USA > Louisiana > A history of Louisiana, Volume II > Part 5
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SUB-DIRECTORS
1776]
and are not capable of making any progress, except through an illicit commerce better suited to form pirates than citizens. The English would not be able to oppose this system, and they would be beaten with their own weapons.
In order that a machine shall move easily, it is indispensable that no part shall be lacking, and that it have the necessary and well-coordinated springs. We shall oppose vainly the policy of the English if we do not use the same weapons as they. At present the province of Louisiana has only fifteen hundred men as regu- lar troops ; one hundred of them are stationed at the Balize, Bayou St. John, Manchac, Arkansas, and Illinois, and the remainder in the city. What defense could be made by such feeble detach- ments without suitable fortifications, if they were attacked? Would the troops from the city go to the Arkansas or Illinois, distant, one two hundred leagues, and the other five hundred? This system, good during a constant peace, could not subsist during the least discord, whether with the Indians, the English, or the colonists, and the fires of war lighted on this continent require a serious attention to the results.
If the colony is augmented, it will increase the labors of the governor-general, and he will need the help of two sub-directors, each of whom will attend to his own department and make full reports to the governor. The latter might appoint, if he so de- sires, a board of seven or eight intelligent persons from among the merchants, who would give advice to the governor about things concerning the province, without prejudice to his judicial authority. The superintendent-general of the Indians should attend to whatever pertains to them, obtaining from each nation an account of the number of its people, and especially of the warriors, of the land they inhabit, and where they hunt, of the annual consumption of goods from Europe, and the number of peltries they furnish. With the help of the governor-general, the superintendent should foster their trade, make treaties with them, win their confidence, and above all watch carefully the acts of the general superintendents of the English and report them
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A HISTORY OF LOUISIANA [1776
to the governor-general. Once in two or three years there should be a general congress of all the tribes of Indians, at Pointe Coupée or some other convenient place, to make or renew treaties, to do justice to them, and to treat them with severity and firmness if they are guilty. The small number of troops. we have here has compelled us to ignore serious faults ; but if the colony increases, the troops will increase, and we shall gradually obtain over the Indians the same authority as the English, who do not hesitate to have them hanged when they have committed any crime.
Five or six hundred men of various tribes go to the Illinois with their rifles and enter suddenly the house of the commandant, who is generally a captain of the Battalion of the province, with only thirty-two men. They ask for brandy or for food, often with insolence, and the commandant has to suffer this or to run the greatest risks. The superiority of their forces emboldens them, and their thirst for brandy makes the risk greater, as they be- come truly wild animals when intoxicated. In New Orleans even, in the presence of the governor and several officials, four or five Indians of one of our most worthless nations, having seen at a distance two men of a tribe with which they were at enmity, took their rifles and ran toward their enemies. The latter threw them- selves into the river to cross it, but as, after some time, they were obliged to raise their heads from the water to breathe, the others who were on the shore fired at them, killing one and wounding the other. Although the guilty nation gave satisfaction to the governor, this incident shows the insolence of the Indians, and the necessity of restraining them and impressing upon them the respect which they owe to the arms and officers of His Majesty.
The general superintendent should also know thoroughly, and have copies, if possible, of the laws and treaties that the English make with the Indians, and communicate them to the governor, that the latter may imitate them or improve upon them, accord- ing to the needs of the colony. He should also know precisely the names and numbers of the tribes and warriors under the con- trol of the English, and the lands they inhabit, to be able to give
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SETTLEMENTS
1776]
to the governor a complete knowledge of that important subject. He should obtain the same information about the tribes that dwell on our continent and those that are in the proximity of our pos- sessions in Mexico, also of those who inhabit the remote banks of the Missouri and the Mississippi, as these are the strongest and the bravest.
As general superintendent of the new settlements, he should have a list of all the families that arrive there; and it should be his duty to establish them in the most suitable places, acting al- ways with the approval of the governor, as his lieutenant and representative. He should divide the people into groups of fifty families, and take especial care that in each place there be one man who should know how to write, to give promptly a report of the news. In each place also, the superintendent should take care that there be men versed in the trades most essential to the district, according to the cultivation suitable to it. Each settle- ment should have, at least, a carpenter, a blacksmith, and others who can work wood and handle an axe well, to help one another in building houses and manufacturing tools and implements.
