USA > Louisiana > History of Louisiana, the Spanish domination > Part 14
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170
CENSUS OF 1785.
or would be, on a day to come, subjected, in his turn, to a Judge of Residence. It is natural, therefore, that any one in that position should not have been disposed to give the dangerous example of much scrutiny and seve- rity. Hence the law had become a dead letter, and the appointment of a Judge of Residence was, in most cases, a mere formality. It proved so on this occasion. No complaint was produced against Unzaga, whether there was cause for any or not, and Mirò's decision, as a Judge of Residence, on his predecessor's administration, was all that could be desired by that functionary, or by his friends.
In this year, 1785, a census which was taken of the inhabitants of Louisiana gave the following results :
New Orleans,
4,980
Balize to the city, .
2,100
At the Terre aux Bœufs,
576
Bayou St. John, and Gentilly,
678
Tchoupitoulas,
7,046
Parish of St. Charles,
1,903
St. John the Baptist,
1,300
St. James,
1,332
Lafourche,
646
do interior,
352
Iberville,
673
Pointe Coupée,
1,521
Opeloussas,
1,211
Atakapas,
1,070
New Iberia,
125
Ouachita,
207
Rapides,
88
Avoyelles,
287
Natchitoches,
756
Arkansas,
196
St. Genevieve,
594
St. Louis,
897
Manchac,
77
Galvezton,
242
Baton Rouge,
270
Natchez,
1,550
Mobile,
746
Total,
31,433
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171
ARRIVAL OF ACADIAN FAMILIES.
This enumeration shows that the population had more than doubled since 1769, when it amounted only to 13,538. The number of free colored persons was about 1,100, and that of the slaves and whites was very near being equally divided. The expenses of the colony were between 400,000 and 500,000 dollars. The Governor had a salary of $10,000; that of the Intendant was $4,000, &c., &c.
The province received, this year, a very considerable accession of population, by the arrival of a number of Acadian families, who, at the expense of the King of France, and in consequence of an arrangement between the courts of Versailles and Madrid, came over to join such of their countrymen as had emigrated to Louisiana. They were granted lands, mostly on both sides of the Mississippi river, near Plaquemines. Some went to the settlement already existing on the Terre aux Bœufs ; others established themselves on Bayou Lafourche, and the rest were scattered in the districts of Attakapas and Opeloussas.
It will be recollected that, in 1782, a royal schedule had been issued, which relaxed the restrictions imposed on the trade of the colony. The consequence of it had been, that the commerce of New Orleans had greatly revived, and a number of merchants from France had established themselves in that town. "The planters, however," says Judge Martin in his History, "regretted the time when British vessels plied on the Mississippi, stopping before every house, furnishing the farmer with whatever he wanted, accepting in payment whatever the latter had to spare, and granting a credit almost unlimited in extent and duration. A number of agents had arrived from Jamaica, to collect debts due to merchants of that island, the recovery of which had been impeded during the war. As the trade these creditors had carried on
172
RESPITE GRANTED TO DEBTORS.
could not now be continued, they pressed for settlement and payment. In some cases, legal coercion was resorted to; but Mirò, with as much prudence as Unzaga on a similar occasion, exerted his influence to procure some respite for those who were really unable to comply with their engagements, and allowed a resort to the last ex- tremity against those only whose bad faith appeared to require it. Instances are related, in which, unable to obtain a creditor's indulgence for an honest debtor, he satisfied the former out of his own purse."
Mirò exerted himself to obtain as much extension as possible for the commerce of the colony, and applied to the Court of Madrid to recommend its being fostered by more liberal regulations. In a despatch of the 15th of April, 1786, he said : "In Louisiana, there are strong houses which would be able to carry on all its commerce, if they were not restrained by the want of capital, and by the depreciated paper money which the wants of the country require to be put in circulation. This cause pre- vents them from undertaking the least mercantile specu- lation which would be attended by much risk. It is, therefore, astonishing that, notwithstanding these adverse circumstances, there should be so much commercial ac- tivity on this river, where at least forty vessels are always to be seen at the same time. I say that the operations of the merchants are impeded by the want of capital, because, not having specie at their disposal, they are obliged to purchase the agricultural productions of the country with paper money, and, as the planter sells them his crop at a very high rate, proportioned to the depre- ciation of the paper offered in payment, they cannot operate any sale of those productions in the European market, without losing thirty or forty per cent., and fre- quently seventy. This has occasioned losses, which have destroyed the fortunes of many merchants, and hence
-
173
COMMERCE OF THE COLONY.
have originated the numerous creditors by whom some of them are harassed.
