the war.2. It was civil war for Louisiane’s Indians.3. Support was split among Native American

tribes.4. Slaves also fought in the war on each side.5. War lasted two years.6. The Natchez were defeated and Great Sun

and his people were sent away as slaves.

The Natchez Surround Fort St. Jean Baptiste

1. Natchez who had escaped, surrounded the fort to lure St. Denis out

“Death to the Natchez!”1. When St. Denis did attack with his warriors,

they defeated the Natchez.2. 10 percent of the French population was killed. 3. Homes and villages were burned. 4. The Natchez Indians were nearly destroyed. 5. Other smaller Indian tribes were wiped out. 6. The Company of the Indies went bankrupt. 7. Louisiane was dangerously under populated. 8. The economy was in turmoil.

Bienville Returns• After the Natchez war the King needed

Bienville to return as governor to help bring order to the colony.

The Chickasaw1. The Chickasaw were friends with the

English and united with the Natchez to attack Pointe Coupee.

2. Bienville demanded the Chickasaw Indians living in northern Mississippi turn over the Natchez living with them.

3. When they refused, the colony was once again at war.

Chickasaw warriors

The End of the Natchez1. Bienville recruited slaves to fight,

promising them freedom in return. 2. After three years, peace was finally

achieved when the surviving Natchez were turned over by the Chickasaw and then sent to Saint-Dominique.

Saint-Domingue

The End of the Bienville1. He was tired from war and asked to be

replaced as governor.2. He returned to France.

Pierre François Rigaud Cavagnal, Marquis de Vaudreuil

• New governor, served for 10 years.• Easy going, fun-loving, and popular with the

upper class. • He was called the “Grand Marquis”.• Improved the levee system• Created the Era of Good Feelings• Introduced elaborate Mardi Gras parties that

have remained an important part of Louisiana’s social life

GLEs: 65, 66, 72, 73, 76, 77, 78, 81

Louis Billouart, Chevalier de Kerlerec• Governor during the French and Indian War.• He needed to feed starving citizens living in the

colony, and the captain who went through the English Blockade who came with supplies was a Jew.

• To do so he had to violate the Code Noir adopted by the Superior Council, which forbade Jews from entering the colony.

• 10 years later he was recalled to France, and found guilty of violating the Code Noir.

The End of French Louisiane • France went to war with England.• France lost the war.• French rule was ended by the French and

Indian War.• King and proprietors weren’t making any

money.

A. The Treaty of Fontainebleau 1. In a secret Treaty of Fontainebleau,

France signed this treaty with Spain, which gave the Spanish Louisiane.

2. This was kept secret from the English.

B. The Treaty of Paris1. Treaty between the French and English

putting Canada under England’s control.2. At this point the England controlled all

the land east of the Mississippi River, except the Isle of Orleans.

3. Spain gave up Florida and owned the Isle of Orleans and the lands west of the river.

Louisiana’s borders after the French and Indian War