DOCSLIB.ORG

'Commissaire Ordonnateur' in French Louisiana, 1731-1763: a Study in French Colonial Administration." (1972)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
'Commissaire Ordonnateur' in French Louisiana, 1731-1763: a Study in French Colonial Administration. Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1972 The Office ofC ' ommissaire Ordonnateur' in French Louisiana, 1731-1763: a Study in French Colonial Administration. Donald Jile Lemieux Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Lemieux, Donald Jile, "The Office of 'Commissaire Ordonnateur' in French Louisiana, 1731-1763: a Study in French Colonial Administration." (1972). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 2225. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/2225 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This dissertation was producedfrom a microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction. 1. The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent pages to insure you complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a large round black mark, it is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have moved during exposure and thus cause a blurred image. You will find a good image of the page in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., was part of the material being photographed the photographer followed a definite method in "sectioning" the material. It is customary to begin photoing at the upper left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue photoing from left to right in equal sections w ith a small overlap. If necessary, sectioning is continued again — beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete. 4. The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value, however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could be made from "photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation. Silver prints of "photographs" may be ordered at additional charge by writing the Order Department, giving the catalog number, title, author and specific pages you wish reproduced. University Microfilms 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 A Xerox Education Company 72-28,360 LB1IEUX, Donald Jile, 1936- TOE OFFICE OF "COWISSAIRE ORDONNATEUR" IN FRENCH LOUISIANA, 1731-1763: A STUDY IN FRENCH COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Ph.D., 1972 History, modem University Microfilms, A \EROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan The Office of "Cornell ssaire Ordonnateur" In French Louisiana. 1751-171)5: A Study In French Colonial Administration A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Latin American Studies Institute by Donald Jile Lemieux B.S., University of New Mexico, 1962 M.A., Xavier University, 1963 May 1972 PLEASE NOTE: Some pages may have indistinct print. Filmed as received. University Microfilms, A Xerox Education Company ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author wishes to express his gratitude to Dr. John Preston Moore, who directed this dissertation. He also wishes to acknowledge debts of gratitude to Dr. Leonard Cardenas, Director of the Latin American Studies Institute, and to Dr. Jane L. DeGrummond, Dr. Quentin Jenkins, Dr. Pedro Hernandez, Professor Marcel Giraud of the College de France, Madame Renault of the Archives Nationales, Mrs. Marian DeHart, and to Lurline. D.J.L. May 1972 PREFACE The purpose of the study is to describe the origin and functions of the office of "commissaire ordonnateur" of French Louisiana from 1731 to 1769* It Is shown that none of the fiscal and judicial officials was conmissioned as an intendant of finance, justice, and police; and that the colony of Louisiana was a pawn for the French crown on the diplomatic chessboard of Europe. With this in mind, the dissertation, largely written from documents in the Archives Nationales in Paris, begins with a description of the colony in 1731 and with some notes on French colonial policy. Chapter III examines the nature of the office of "coranissaire ordonnateur". The subsequent chapters describe the office by examining the "ordonnateur's" duties and functions in the different areas of colonial administration: public administration, finance, justice, and his relationship with the governor. iii CONTENTS Part Page Acknowledgment ................................................ 11 P r e f a c e ......................................................... Ill Abbreviations ................................................ v Abstract...................................................... vl I . THE COLONY OF FRENCH LOUISIANA IN 1 7 3 1 ................. 1 II. FRENCH COLONIAL POLICY AND L O U I S I A N A ................... 18 III. THE OFFICE OF "CCMHSSAIRE ORDONNATEUR"................. ^9 IV. THE "COMMISSAIRE ORDONNATEUR" AND THE G O V E R N O R ......... 77 V. AN EXAMPLE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE "COMMISSAIRE ORDONNATEUR" AND THE G O V E R N O R .............. 113 VI. THE "COMMISSAIRE ORDONNATEUR" AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION...........................................128 VII. THE "COMMISSAIRE ORDONNATEUR" AND FINANCE................. 156 VIII. THE "COMMISSAIRE ORDONNATEUR" AND JUSTICE................. 183 IX. CONCLUSION ............................................... 197 Bibliography .................................................. 