USA > Louisiana > History of Louisiana, from its first discovery and settlement to the present time > Part 8
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On his departure for Hispaniola, whither he
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SPAIN RECOVERS FLORIDA.
went to take the command of the Spanish forces destined to co-operate with those of France in an attempt upon Jamaica, Galvez left the reins of government in the hands of Estevan Miro, colonel of the royal army.
The conquests of Galvez put a stop to the contraband trade which had greatly enriched the Louisianians; but, to compensate them for this loss, the King of Spain, at the solicitation of the youthful hero, granted them important commer- cial advantages, in consideration of the valua- ble services they had rendered during the war. They were allowed to trade with all the ports of France, and New-Orleans became the principal mart of Spanish merchandise for all the other American possessions of his Catholic majesty.
1783 .- The peace which now took place be- tween France, Spain, and England, secured the independence of the United States, and arrested the warlike movements of Galvez. By this trea- ty Spain recovered both the Floridas, and her possessions were extended east of the Mississippi as far as the thirty-first degree of north latitude, which became the boundary between her colonies and the United States.
1785 .- Galvez was promoted to the captain- generalship of the Island of Cuba, still retaining
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
that of Louisiana and West Florida, which he . even continued to hold for some time after the king had appointed him viceroy of Mexico, in the place of his father, Don Mathias de Galvez, shortly after the death of the latter.
On the departure of the viceroy for New-Spain, Miro was made governor of the two provinces. The population of Lower Louisiana was at this time 27,439, and that of the city of New-Orleans about 5000. In the space of sixteen years, or during the period the country had been in the possession of Spain, the number of inhabitants had more than doubled. A farther addition was made to the population by different fam- ilies emigrating from Canada, some of which set- tled at Terre-aux-Bœufs, others on the borders of La Fourche, and others in Attakapas and Ope- lousas.
A priest, sent with the title of commissioner of the Holy Office, endeavoured at this time, against the will of Miro, to establish the Inquisition in Louisiana. Without the smallest ceremony, Miro had him seized and conveyed on board a vessel, which departed with him for Spain the same day.
On the cessation of the contraband trade with Jamaica, the merchants of that island, to whom the inhabitants of Louisiana were largely indebt-
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MANIFESTO ISSUED BY MIRO.
ed, came to claim and enforce the payment of the sums due to them. Miro interposed in a friendly manner in favour of those debtors who, being unable to make immediate payment, re- quested more time, which was granted them ; he also protected such poor and honest men as were hard pressed by their creditors, and obliged the rich either to remit, or make an abatement in their demands.
1786 .- Miro now published a Bando de buon Gobierno, a kind of manifesto which the Spanish governors were accustomed to issue, setting forth the principles that would regulate their adminis- tration. In this he recommended the due observ- ance of holy time, and the closing of all shops and drinking-houses during divine service on Sunday; condemning in the severest terms the licentiousness so prevalent among all classes, as well as the idleness so general among the free negroes and creoles, forbidding their wives to wear jewels and feathers, and directing that a plain handkerchief should be their only head- dress. He prohibited gaming, duelling, carrying concealed weapons, and all meetings and dances among the slaves. No inhabitant could leave the colony without a passport, nor without giving security for the payment of his debts. Several
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
other regulations equally wise, and some of which are still in force, were published in this manifesto.
.1787 .- While Steuben was unsuccessfully en- gaged in attempting to establish a military col- ony on the Mississippi, and emigrants from Ken- tucky and North Carolina were founding New- Madrid, Guardoqui, the minister of Spain at the United States, was exerting all his efforts to put- a stop to the contraband trade between Philadel- phia and New-Orleans. Miro, on the other hand, continued to tolerate it, and also to connive at a similar traffic carried on with Kentucky. His toleration of this illegal commerce may have proceeded from an apprehension that the people . of the United States, if debarred from freely navigating the Mississippi, and enjoying this out- let for their produce, might attempt to possess themselves of New-Orleans.