"Commerce is so necessary to the common prosperity of nations, that, without it, and without the relations which it establishes, man would not have arrived at that exalted degree of knowledge and civilization which he possesses ; even the Indians, who are ignorant of the laws which regulate civil societies, feel the importance of exchanging the spoils of the chase, either for objects of absolute necessity, or for such articles of luxury as they are acquainted with. *
"In order that this commerce with the Indians be advantageous, it is necessary, 1st, that it be carried on without interruption; 2d, that it be conducted with as much legality as possible; 3d, that the merchandise be sold at the most equitable price; 4th, that there be always a sufficient number of traders in the Indian vil- lages ; 5th, that it be permitted to all to go and trade freely with the Indian nations; 6th, that this commerce be subjected to no favoritism and to no monopoly.
"Should commerce be carried on with them without interruption, they will not think of resorting to any other nation than ours, and from the familiar intercourse which will be established between them and us, there will result friendly relations and ties of good fellowship, which these people are not incapable of forming.
" Besides, should there be established among them open shops, where they could sell their peltries, they would not think of visiting the capital, where they claim presents and rations which are a serious drain upon the Treasury.
" The trade with them must be conducted with the . utmost legality, in order to inspire them with sentiments of honesty, which, otherwise, it would be difficult to
1
174
MIRO'S VIEW ON THE SAME SUBJECT.
inculcate in them, because they are always disposed to follow the example of the whites, whose superiority they acknowledge.
"Nothing can be more proper than that the goods they want should be sold them at an equitable price, in order to afford them inducements and facilities for their hunting pursuits, and in order to put it within their means to clothe themselves on fair terms. Otherwise, they would prefer trading with the Americans, with whom they would, in the end, form alliances, which can- not but turn out to be fatal to this province.
"It is important that there should be no want of traders in the Indian villages, not only for obvious com- mercial purposes, but also to act as spies on the Indians, or to watch the movements of any intruder who might endeavor to pervert them.
"That this trade be open to all, is in accordance with the rights and privileges which are enjoyed by every subject of his Majesty; and to secure its continuation, it is necessary that it be not exclusive, as the Indians would be aware of the disadvantages they would suffer from a monopoly, because there is not a nation so ignorant as not to know, that it can derive no benefits from a com- merce not open to competition. Our commerce with the Indians divides itself into two different branches,- the one, embracing all the Mississippi region, extending from New Orleans upwards, and the 'other radiating from Mobile and Pensacola, through all the country which is dependent on these two places. Those nations who are known under the appellation of Choctaws, Alibamons, Chickasaws, Creeks, Talapouches, and Apa- laches, supply themselves at Mobile and Pensacola. Two cargoes, annually, of one hundred and seventy tons each, composed of effects worth sixty thousand dollars, at the European valuation, will be sufficient for Mobile; and
175
NAVARRO'S VIEWS ON THE SAME SUBJECT.
two similar cargoes, but worth only forty thousand dollars, will do for Pensacola. The profits derived from this trade may reach twenty-five per cent., provided the price of peltry should keep up in the European market.
" Should it be deemed absolutely necessary to main- tain this commerce with the Indians, then the funda- mental condition of it must be, that it be not shared, in the slightest degree, if possible, either by the English or French, and that the Indians should know no other traders than the Spaniards. But this must be the work of time."
The celebrated half breed, Alexander McGillivray, the most influential chief among the Talapouches, had been allowed a share in the profits to be derived from the trade carried on at Pensacola, besides the pension of $600 a year, paid him by the Spanish Government. In con- nection with this circumstance, Navarro observes: "So long as we shall have this chief on our side, we may rely on having established, between the Floridas and Georgia, a barrier which it will not be easy to break through. The Indians are now fully convinced of the ambition of the Americans; the recollection of past injuries still dwells on their minds, and, with it, the fear that these greedy neighbors may one day seize upon their lands, and strip them of a property to which they consider themselves as having a right derived from nature herself .* It ought to be one of the chief points in the policy of this Government to keep this sentiment alive in their breasts.