202 iv ABBREVIATIONS Explanation of Abbreviations Used in Reference to Source Material AC Archives des Colonies, Paris AM Archives de la Marine, Paris BN Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris AHR American Historical Review CHR Canadian Historical Review HAHR Hispanic American Historical Review LH Louisiana History LHQ Louisiana Historical Ouarterly MVHR Mississippi Valley Historical Review RHAF Revue d'histoire de l'Amerique francaise RH Revue historique RMC Revue maritime et coloniale v ABSTRACT Sharing the governmental administration of French Louisiana were a governor in charge of the military and general administration of the colony and the "coranissaire ordonnateur" who, as the legal and financial officer, was entrusted with public expenditures, exercised certain judicial functions, presided over the Superior Council, and, like the governor, reported confidential matters to the Minister of Marine. The instructions from the Minister of Marine's office show that the governor and "commissaire ordonnateur" acted as a check upon each other. The system of checks and balances seemed to have been a contrivance to control the officials. However, this type of system naturally fostered friction between the officials concerning their respective spheres of power. The office of "comnissaire ordonnateur" is perhaps the least known in the history of French Louisiana. Because of this many authors have used the titles of "commissaire ordonnateur", royal comnissioner, "ordonnateur", first councillor and intendant interchangeably. "Commissaires ordonnateurs" were commissioned with specific powers and not as intendants of finance, justice, and police. The personnel data show that none of the fiscal officials of French Louisiana was appointed as intendant. vi After 1712 when governmental changes were instituted, the colonial government was shared by a governor and "coranissaire ordonnateur". The French crown attempted to end the confusion surrounding the particular duties and power of the two officials. The "ordonnateur" was charged with royal finances and commerce and the governor with the military duties, while the general administration was the coranon concern of both. The move had little result; for the dual authority remained a constant source of conflict between the governor and "commissaire ordonnateur". Before assuming the office of governor and "coranissaire ordonnateur", officials were informed of their respective duties and functions. But, however clear these instructions were, they seldom improved the relationship between the two top officials because they subordinated the governor to the "coranissaire ordonnateur" or vice versa even for the least of matters. The "coranissaire ordonnateur" could and did at times render the governor inactive by his control of the purse. The administrative stagnation which frequently plagued French Louisiana is no small result of this condition. The drawbacks of the system of dual authority in governing colonies were common knowledge to officials in Versailles. Conflicts of personalities played a disruptive role in French Louisiana because they were ever present between military and civil officials whom the French government had invested with twin powers. The ultimate reasons for this conflict lie not in French vii Louisiana, but rather in Versailles, in the mechanism created there for colonial administration
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Colorado History Chronology
    Colorado History Chronology 13,000 B.C. Big game hunters may have occupied area later known as Colorado. Evidence shows that they were here by at least 9200 B.C. A.D. 1 to 1299 A.D. Advent of great Prehistoric Cliff Dwelling Civilization in the Mesa Verde region. 1276 to 1299 A.D. A great drought and/or pressure from nomadic tribes forced the Cliff Dwellers to abandon their Mesa Verde homes. 1500 A.D. Ute Indians inhabit mountain areas of southern Rocky Mountains making these Native Americans the oldest continuous residents of Colorado. 1541 A.D. Coronado, famed Spanish explorer, may have crossed the southeastern corner of present Colorado on his return march to Mexico after vain hunt for the golden Seven Cities of Cibola. 1682 A.D. Explorer La Salle appropriates for France all of the area now known as Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains. 1765 A.D. Juan Maria Rivera leads Spanish expedition into San Juan and Sangre de Cristo Mountains in search of gold and silver. 1776 A.D. Friars Escalante and Dominguez seeking route from Santa Fe to California missions, traverse what is now western Colorado as far north as the White River in Rio Blanco County. 1803 A.D. Through the Louisiana Purchase, signed by President Thomas Jefferson, the United States acquires a vast area which included what is now most of eastern Colorado. While the United States lays claim to this vast territory, Native Americans have resided here for hundreds of years. 1806 A.D. Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike and small party of U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • A Many-Storied Place