1788 .- A heavy misfortune befell the city this year. On Good Friday, a chapel having taken fire, the flames extended to the adjoining build- ings, and the conflagration was not arrested until it had destroyed nine hundred houses and a large quantity of valuable merchandise. When the inhabitants of St. Domingo heard of this calam- ity, they generously came forward to aid the
IMMIGRANTS FROM ST. DOMINGO. 157
sufferers, and sent them a vessel loaded with building materials. One advantage derived from this misfortune was, that Miro availed himself of it to open a commercial intercourse between New-Orleans and the United States; and Guar- doqui desisted from an opposition that, under the circumstances, was wholly useless, and only served to render him unpopular. The King of Spain gave his entire sanction to the measures of Miro.
1791 .- Nothing material occurred during the next three years; at the expiration of which, however, an opportunity was presented to the Louisjanians of proving their gratitude to the colonists of St. Domingo for the sympathy and assistance they had at a former period of need received from them. The insurrection of the negroes in that island had driven numbers of its white inhabitants to seek an asylum in Louisiana, where they were received with the kindness they might so justly claim. Such of them as had loyal slaves were permitted, though contrary to the established regulations, to bring them into the country, where these exiled planters, by ap- plying themselves to the cultivation of the sugar- cane, more than repaid the favours they had received. Some who were quite destitute opened
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schools for the French children, which were very much needed. There also came over among them a company of French actors, the first that had appeared at New-Orleans.
Miro, having been appointed a major-general in the Spanish army, now left the country, greatly to the regret of the inhabitants, and was succeeded by the Baron Carondelet.
CHAPTER XIII.
Carondelet .- Fortification of New-Orleans .- Sugar Manufacto- ry .- French Emigrants .- Treaty between the United States and Spain .- Gayoso de Lemos.
1791 .- THE Bando de buon Gobierno issued by the new governor divided New-Orleans into four districts, at the head of each of which was placed a commissary of police (Alcalde de barrio), who performed also the duties of justice of the peace. Carondelet recommended to the Cabildo the lighting of the town ; but its revenues being insufficient to enable them to do it, it was neces- sary to impose a tax of one dollar and an eighth on each chimney for this object. He also pub- lished several regulations in favour of the slaves,
DEFENSIVE MEASURES OF CARONDELET. 159
though at the same time he encouraged their im- portation, exempting the vessels engaged in it, as well as their cargoes, from the payment of any duties.
1793 .- A brisk trade was carried on between Louisiana and the United States at this time. , New-Orleans was already becoming an important commercial city, and numbers of strangers, at- tracted by the prospect of gain, contributed to increase its population and business. But the place was exposed to dangers which Carondelet considered alarming. He determined, therefore, to fortify it, and caused two forts to be erected on the river, the one above, the other below the town; and also raised three redoubts in its rear, all on one line, and communicating with each other and with the two forts by means of a deep ditch. In the centre of each side was a battery placed in a lateral position, and they were sur- rounded by strong palisades.
He also built Fort St. Philip, near the mouth of the Mississippi, and a smaller one opposite to it, to defend the approach by the river.
The militia was at the same time organized throughout the province, amounting to five or six thousand men ; and New-Orleans alone furnished eight hundred volunteers.
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
1794 .- Louisiana and West Florida were now formed into one diocese, the bishop, Don Louis de Pinalvert, residing at New-Orleans.
The defensive measures of Carondelet for the protection of New-Orleans had been chiefly di- rected against Genêt, the minister of the French Republic at the United States, who had concert- ed a plan for attacking that city. Genêt was a young man of fine education, but his ungovern- able disposition and imperious character led him into all the rash and extravagant follies which characterized the rulers of France at that period. Having met with a flattering reception from the American people, out of gratitude to his country for favours received, he became insufferably pre- sumptuous, and assumed as many airs as he could have done at the court of some petty German prince. He even went so far as to authorize hos- tile armaments out of the American ports ; to confer on French consuls in the United States the power of condemning English prizes, and order- ing their sale; and even carried his audacity to the length of accusing Washington of violating the constitution of his country. He had found in Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania many American citizens who readily accepted officers' commissions from him ; and these would have no difficulty in recruiting soldiers among
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· INTRIGUES OF CARONDELET.
the Western settlers, who were eager for the con- quest of Louisiana, the natural mart of all their produce. Thus it was arranged that two expe- ditions should simultaneously attack Louisiana and Florida.
