| Crozat's Monopoly |
1712 September 1 |
Antoine Crozat is given a monopoly of the Louisiana trade
for a period of 15 years on September 1, 1712 By the provisions of the
charter Crozat granted the exclusive privilege of trading in the territory
between Old and New Mexico on the west and the Carolinas on the east;
to all the settlements, roads, ports and rivers therein; principally the
port and road of Dauphine (formerly Massacre) island, the river of St.
Louis (heretofore known as the Mississippi), from the sea to the river
Illinois; together with the river St. Philip (previously the Missouri,
and the St. Jerome (heretofore known as the Wabash), together with all
lands, lakes, and the rivers flowing directly or indirectly into the St.
Louis or the Mississippi. The territory was to remain included under the
style of the government of Louisiana; to be a dependency of and subordinate
to New France; the king's territory beyond the Illinois river to be and
continue a part of the government of New France; and the king reserved
the right to enlarge the government of Louisiana. Crozat was given the
right to export from France to Louisiana all sorts of goods during the
life of his charter, and all other persons and corporations were prohibited
from such exportation, under penalty of having their ships and merchandise
confiscated, the king's officers being pledged to assist and protect Crozat
in his rights by the seizure of his competitors vessels and wares. Permission
was given the grantee to open and work mines and ship the ore to France.
Of all gold and silver the king was to have one-fourth, one-tenth of all
other metals, and one-fifth of all pearls and precious stones, all of
which were to be sent to France at Crozat's expense. Mines remaining unworked
for three years were to revert to the crown. No one was to trade with
the colonists or Indians of Louisiana except upon the written permission
of Crozat, whose monopoly was complete, the only restriction being that
he was not to trade in beaver skins. All land under cultivation, and all
factories or establishments erected for the manufacture of silk, indigo,
wool and leather, were to become the absolute property of Crozat in fee
simple, the title to continue in him so long as the cultivation or manufacture
was maintained, but to become forfeited at the end of three years of idleness.
All his goods were to be exempt from duty; he was to be permitted to draw
100 quintals of powder from the royal magazines each year at actual cost;
was given the privilege of using the king's boats to load and unload his
ships, provided that the boats were returned in good condition; and was
granted permission to send every year a vessel to Guinea for Negroes,
whom he might sell in Louisiana "to the exclusion of all others. " In
return for all these rights and privileges Crozat was required to send
annually two vessels to Louisiana, on which he was to carry free 25 tons
of provisions and ammunition for the colonists and garrisons, and to send
on each ship "ten young men or women at his own selection." after the
expiration of nine years he was to pay the salaries of the officers and
garrisons in Louisiana, and in case of vacancies he was to nominate officers
to fill the same, commissions to be issued to these officers on approval
by the king. The king's expenses for salaries during the first nine years
were fixed at $10,000 annually, to be paid to Crozat in France, and the
drafts of the commissaire ordonnateur were to be paid in Crozat"s
stores, in cash or in goods within an advance of 50 per cent. Sales in
all other cases were to be at an advance of 100 per cent. The laws, edicts
and ordinances of France and the custom of Paris were extended to Louisiana.
On March 13, 1713, the frigate Baron de la Fosse arrived at Mobile, having
on board Antoine
de la Mothe Cadillac, whom Crozat had appointed governor-general,
M. Duclos, intendant, M. Le Bas, comptroller of the finances, 25 young
women from Brittany, and a number of other passengers, among whom were
the governor's family. The vessel also brought a bountiful supply of arms,
ammunition and provisions, all of which were deposited in the public stores
for future distribution. The spirits of the old colonists rose. They felt
that their season of trials and hardships was at an end, and all went
to work with better heart to build up homes in Louisiana. But their hopefulness
was destined to end in disappointment. Bienville,
who had been retained in office as lieutenant-governor, and who was well
acquainted with conditions, looked upon Antoine
de la Mothe Cadillac as a usurper. He felt that the governorship of
Louisiana should have been given to him. Consequently friction soon arose
and there were two parties struggling for the mastery. It might have been
better had Cadillac listened to the suggestions of the veteran Bienville
and given more attention to agriculture, but unfortunately, he was not
inclined to submit to dictation, either from Bienville or from Crozat
himself. Although Crozat employed every means at his command to make his
patent profitable, he made the same mistakes as others in supposing the
great returns could be realized from mines of gold, silver and precious
stones, or from the trade in furs. He believed that King Louis had given
him a veritable treasure-land, and had accordingly ordered his governor
to search for mines of precious metals, and to seek the far off and elusive
trade of Mexico. Under these orders it was perhaps only natural that Antoine
de la Mothe Cadillac should assume a dictatorial attitude, and when
later he was urged to give encouragement to agriculture he wrote to the
ministry: 'Give the colonists as much land as they please. Why stint the
measure " The lands are so bad that there is no necessity to care for
the number of acres. A copious distribution of them would be cheap liberality."