To each family should be conceded a tract of land two hundred yards front on the river by two thousand four hundred in depth, so that the fifty families should occupy two leagues front on the river and have sufficient land to live from their products, down to the fifth and sixth generations.
The families should be allowed to repay gradually, by the pro- ceeds of their crops, the advances made by the state. The soldiers whose terms of enlistment have expired, and whose return to Europe costs Spain such large sums of money, should receive lands ; as it would be important that there should be Spaniards who would be on friendly terms with the families of the country. The discharged soldiers from Havana might be attracted here, and also the families who went to Havana from Florida, to whom His Majesty gives a pension. The soldiers from Havana might be encouraged to marry the orphan girls in those families. The royal treasury might continue for four years or more the pension
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A HISTORY OF LOUISIANA [1776
that those people receive who have left Florida in order not to submit to the English, and they might be allotted a double share of land as a reward for their fidelity. Thus, after some time, the state would be relieved of the burden of the pension, and on this frontier some faithful Spaniards would be established, who would sustain the sovereignty of His Majesty as they did in Florida.
The French Acadians in Canada are not ignorant of the ad- vantages their compatriots and relatives have enjoyed by coming to the Mississippi, where they were established on the Iberville coast by Don Antonio de Ulloa. Many will come from Canada when they shall know of the help that will be given to them, and of the facility of communicating with the French. The Acadian families have increased very much, and have more lands than the Germans who were brought here by the French at the time of their domination.
The principal duty of the superintendent will be to attract to this country as many families as possible, with least cost to the state. The English have peopled their establishments with the greatest facility. Each ship brought a certain number of men and families, whose expenses were paid by the captain. On ar- riving in the settlement, the inhabitants gladly reimbursed the captains of the ships and obtained the services of the newcomers for a certain length of time. At the expiration of their contract they were free, and they received a grant of land. In this manner the country was settled without its costing the state anything. I am confident that in the kingdom of Valencia and in Murcia there are many useful persons who, under the same conditions, would gladly go to Louisiana.
The superintendent will have to visit each year all the settle- ments, to animate them by his presence and make them all contented, as happiness and self-satisfaction assure, more than anything else, the success and prosperity of all enterprises.
As His Majesty has deigned to favor this country by sending here, at great expense, teachers to establish public schools, to teach the youth Christian doctrine, reading and writing, it will
UTP GT A
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SCHOOLS
1776]
be an indispensable obligation on the part of the new colonists to send their children, from the most tender age, to these schools, which they will not leave and return to the country to their parents before they know how to read, write, and speak Spanish well. For the care and maintenance of these children, each settle- ment will choose a person who will reside in the city, whose sole duty will be to take care of these children ; and the superintendent will have to pay particular attention to this very essential point.
'All the sons of the colonists eighteen years old will be obliged to serve two or three years in the Battalion of this province, after which 'they will be at liberty to return home. This is essential, as in case of war all these young men will come as soldiers under the flag, and will be firm defenders of the state and of their com- mon country.
As there are men who are incapable of emulation and who lead an indolent life, those should receive no help from the state, but should be employed as day laborers or as hunters. The latter are very useful in this colony, and furnish it with bear's grease, meat, and peltries. It is important that there should be persons who cross the vast fields from Natchitoches to Arkansas, and along the shores of White River, Black River, and the St. Francis, as those men give news of the Indians and report whether the Eng- lish are settling in those regions.
In order not to burden the royal treasury with the cost of these employés and the increase in the gifts made to the Indians, moderate duties might be imposed on all peltries and furs ex- ported. As there are intelligent men in this country, they should be consulted as to the best means of imposing taxes, and the means suggested by those who are interested in the matter will be adopted willingly by all. The governor-general should give all the help possible to those persons, in order that, happy and con- tented, they should labor for the public good, under the royal protection of our loving sovereign.