To counteract these plans, Carondelet sent one of his emissaries, Power, who passed as an Eng- lish naturalist, to persuade the people of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee to place themselves , under the protection of Spain, which could alone give to them the free navigation of the Mississip- pi. He offered also to aid them with money, arms, and provisions.
These movements did not prevent Carondelet from occupying himself with the improvement of the colony. He caused the canal to be dug which still bears his name, and which was then partic- ularly useful, as it served to drain the marshes about the town, as well as to open an easy com- munication between New-Orleans, Mobile, and Pensacola.
Don Andrés de Almonaster, a man of large for- tune, powerfully seconded the views of the baron : he erected at his own expense the Cathedral of St. Louis at New-Orleans, the Town-hall, the building now used as a Courthouse, and like- wise an hospital, which he endowed.
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
The first sugar establishment was put in oper- ation at this period. An unsuccessful attempt had been made to convert the juice of the cane into sugar as far back as 1766. In 1785, a Spaniard at Terre-aux-Bœufs, named Solés, hav- ing procured a wooden mill from Havana, suc- ceeded in making molasses. His property was purchased by one Mendez, who continued the experiments of his predecessor, and at last ac- complished his object. The manufacture, how- ever, proving less profitable than he expected, he soon abandoned it, and contented himself with sending his canes to market. No farther efforts were made until the arrival of the colo- nists from St. Domingo, who easily persuaded several of the Louisianians, and, among others, a man of the name of Bore, surnamed Chevrette, to embark in the cultivation of the cane; and this they were the more ready to do, as indigo was no longer profitable, the plant being de- stroyed by the grasshoppers every year. Many obstacles, however, were to be encountered in commencing this new culture. Capital was wanted, and labour and the requisite materials were unreasonably dear. An able slave cost twelve or fifteen hundred dollars, and the sugar- maker exacted ten or fifteen dollars per hogshead
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GENET'S PLANS FRUSTRATED.
for the manufacture. But these discouragements had no effect on Boré ; he commenced at once to plant his canes, and erected a sugar-house at great expense. His enterprise was attended with complete success, and yielded him at once a profit of twelve thousand dollars. The culture of the cane soon entirely superseded that of indigo; and such was the enthusiasm in favour of the former, that in the next five or six years seventy-five sugar-houses were erected. In 1800 the sugar-crop yielded fifteen million livres.
1795 .- While Carondelet was engaged in establishing a more efficient police at New- Orleans, he had the satisfaction of hearing that the government of the United States had effectu- ally frustrated the plans of Genet, and that his principal agents had been arrested. Washing- ton, grossly insulted by this minister, had de- manded of the French government that he should be recalled ; and Congress were on the point of seriously considering whether he had not for- feited all the privileges attached to his office, when he was superseded.
The measures adopted by Carondelet against the Liberals were of the most rigid kind ; he for- bade all meetings of more than eight persons ; ordered all travellers to be stopped who were
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without passports; and every person found cir- · culating alarming rumours to be imprisoned. Six of the most obnoxious individuals he sent to the dungeons of Havana, where they were con- fined for a year. On the other hand, the French
immigrants were received with open arms. To
the Marquis of Maison Rouge he granted 210,000 actes of land ; to the Baron de Bastrop, 881,583 acres; and to Delassus, 10,000 acres, on the banks of the Ouachita. To every French settler he gave a hundred dollars, and the expenses of his re- moval were paid by the government.
The liberal ideas so rife at that period had begun to spread among the slave population, and an insurrection broke out on the estate of Julian Poydras, the author of the poem of Galvez. It was discovered, however, in time to suppress it ; and fifty of these unhappy creatures were hung on gibbets along the banks of the river from Pointe Coupée to New-Orleans.
