French Rule in Louisiana

1
Chapter 5

• French Rule in Louisiana
• Louisiana's French Colonial Era Struggle and
  Survival

2
Important People of Chapter 6

• Louis Joliet
• Rene Robert Cavalier Sieur de La Salle
• Henri de Tonti
• Pierre Le Moyne
• Sieur dIbberville
• Jean Baptiste Le Moyne
• Sieur de Bienville
• Antoine Crozat
• Antoine de Lamonthe

• Sieur de Cadillac
• Lois Juchereau de St. Denis
• John Law
• Etienne de Perier
• Pierre Francois de Rigaud
• Marquis de Vaudreuail
• Louis Billouart
• Chevalier de Kerlerec

3
Chapter 5 Section 1

• Vocabulary 1. New World - a way of referring to
  North America
• 2. Northwest Passage - a water route that early
  Europeans believed went through the North
  American continent to Asia
• 3. expedition - a journey for a specific
  purpose, such as exploration
• 4. colony - a group of people who settle in a
  distant land but who are still
• under the control of their native land
  Questions 1. What was the purpose of the
  French trading posts in North America? - to take
  advantage of the profitable fur trade that would
  support the colony 2. For whom was Louisiana
  named and what does Louisiana mean? - Louisiana
  is named after King Louis XIV of France and it
  means "Land of Louis" or Louis' land". 3. What
  interest did Catholic priests have in exploration
  in the Americas? - to bring Christianity to the
  Native Americans

4
Exploring the Mississippi

• French established their first trading posts in
  Canada
• They were fur traders
• Created such a rich economic venture for France
  it became known as New France

• Traders wanted to expand their trading area by
  finding a way to China and India
• They talked of a Northwest Passage-a mysterious
  water route across the American continent

5
Joliet and Marquette

• 1663, French fur trader Louis Joliet and Jesuit
  priest Marquette along with an expedition team
  set out to explore this Northwest Passage
• Taught by the Native Americans in the North the
  team built birchbark canoes , gathered useful
  food and set out

6
Joliet and Marquette

• From Canada the team made their way as far as the
  Mississippi River to the Mouth of the Arkansas
  River
• Natives of the Quapaw tribe explained the dangers
  of going further down the river-The Spanish had
  supplied southern tribes with guns and
  ammunition, leading them to go back North

7
Rene Robert Cavalier Sieur de La Salle

• Dreamt of finding a route to China
• Had a Canadian trading post called LaChine
  (China) in which other traders just found funny
• It took him many years and struggles, but
  eventually he made his trip to find China a
  reality

8
Henri de Tonti

• La Salle chose Henri de Tonti as his lieutenant
  for the trip.
• Tonti was known for his bravery in battle
• Legend says in battle, Tonti amputated his own
  wounded hand and then continued fighting
• Nick named Iron Hand

9
La Salles Journey to China?

• The team was made up of La Salle, Tonti, priests,
  Natives and their families
• Feb. 1682, they enter the upper Mississippi River
• April 1682, they reached the Mouth of the river
• Never getting to China! ?

10
La Salle chooses the Land of Louis over China!

• As the team reached the mouth of the Mississippi
  River a formal solemn ceremony was held (in
  Plaquemines Parish)
• La Salle, as any other good Frenchman, claimed
  all the land drained by the Mississippi River for
  his king, King Louis XIV
• He honored the king by naming the land Louisiana,
  which means LAND OF LOUIS

11
Better let the king know!

• La Salle returned to France to report his
  discovery to the kin
• The king rewarded him with a small fleet of
  ships and 30 colonists and directed him to start
  a colony
• Louisiana is official!