To place this country in a state of defense, and protect it from all attacks,-not only from the English, who might introduce
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A HISTORY OF LOUISIANA [1776
by the river some frigates of war, make expeditions from Pensa- cola or Mobile by Lake Pontchartrain, or from Canada itself by the Ohio or Belle Rivière,-but also from the Indians and from the inhabitants themselves, these things are necessary: A frigate of thirty or forty guns, constructed in the river itself, and with such strong sides that none of the enemy's boats that may enter the river might compete with it. The guns should be 36-pounders, and the frigate can remain always in the river as a floating bat- tery, to oppose whomsoever it may wish. The city of New Orleans is distant about thirty leagues from the sea; about four leagues from the mouth of the river is a bend that is called the English Turn, where the French have established two batteries. These should be fortified anew and protected in the rear, as the English might come by Lake Pontchartrain and penetrate by one of the different bayous and attack the battery by land. All these bat- teries should be constructed on land that the river cannot carry away-in places where a beach is formed. It would also be use- ful to rebuild and strengthen the fort on Bayou St. John; for if the English take possession of it they may, without the slightest hindrance, go by water to a settlement called the Bayou, half a league from the city, and take possession of New Orleans with little trouble. Besides those points, we should prepare for an at- tack by the English who might descend the Ohio or Belle Rivière. One or two batteries should be established from the mouth of Red River to that of the Ohio. We should rebuild the fort that we have at Spanish Manchac, which is distant only a pistol-shot from the English Manchac. On the opposite side of the river we should build a fort that would protect from the English pirates the in- habitants of the Iberville, Acadian, and German coasts. As Pointe Coupée is beyond the hundred leagues that belong entirely to us, and as it has a considerable population, two forts should be established to protect especially the country around Red River, to prevent the English or their colonists, in case of inde- pendence, from reaching Natchitoches or from extending in time their ambitious aims as far as the vast kingdom of Mexico. In
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FORTS
1776]
the Arkansas and the Illinois it would also be very useful to have a fort that might keep the Indians in awe. If all the mouths of the rivers that enter the Mississippi on our side are fortified, there will be nothing to fear for the kingdom of Mexico, as it is only by these rivers that the English could penetrate into our con- tinent, on account of the numerous lakes and mountains. All these forts should have batteries toward the river and toward the land, not to be surprised from behind. With all these forts, the avenues would be well protected; but to guard the city entirely, and in order that its fate should not depend on the destiny of a fort, it should be surrounded with walls according to the plan that has already been traced with stakes, and a strong bastion should be placed at each extremity of the city, facing the river, and at the same place where the former governor had a battery established. All these works should be of brick and mortar, to protect them from the inroads of the river, and those places should be avoided where the river has great depth, which are called by the French ecore. On the contrary, those strips of land should be sought which advance gradually into the river, and which are called batture. In this way the works would be entirely protected from the river. The population increasing, the garrison of the city, which is at present very small, should be increased also, as well as the number of the forts.
In his eleventh chapter Bouligny says two commercial houses at Alicante have offered to furnish every year to the province of Louisiana two or three thousand negroes, whom the government would sell to the planters on easy terms of payment. The introduction of such a large number of laborers in the colony would place it, in less than ten years, in such a state of defense that all England united could not do it any harm, and in case of war the whole left bank, from Manchac up, which is now pos-
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الساق
وسعداد التى
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[1776
A HISTORY OF LOUISIANA
sessed by the English, would become Spanish, a fact that would assure to the sovereign the absolute possession of the whole Mississippi. The author adds that, as in the Battalion of Louisiana there are several officers well versed in mathematics, they should be liberated from service and employed in making plans for forts and cal- culating the materials necessary. They should also be appointed commandants of the forts. Special mention is made of Don Andres Landry, one of the adjutants of New Orleans, as being well prepared for the work men- tioned above.