This severe measure calmed the fears of the colonists in regard to their domestic safety, while a treaty concluded at this time with the United States dispelled all apprehensions of a foreign war. Spain conceded to the Republic the free navigation of the Mississippi, with a right of de- posite at New-Orleans for its produce and mer-
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TREATY WITH SPAIN.
chandise, to continue for ten years. These con- ditions, however, seriously interfered with the de- signs of Carondelet, who continued to entertain the hope of being able to separate the Valley of the Ohio from the rest of the Union; and he knew that when the people of that country once obtained, what was so indispensable to them, the free navigation of the river, there was no longer any prospect of their listening to his in- sidious proposals. The treaty also guarantied to the United States all the territory east of the Mis- sissippi, as far as the thirty-first degree of north latitude, including Natchez and its territory, with the Forts of Pannure, Walnut Hills, and Chick- asaw Bluff. These, however, Carondelet persist- ed in retaining, as a means of accomplishing his plans, though, by the terms of the treaty, they should have been given up to the troops of the United States.
1796 .- The inhabitants of Natchez being fa- vourably inclined to the Americans, formed themselves into a sort of neutral body politic, declaring themselves no longer subject to Spain, though they still governed themselves by her laws. The commandant at this post, Gayoso de Lemos, was not sufficiently powerful to prevent them from adopting this course ; and Carondelet
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
was in the mean time waiting to receive an an- swer to some proposals he had made to General Wilkinson, commander-in-chief of the American army, before committing himself by any decisive step, when he was appointed to the presidency of the royal audience of Quito, and Gayoso took his place at New-Orleans.
1797 .- The latter soon received information from the emissaries of his predecessor, that Wil- kinson peremptorily refused to participate in his project, when the forts were immediately given up, and the Americans took possession of them.
Notwithstanding the treaty of peace existing between Spain and England, these powers con- tinued to entertain no very amicable feelings to- wards each other, and, in fact, still carried on a sort of underhand war by means of the Indians in Florida, whom each party endeavoured to draw over to their interests. An Englishman who had settled among the savages had acquired great influence over them, and this influence he was enabled, through the aids he received from England, to maintain. The Spanish govern- ment having offered a reward of five hundred dollars for the arrest of this individual, he was taken and given up to Gayoso, who sent him to Havana.
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SPAIN VIOLATES THE TREATY.
1798 .- The administration of Gayoso de Lemos terminated this year ; and it was well for Loui- siana that it was no longer, as he had shown himself but poorly qualified for his important station. Commerce, nevertheless, continued to flourish, and the United States sent a consul to New-Orleans.
CHAPTER XIV.
Transfer of Louisiana to the United States.
1800 .- THE treaty concluded between Spain and the United States in 1795, by which a right of deposite at New-Orleans was granted to the latter for ten years, had been frequently violated by the officers of the Spanish government, prob- ably in the hope that the states bordering on the Mississippi, to which the free navigation of this river became every day more important, growing impatient at the continued obstacles in the way of their commerce, would at last form a separate republic by themselves, which might easily be brought under the control of Spain.
This, then, being the object to be effected,
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
Casa Calvo, at this time governor of Loui- siana, had repeatedly infringed upon the rights of the Americans, without, however, produ- cing a sufficient sensation to answer his pur- pose; and no material change took place until 1802, when Morales, who was then intendant of Louisiana, took the decisive step of closing the Mississippi entirely to the American trade. The Western States immediately took the alarm, and were resolved to take up arms in defence of their rights, if they could not secure them in any other way. Jefferson, who had been elected president the year before, undertook the management of the affair ; and favourable circumstances combi- ning with his prudence and skill, he succeeded be- yond his most sanguine hopes, being enabled to mark his administration by an acquisition of the utmost importance to his country.