" With regard to our Indian commerce on the Missis-
* En el dia se mantienen los Indios convencidos de la ambicion de los Ameri- canos; la memoria de las pasadas injurias que les han hecho, subsiste, y con ella el recelo de que, algun dia, se apoderarian de sus tierras, y despojaràn de una pro- prasdad que creen pertenecer les por un derecho de naturaleza, en cuyo pensa miento es conveniente y deberà ser el punto principal de nuestro Gobierno hacerles perseverar
176
NAVARRO'S RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE SUBJECT.
sippi, of which New Orleans is the centre, it is now much reduced, although it ought to be the most lucrative of all, because it embraces some of the nations in the pro- vince of Texas, and all those of the Arkansas and Illinois districts.
" In relation to Texas, our trade is of very little con- sequence, on account of the risks with which it is attended. It would much improve, if we could secure peace with the Comanches. Until then, the goods wanted for that trade will not require more than an annual outlay of six thousand dollars.
" The commerce in the district of the Arkansas is subjected to inconveniences of the like nature, and exposes the traders to no little danger on account of the incursions of the Osages.
" The commerce with the Illinois is the easiest, and yet it is of very little importance, because the English, who are in possession of Michilimakinac, three hundred leagues above, introduce themselves with the greatest facility into our possessions, and seize on the richest portion of the trade by forestalling the peltries of the finest quality. We are compelled to be mere lookers- on, when others do what we ought to do ourselves, and we have to undergo the vexation of seeing the trade, which ought to come down the Mississippi, elude our grasp and take the St. Lawrence for its channel. They have also possessed themselves of the trade with all the nations on the river Aux Moines, which is eighty leagues above St. Louis, and within the jurisdiction and depen- dence of the Illinois district. There beavers and otters are to be found in the greatest abundance."
Then Navarro goes on enumerating the remedies he recommends to obviate these evils, and which, if adopted, would, he says : " cause to fall into Spanish hands the . manna offered by the trade with the Indians, which is a
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ROYAL ORDER AS TO THE NATCHEZ DISTRICT IN 1786. 177
casket of wealth, of which others have the use, although we hold its key." The treasures of that mine would then find their way into the coffers of our nation, and our enemies would not wrest from us the bread which should help to our sustenance, t and forty thousand dol- lars a year would be sufficient to supply all the wants of that trade."
Navarro concludes his despatch with these reflections : " If the province of Louisiana is intended to serve as a bar- rier against the Americans, it cannot answer this purpose without a considerable increase of its population, and it can acquire the numerous population of which it is sus- ceptible, only through commerce and agriculture. The one requires protection, the other assistance. The former cannot prosper without freedom and unlimited expansion ; the latter cannot succeed without laborers. Both are necessary to supply the means of paying the expenses of the colony, to secure the possessions and the rights of the sovereign, and to make his power and arms respec- table .¿ These are all my views on this matter."
The whole of this document, of which I have only given a few extracts and the condensed spirit, is replete with good sense and liberality, and is a strong proof of Navarro's distinguished qualifications.
On the 5th of April, 1786, the king issued a royal order, by which he approved the conduct of Mirò, who, in the preceding year, had granted, in the districts of Baton Rouge and Natchez, which had been conquered by the Spaniards, some indulgence and extension of time to the British subjects, in relation to their selling their
* De que tenemos la llave, y otras la utilidad.
+ Entonces sigue que la mina de este comercio fluirà en los cofres de la nacion, y no veremos que nos arrancan de las manos, nosotros enemigos, el pan que ha de servir á sustentarnos.
# Es cuanto puedo informar en este asunto.
12
178
MIRO'S BANDO DE BUEN GOBIERNO.
property, collecting their debts, and removing away their persons and effects. The king declared his will that permission to remain be granted to such of them as might desire it, provided they took an oath of alle- giance and fidelity to him, and promised not to move out of their respective districts without the permission of the governor. "Those who neglected to take the oath," says Judge Martin in his History of Louisiana, "were to depart by sea for some of the colonies of North America; and if they were unable to defray the expenses of the voyage, it was to be paid by the king, who was to be reimbursed, as far as possible, by the sale of their property.