Bouligny says in conclusion:
I believe I have included all the essential points which, with experience and knowledge of the country, I have been able to col- lect in this paper, having used as a guide for my studies and plans the numerous instructive conversations I have had on these sub- jects with his Excellency Count O'Reilly, on the occasions when I have had the honor of serving under his orders, especially in the expedition to this province, on which occasion he deigned con- tinually to intrust me with the most important orders. As my object is not for personal interest, but for the service of the King, and for the prosperity of a province where I am azendado, I be- lieve that these reflections may contribute to hasten its prosperity and to make it obtain that of the English establishment at Man- chac. The moment is the most favorable, as the English and their colonies are engaged in a civil war that occupies their whole attention. A constant and fixed system is necessary to assure all this territory and to inspire in its inhabitants a constant feeling of union with the sovereignty of His Majesty and gratitude for it. The propositions of this memoir are injurious in no way to the treasury, to the inhabitants, or to the Spanish nation, in com- mon or in particular; from which it follows that the execution
1776]
CONCLUSION
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will be easy, as it unites these three interests and gives no just motive of complaint to the English nation. It is not in conflict with the treaties ; it deprives the English of no right that belongs to them-considerations which I have always had in view in ex- tending my reflections and presenting them to the illustrious wis- dom of the Minister of the Indies.
(Signed)
August, 1776.
FRANCO BOULIGNY.
CHAPTER III THE ADMINISTRATION OF GALVEZ-HIS WARS AGAINST THE ENGLISH
Galvez begins his administration-English traders treated severely-Opera- tions of the Americans-Willing's attack on the English-More liberal regulations about commerce-Alcaldes for 1779-Oath of allegiance to the King of Spain-Families from the Canary Islands and from Malaga- Settlement of New Iberia-Galveztown-Storms in 1778-The Isleños- Declaration of war against England-Capture of Baton Rouge-Julien Poydras-Poydras's poem-Expedition against Mobile-Correspondence be- tween Galvez and Durnford-Capture of Fort Charlotte-Galvez sails from Havana-His fleet dispersed by a storm-The convoy-Galvez obtains an army and transports-The expedition sails a second time from Havana- The troops land on the island of St. Rosa-Brisk firing from the English- Attempt of the fleet to enter the channel-Colonel Ezpeleta marches to Perdido River-Galvez crosses the bar on the Galveztown-The squadron fol- lows-Galvez's threatening letter to Campbell-Campbell's answer-Letters of Governor Chester-Letter to Chester-Expedition of the Pio-Siege of Fort George-March of the army-The Indians driven into the woods- Galvez wounded-Surrender of Fort George-Surrender of Fort Barrancas -Number of the prisoners-The Louisianians take part in the War of the Revolution.
ON BERNARDO DE GALVEZ began his administration as provi- sional Governor of Louisiana on February 1, 1777. He was about twenty-one years of age and he be- longed to an influential family. His father, Don Mathias de Galvez, was viceroy of Mexico, and his uncle, Don José de Galvez, was president of the council of the Indics. The young
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· DON BERNARDO DE GALVEZ 1756-1786
Fourth Spanish Governor of Louisiana, who defeated the British at Pensacola in 1781, and after whom the city of Galveston is named. He was afterward forty-ninth Vice- roy of Mexico, where he died at the age of 30. From a contemporary painting in the National Museum, Mexico.
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GALVEZ
1777]
governor was full of energy and ambition, and his ad- ministration was both enlightened and daring. The policy of Spain became more liberal with regard to the commerce of Louisiana, and Galvez encouraged that feeling. The duty of four per cent. on exports of prod- uce from the colony was reduced to two per cent., and trade with the French West India Islands was permitted. Two commissioners, Villars and Favre d'Aunoy, ap- pointed by the French government, were to reside in New Orleans, and purchase whatever was needed for the islands. Later, Galvez permitted the French vessels to buy at New Orleans or on the plantations the produce of the colony, paying therefor in specie, bills of exchange, or Guinea negroes,-that is to say, negroes who were not born in the islands, or who had not remained there some time. Permission was also given to bring goods or produce from Cuba or from Campeachy, and all the to- bacco raised in the colony was ordered to be bought for the Spanish government.