1803 .- By a secret article in the treaty of St. Ildefonso, concluded in 1800, Spain had agreed to restore Louisiana to France; but Bonaparte had his reasons for not making this cession known until he should have (as he hoped to do) reduced St. Domingo to submission. His failure in this, however, rendered him more indifferent to his new acquisition; and it was not until 1803, in the month of January, that he sent out Laussat
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LOUISIANA RESTORED TO FRANCE. 169
as prefect of the colony. General Victor, who had been appointed as governor, was soon to follow ; but circumstances occurred in the inter- im to prevent his departure. This was the first intimation that the Louisianians had of the in- tended transfer, and it was received by them with great satisfaction. The short time the Span- ish dominion lasted, had produced no change in the national feelings of the people: they were in their hearts still French, and happy to return to the rule of France; and the arrival of Laussat was celebrated by public rejoicings.
On being informed of this retrocession, the President had despatched instructions to Robert Livingston, the American minister at Paris, to represent to the First Consul that the occupation of New-Orleans by France would endanger the friendly relations between the two nations, and, perhaps, even oblige the United States to make common cause with England ; as the possession of this city by the former, by giving her the command of the Mississippi, the only outlet to the prod- uce of the Western States, and also of the Gulf of Mexico, so important to American commerce, would render it almost certain that the conflicting interests of the two nations would lead to an open rupture. Mr. Livingston was therefore instruct-"
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
ed not only to insist upon the free navigation of the Mississippi, but to negotiate for the acquisi- tion of New-Orleans itself and the surrounding territory ; and Mr. Monroe was appointed with full powers to assist him in the negotiation.
To consent to this cession would be to sur- render a most important post, and render it ne- cessary to build a new capital ; while to refuse it would be to provoke a war with the United States, and probably throw the whole country eventually either into their hands or those of the English. Bonaparte, who always decided promptly, soon came to the conclusion that what he could not defend he had better dispose of on the best terms he could ; and that, by increasing the territory of the United States, putting in their possession so important an inland navigation, and making a large addition to their seacoast, he could to a great extent counterbalance the maritime power of England, and gain perhaps an ally, instead of raising up an enemy, in the approach- ing contest.
He determined, therefore, not only to cede New-Orleans, but the whole of Louisiana, to the United States.
Before fully deciding, however, to part with the only territorial possession he had not acquired
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VIEWS OF BONAPARTE.
by the sword, he resolved to take the advice of two of his ministers who had resided in that country, and one of whom, Barbé Marbois, was well acquainted with the colony, its resources, administration, &c. Accordingly, he summoned them to a conference on the 10th of April, 1803, and thus addressed them :
" I am fully sensible of the value of Louisiana, and it was my wish to repair the error of the French diplomatists who abandoned it in 1763. I have scarcely recovered it before I run the risk of losing it; but if I am obliged to give it up, it shall hereafter cost more to those who force me to part with it than to those to whom I yield it. The English have despoiled France of all her northern possessions in America, and now they covet those of the South. I am determined that they shall not have the Mississippi. Although Louisiana is but a trifle compared to their vast possessions in other parts of the globe, yet, judg- ing from the vexation they have manifested on seeing it return to the power of France, I am certain that their first object will be to gain pos- session of it. They will probably commence the war in that quarter. They have twenty ves- sels in the Gulf of Mexico, and our affairs in St. Domingo are daily getting worse since the death
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HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
of Le Clerc. The conquest of Louisiana might be easily made, and I have not a moment to lose in putting it out of their reach. I am not sure but what they have already begun an attack upon it. Such a measure would be in accord- ance with their habits; and in their place I should not wait. I am inclined, in order to de- prive them of all prospect of ever possessing it, to cede it to the United States. Indeed, I can hardly say that I cede it, for I do not yet pos- sess it; and if I wait but a short time, my ene- mies may leave me nothing but an empty title to grant to the Republic I wish to conciliate. They only ask for one city of Louisiana, but I consider the whole colony as lost ; and I believe that in the hands of this rising power it will be more useful to the political, and even the com- mercial interests of France, than if I should attempt to retain it. Let me have both your opinions on the subject."
One of the ministers, Barbé Marbois, fully ap- proved of the cession, but the other opposed it. They debated the matter for a long time, and Bonaparte concluded the conference without ma- king his determination known. The next day, however, he sent for Marbois, and said to him : "The season for deliberation is over : I have
INSTRUCTIONS TO MARBOIS. 173
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