Agents were sent up the Mississippi with instructions to visit all the
Indian tribes and open up the fur trade. Others, among whom were M. Jonquiere,
M Dirigoin and St. Denis, were authorized to open up the trade with Mexico,
and a central depot for this trade was established on Dauphine Island.
But the project failed because the Spaniards had entered into a commercial
treaty with England soon after the peace of Utrecht, and the ports of
Mexico were closed to the French. Towards the close of the year 1714 some
Canadians arrived from the Illinois country with specimens of ore, which
upon analysis proved to be lead with traces of silver. This encouraged
Antoine
de la Mothe Cadillac to lead an expedition to that section, where
he found lead and iron ores, but not the silver he had expected. Trading
posts had previously been established at the mouth of the Arkansas and
near the mouth of the Red river. French traders in passing up and down
the Mississippi were frequently robbed and sometimes murdered by the Indians.
To protect these traders and stimulate the traffic in furs Fort Rosalie
was built at Natchez by Bienville.
Posts were also established among the Natchitoches and west of the Sabine
river to guard against the Spaniards on the west, and Fort Toulouse on
the Coosa river as a protection against the English on the east. In the
meantime the friction between Bienville and Antoine
de la Mothe Cadillac and their adherents had increased to such an
extent that the governor could not rely on any expedition he sent out.
Those whom he despatched to look for gold and silver went their ways as
they pleased and nothing was accomplished. This condition of affairs could
not long endure, and in the summer of 1716 Antoine
de la Mothe Cadillac was recalled. He was succeeded by L'Epinay, but
with no better results, as it was not long until a quarrel arose between
him and Bienville that added to the general demoralization. Added to all
this, the monopoly granted to Crozat was more in name than in fact. The
Canadians from the north invaded his territory at their pleasure, the
Spaniards of the southwest did likewise, and irregular traders were to
be found everywhere. The king failed utterly to protect his chartered
privileges and when called upon to do so admitted his inability to grant
the request. The colonists themselves were opposed to the monopoly and
petitioned for free trade with all nations. When told that they must not
trade with Pensacola they easily found methods to evade the restriction
by becoming smugglers. and many engaged in illicit trade with the Indians.
Under Such circumstances Crozat grew discouraged. In less than fifteen
years he had expended about 425,000 livres and had received in return
less than 300,000. Seeing no probabilities of improvement in the near
future. he surrendered his charter in Aug., 1717, and was soon after succeeded
by the Western Company |
| Treaty of Utrecht |
1713 April 11 |
The Treaty of Utrecht ends the War of Spanish Succession as Louis XIV agrees not to unite France and Spain under one king and cedes Newfoundland and Acadia to the British.
|
| Pinckney's Treaty or the Treaty of San Lorenzo U. S. and Spain |
1795 |
George Washington sends Pinckney to Spain to further trading privileges along the Mississippi. Most trade with Louisiana has been carried out sub rosa. The Spanish authorities have little manpower or will to stop illicit trade. Spain also realizes that Louisiana can not feed itself or manufacture essential goods. In the Treaty of San Lorenzo Spain makes two major concessions to the Americans. The Americans are granted free navigation of the river from the source to the mouth and New Orleans is designated as a place of deposit for American goods (entrepot). Spain gives these concessions out of necessity. It has broken its alliance with England. Should the British gain advantage of the naval war Spain will be forced to rely on neutral ships, chiefly from the United States, to supply its American colonies. The situation is a boon to the small American community in New Orleans. Agents such as Pollock, Evan Jones, Clark and Coxe take advantage of the situation. War between Spain and Great Britain erupts in 1796. |
| Treaty of Ildefonso Spain and France |
1796 |
Since 1793 the Bourbon Monarchy in Spain has been at war with revolutionary France until the Treaty of Ildefonso moves Spain into an alliance with France. Spain has pulled out of the English-backed alliance against France, bringing conflict with England. |