The commerce of Louisiana soon passed from the Eng- lish to the French, as Galvez treated the English traders on the Mississippi with great severity, seizing, on April 26, 1777, according to the report of the French com- missioners, eleven English vessels, with rich cargoes. The war for independence that the Americans were wag- ing against England was now in its third year, and Gal- vez aided the Americans by secretly permitting Oliver Pollock to collect in New Orleans munitions of war, which were sent to Fort Pitt. Captain Willing, of Phila- delphia, and some of his companions endeavored to make
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A HISTORY OF LOUISIANA [1778
the English in the Floridas join in the cause of the Americans, but were not successful, partly, it is said, be- cause the people on the Mississippi and at Mobile feared the fate of the chiefs of the Revolution of 1768, and partly because these settlements were too sparse and too distant from the principal operations of the war. The Ameri- cans, however, were steadily progressing, and the militia of Virginia took possession of Kaskaskia, and of posts on the Mississippi, in 1778, and the county of Illinois was formed. In 1776 a county was formed by the State of North Carolina, which was bounded on the west by the Mississippi. That river, by the treaty between England and France, was to form the western limit of North Carolina. " By the proclamation of 1763," says Martin, " George III had forbidden any settlement of white peo- ple to the west of the mountains. Nevertheless, a con- siderable number of emigrants from North Carolina had removed to the banks of the Watauga, one of the branches of the Holston."
In January, 1778, Captain Willing returned to New Orleans and with about fifty men began operations against the English on the Mississippi. At Manchac he captured a small vessel, which was at anchor; then he went to Baton Rouge and to Natchez, destroying on the way everything he could find, burning houses and devastating plantations. The inhabitants were unable to resist the invaders and fled to the right bank of the river to seek shelter in the Spanish possessions. The people of Louisiana were highly indignant at Willing's cruel conduct, although they were in sympathy with the Ameri-
חוצץ שוד
7
808
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LIBERAL REGULATIONS
1778]
cans and Governor Galvez had furnished the latter with more than seventy thousand dollars and had permitted Oliver Pollock to act openly as their agent.
On April 20, 1778, Galvez permitted exportation of the produce of the province to any of the ports of France; permission had already been given with regard to any port of the United States. The Spanish government acted in the same liberal manner, and it was " directed that vessels from New Orleans should no longer be com- pelled to sail for one of the six ports to which they had been restricted, but might sail to any other port of the peninsula to which the commerce of the Indies was per- mitted. The exportation of furs and peltries from Loui- siana was at the same time encouraged, by an exemption from duty during a period of ten years; but in the re-ex- portation from Spain the ordinary duty was to be paid." 1 In 1778, by royal schedules, Mercier's book, " L'An Deux Mille Quatre Cent Quarante," and Robertson's " His- tory of America " were forbidden to be introduced or read in the colony, the former work because it had been condemned by the Inquisition, and the latter because the King said that he had "just reason " to prohibit its being read in his American dominions.
The ordinary alcaldes for 1779 were Piernas and Du- verger, and, says Martin, " Toutant de Beauregard took his seat as a perpetual regidor and principal provincial alcalde, and Mazange succeeded Garic as clerk. Don Juan Dorotheo del Portege succeeded Odoardo in the office of auditor of war and assessor of government." In 1779 eighty-seven persons from the United States and
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A HISTORY OF LOUISIANA
· from the British provinces took an oath of allegiance to the King of Spain.
In 1778 several families were brought over at the King's expense from the Canary Islands. They formed settle- ments at Terre-aux-Bœufs under Marigny de Mande- ville; at Galveztown, on the river Amite, under St. Max- ent; and at Valenzuela, on Bayou Lafourche. The settlers received pecuniary assistance and rations for four years; they were supplied with cattle, fowls, and farming uten- sils, and a house was built for each family, and a church for each settlement. On January 15, 1779, Galvez men- tions in a despatch the arrival of families from Malaga, with the exception of two who remained ill at Havana. In a despatch of the same date he announces the arrival of one hundred and eleven recruits from the Canary Islands to complete his battalion, and of three hundred and eighty-eight more, of whom more than half are mar- ried.2 He adds that it is impossible that those people be soldiers and laborers at the same time, as the vacant lands are thirty leagues distant from the city, and if the men are kept as soldiers, humanity requires that the help given to them be continued, without its being ever returned to the royal treasury. It has, therefore, been thought better to consider them simply as colonists.
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