King Louis XIV aint he a cutie?
12
La Salle returns to Louisiana, well maybe not

• La Salle began his trip to his new home after
  meeting with the king
• This trip was not successful-he missed the
  Mississippi River!
• He ended up at Matagorda Bay in Texas
• Frightened and frustrated, the colonists were not
  happy

• Many died on the trip there and were not supplied
  enough to last longer than the trip to Louisiana
• La Salle vowed to bring them back to Canada by
  land
• Colonist men mutinied and murdered La Salle
• His dreams ended in complete failure

13
Chapter 6 Section 2

• Section Two - "Colonizing Louisiana" (pp.
  200-204) Questions
• 1. Where was the first French fort established
  along the Gulf of Mexico? - Fort Maurapas near
  the present-day city of Biloxi (They needed to
  build a fort to keep possession of their new
  colony.) (They didn't build the first fort on
  the Mississippi River because the soil was too
  poor.) 2. Which countries tried to stop French
  efforts to colonize Louisiana? - England and
  Spain 3. How did Bienville keep the English
  away from the Mississippi River? - He bluffed
  his way out at a curve on the river now called
  English Turn.

14
Colonizing Louisiana

• France colonizing and claiming the Mississippi
  made other countries nervous
• Spain and Britain took this as a threat
• Determined to protect its colonies, Spain built a
  fort on the Gulf of Mexico at Pensacola Bay
• The British hoped for a fort at the mouth of the
  Mississippi

15
Keeping up with the Jones

• Louis XIV heard the rumblings of other countries
  and knew France had to build a fort immediately
• First he had to chose a good leader to take on
  the task
• Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur dIberville, a Canadian
  commander was chosen to lead the effort to build
  a French fort
• Iberville chose his war hardened 18 year old
  brother Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de
  Bienville to accompany him.

16
A new fort for France

• Iberville was charged with establishing a base
  from which to control the mouth of the
  Mississippi River
• The site must be a good location for a colony
• More importantly, the site must provide France
  with raw materials (Mercantilism) for
  manufacturers in France

17
Is it really the Mississippi

• To make sure that this was the Mississippi,
  Iberville and Bienville questioned the local
  natives
• Soon they found a chief who brought a letter from
  Henri de Tonti written in 1699 (13 years after La
  Salles death)
• The letter was from Tonti to La Salle was an
  encouraging message of the colony
• Iberville and Bienville found the Mississippi
  river and began building the fort
• This was a very poor place for a fort so they
  moved east along the coast to present day Ocean
  Springs, MS (next to Biloxi) and built the first
  French fort, Fort Maurapas

18
Uneasy times at the French Settlement

• When finished, Iberville returned to France for
  supplies, soldiers and settlers
• While gone the fort suffered food shortage and
  lack of supplies
• The men at the fort were also being attacked by
  the Chickasaw, friends of the British

Rebuilt Ft. Maurapas
Rebuilt Ft. Maurapas after Katrina
19
Turn for the better?

• Bienville spent time exploring the river
• On one exploration, Bienville, in a very small
  boat went down river and came across a 12 gun
  British ship
• Pretending he had more ships, Bienville told the
  British that just up river were many French
  vessels and troops and that the river was
  controlled by the French
• HE hinted of an attack if the British did not
  leave
• Believing Bienville, the British turned around
  and sailed away
• The place where this occurred is on maps today,
  it is called English Turn

20
Expanding-More Forts for France

• After the English Turn incident, Iberville felt a
  fort at the mouth of the Mississippi was needed
• Fort Maurapas needed to be moved, which was
  normal for first time forts
• The first site flooded and the soil was too sandy
  to grow food
• The new fort, Fort Louis, was located where it
  would keep the English out of Mobile Bay (Alabama)

21
Restless nativesor rude French

• The local natives were very helpful in the
  beginnings of the colony
• They shared food and supplies with the needy
  French settlers
• The soldiers were even invited to live with the
  natives
• To repay the great hospitality of the natives,
  the French settlers treated them as conquered
  people and took them as slaves and purposely
  stared conflicts with in tribes

22
Forget about the Forts

• In Europe the War for Spanish Succession was
  happening
• The war created unrest throughout Europe
• French supply ships sailed to places considered
  more important to the war effort
• Abandoned, the colony was left without proper
  defense or assistance at a time when it was still
  very shaky