"The king further ordered that, at Natchez and other places where it might be done conveniently, parishes be formed, and put under the direction of Irish clergymen, in order to bring over the inhabitants and their families to the Catholic faith, by the mildness and persuasion it recommends. For this purpose, the king wrote to the Bishop of Salamanca to choose four priests, natives of Ireland, of approved zeal, virtue and learning, from among those of his university, to be sent to Louisiana at the king's expense.
" Mirò, on, whom the provisional government had de- volved on the departure of Galvez, now received a com- mission of governor, civil and military, of Louisiana and West Florida, and issued his Bando de buen gobierno, on the 2d of June.
" A Bando de buen gobierno is a proclamation, which the governor of a Spanish colony generally issues on assuming its government, to make known the principles by which he intends to direct his conduct, and to intro- duce necessary alterations in the ordinances of police.
"In this document, Mirò begins by stating that reli- gion being the object of the wise laws of Spain, that a
179
MIRÒ'S BANDO DE BUEN GOBIERNO.
reverent demeanor in church being a consequence of it, and that the bishop having lately published an edict with regard to the respect and devotion with which the faithful are to attend the celebration of the holy myste- ries, the proceedings of the vicar-general against delin- quents will receive every necessary aid from the govern- ment. Working on the Sabbath and other holy festivals is prohibited, except in cases of necessity, without the license of the vicar. He forbids also the doors of shops or stores being kept open during the hours of divine service, and the dances of slaves on the public squares on those days, before the close of the evening service.
"He declares his intention to proceed with severity against all persons living in concubinage. He observes, that the idleness of free negro, mulatto, and quarteroon women, resulting from their dependence for a livelihood on incontinence and libertinism, will not be tolerated. He recommends them to renounce their mode of living, and to betake themselves to honest labor; and declares his determination to have those who neglect his recom- mendation sent out of the province, warning them that he will consider their excessive attention to dress, as an evidence of their misconduct.
" He complains that the distinction which had been established in the head-dress of females of color is disre- garded, and urges that it is useful to enforce it; he for- bids them to wear thereon any plumes or jewelry, and directs them to have their hair bound in a kerchief.
" He announces that the laws against gambling and duelling, and against those who carry about their persons dirks, pistols, and other weapons, shall be rigorously enforced.
" The nightly assemblages of people of color are pro- hibited.
" The inhabitants of the city are forbidden to leave
180
MIRÒ'S BANDO DE BUEN GOBIERNO.
it, either by land or by water, without a passport, and those who leave the province are to give security for the payment of their debts.
" Persons coming in, by land or water, are to present themselves to the Government House.
" Those who harbor convicts, or deserters from the land or naval service, are to be punished.
" Any large concourse of people without the govern- ment's consent is inhibited.
" None are to walk out at night without urgent neces- sity, and not then without a light.
" No house or apartment is to be rented to a slave.
" Tavern-keepers are to shut their houses at regular hours, and not to sell spirituous liquors to Indians, soldiers, or slaves.
" Purchases from soldiers, Indians, convicts, or slaves are prohibited.
" Regulations are made to prevent forestalling, to hin- der hogs from running at large in the streets, to restrain the keeping of too great a number of dogs, and to secure the removal of dead animals.
" Measures are taken to guard against conflagrations, to drain the streets, and to keep the landing on the Levee unobstructed.
"Verbal sales of slaves are forbidden."
According to one of Mirò's despatches, the revenue resulting from the import and export duties at New Or- leans amounted, this year, to 585,063 reales de plata, that is about $72,000.
In the beginning of 1787, the districts of Opeloussas and Atakapas, which, on account of the thinness of their population, had, so far, been intrusted to the care of one officer, had become so considerable, that it was deemed expedient to divide them into two separate commands Nicholas Forstall was appointed commander of the
181
ARRIVAL OF IRISH PRIESTS.
Opeloussas district, and the Chevalier de Clouet, who had before presided over both, was left in charge of Atakapas.
It may not have been forgotten, that the king had requested the Bishop of Salamanca to choose from the Seminary of that town four Irish priests, who were to be sent to Louisiana, and who were to settle among the Protestant and Anglo-Saxon subjects of his Majesty, in the hope, no doubt, of converting them to the Catholic faith. These priests arrived in 1787, and were esta- blished at Baton Rouge, Natchez, and other posts in the territory conquered over Great Britain by Galvez.
At that time, Spain began to look with earnest solici- tude at the growing power which, under the appellation of the United States of America, had taken its rank among the nations of the earth, and the western settle- ments of which had come into collision with those of the Spaniards in Florida and Louisiana. Thus the State of Georgia claimed an immense territory on the east side of the Mississippi, from Loftus heights northward, for several hundred miles, which region was in the posses- sion of Spain, with a population estimated at about ten thousand souls. Georgia had sent commissioners to New Orleans in the autumn of 1785, demanding the surrender of that territory and the recognition of the line stipulated in the treaty of 1783. The Spanish authorities of Loui- siana had denied having any power to act on the subject, which was properly referred by the respective parties to the governments of Spain and of the United States.
Besides, the Mississippi was the natural outlet for the commerce of the American people in the western settle- ments, and that commerce was pouring down upon New Orleans, as it were with the waves of that mighty river. The duties which were collected by the Spanish authori- ties were considered as oppressive and unjust. The
182
NAVARRO'S FEARS OF THE AMERICANS.
sturdy flat-boatmen of Ohio and Kentucky, on their return home, had always a long list of seizures, confisca- tions, fines, imprisonments, extortions, or vexatious delays to publish, and those tales, which probably in many cases were exaggerated, kept in constant agitation a population, who considered that they derived from nature itself a right to the free navigation of the Mississippi. It was the highway to the sea given to them by God, and they were determined to have it. Hence the excite- ment went up to such a degree, that an open invasion of Louisiana was talked of, and a forcible seizure of New Orleans contemplated. But before resorting to these extreme measures, the patriotic yeomanry of the West had applied to Congress, and urged upon that body the necessity of obtaining from Spain by negotiation, at least such commercial privileges as were indispensable to the very existence of the western settlements. These were circumstances of sufficient importance to secure the most vigilant attention, on the part of the Spanish functionaries at New Orleans.
Thus, on the 12th of February, 1787, Navarro, the Intendant, wrote to his government: "The powerful enemies we have to fear in this province are not the English, but the Americans, whom we must oppose by active and sufficient measures. It is not enough to have granted Louisiana a restricted commerce for ten years ; it is indispensable to use other resources. It is of little importance that her productions should go to France or anywhere else, if we are incapable of turning them to our profit. When we cannot supply her with articles manufactured by ourselves, it is of no consequence if her wants in that respect are satisfied, by other nations, pro- vided this toleration contributes, as it does, to the daily increase of the white and black population of this colony, extends commerce, quickens industry, spreads the domain
183
NAVARRO'S FEARS OF THE AMERICANS.
of agriculture, and gives rise to a state of things, which, in a few years, will be productive of considerable sums to the king. Without this toleration, and without the commercial franchises granted by the royal schedule of the 22d of January, 1782, this country would have been a desert, when it is calculated to become one of the most important portions of America.
" There is no time to be lost. Mexico is on the other side of the Mississippi, in the vicinity of the already formidable establishments of the Americans. The only way to check them is with a proportionate population, and it is not by imposing commercial restrictions that this population is to be acquired, but by granting a pru- dent extension and freedom of trade .*
"I address your Excellency from the fulness of the patriotic spirit with which I am animated. I have no other object in view than the interest of my sovereign. I consider the province of Louisiana as a portion of his royal domain, and I wish that I could, with every power of reasoning which I may possess, succeed in demon- strating the necessity of developing the strength and vitality of this province, because, from every one of those innumerable settlements which command us from their natural position, I see cloud rising and threatening us with a storm that will soon burst upon this province, and the damage would be still greater, if unfortunately the inundation extended itself to the territories of New Spain."+
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