    A Many-storied Place Historic Resource Study Arkansas Post National Memorial, Arkansas Theodore Catton Principal Investigator Midwest Region National Park Service Omaha, Nebraska 2017 A Many-Storied Place Historic Resource Study Arkansas Post National Memorial, Arkansas Theodore Catton Principal Investigator 2017 Recommended: {){ Superintendent, Arkansas Post AihV'j Concurred: Associate Regional Director, Cultural Resources, Midwest Region Date Approved: Date Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set. Proverbs 22:28 Words spoken by Regional Director Elbert Cox Arkansas Post National Memorial dedication June 23, 1964 Table of Contents List of Figures vii Introduction 1 1 – Geography and the River 4 2 – The Site in Antiquity and Quapaw Ethnogenesis 38 3 – A French and Spanish Outpost in Colonial America 72 4 – Osotouy and the Changing Native World 115 5 – Arkansas Post from the Louisiana Purchase to the Trail of Tears 141 6 – The River Port from Arkansas Statehood to the Civil War 179 7 – The Village and Environs from Reconstruction to Recent Times 209 Conclusion 237 Appendices 241 1 – Cultural Resource Base Map: Eight exhibits from the Memorial Unit CLR (a) Pre-1673 / Pre-Contact Period Contributing Features (b) 1673-1803 / Colonial and Revolutionary Period Contributing Features (c) 1804-1855 / Settlement and Early Statehood Period Contributing Features (d) 1856-1865 / Civil War Period Contributing Features (e) 1866-1928 / Late 19th and Early 20th Century Period Contributing Features (f) 1929-1963 / Early 20th Century Period
    [Show full text]
  • French Louisiana in the Age of the Companies, 1712–1731
    CHAPTER FIVE FRENCH LOUISIANA IN THE AGE OF THE COMPANIES, 1712–1731 Cécile Vidal1 Founded in 1699, Louisiana was unable to benefit from the action of the two French ministers who did the most in the seventeenth century to foster the creation of companies for commerce and col- onization. Driven by the concern to increase the power of the State, Richelieu and especially Colbert, who had more success than his predecessor, had developed mercantilist policies that included the creation of companies on the English and Dutch model. Established in the same spirit as guilds, these companies were associations of merchants that received a monopoly from the king over trade between the metropolis and a specific region. They made it possible to raise the large amounts of capital necessary for large-scale maritime com- merce and overseas colonization. By associating, the merchants lim- ited their individual risk, while the monopoly guaranteed them a profit; they therefore agreed to finance costly enterprises that the royal treasury did not have the means to support. Companies thus served the interests of traders as well as the monarchy.2 In the New World, companies quickly became involved in the French colonization of Acadia, Canada, and the West Indies. By the end of the seventeenth century, however—the time of the founding of Louisiana—these various colonies had almost all passed under direct royal authority.3 In 1712, the same year that Louisiana’s com- mercial monopoly was entrusted to financier Antoine Crozat, the 1 This essay was translated from the original French by Leslie Choquette, Institut français, Assumption College.
    [Show full text]
  • The Fur Trade of the Western Great Lakes Region
    THE FUR TRADE OF THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES REGION IN 1685 THE BARON DE LAHONTAN wrote that ^^ Canada subsists only upon the Trade of Skins or Furrs, three fourths of which come from the People that live round the great Lakes." ^ Long before tbe little French colony on tbe St. Lawrence outgrew Its swaddling clothes the savage tribes­ men came in their canoes, bringing with them the wealth of the western forests. In the Ohio Valley the British fur trade rested upon the efficacy of the pack horse; by the use of canoes on the lakes and river systems of the West, the red men delivered to New France furs from a country unknown to the French. At first the furs were brought to Quebec; then Montreal was founded, and each summer a great fair was held there by order of the king over the water. Great flotillas of western Indians arrived to trade with the Europeans. A similar fair was held at Three Rivers for the northern Algonquian tribes. The inhabitants of Canada constantly were forming new settlements on the river above Montreal, says Parkman, ... in order to intercept the Indians on their way down, drench them with brandy, and get their furs from them at low rates in ad­ vance of the fair. Such settlements were forbidden, but not pre­ vented. The audacious " squatter" defied edict and ordinance and the fury of drunken savages, and boldly planted himself in the path of the descending trade. Nor is this a matter of surprise; for he was usually the secret agent of some high colonial officer.^ Upon arrival in Montreal, all furs were sold to the com­ pany or group of men holding the monopoly of the fur trade from the king of France.
    [Show full text]
  • A Confusion of Institutions: Spanish Law and Practice in a Francophone Colony, Louisiana, 1763-Circa 1798
    THE TULANE EUROPEAN AND CIVIL LAW FORUM VOLUME 31/32 2017 A Confusion of Institutions: Spanish Law and Practice in a Francophone Colony, Louisiana, 1763-circa 1798 Paul E Hoffman* I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 II. THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM AND LOCAL LAW AND ORDER .................... 4 III. SLAVERY ............................................................................................. 13 IV. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................... 20 I. INTRODUCTION French Louisiana had been a thorn in the flank of Spain’s Atlantic Empire from its founding in 1699. Failure to remove that thorn in 1699 and again in 1716, when doing so would have been comparatively easy and Spanish naval forces were positioned to do so, meant that by 1762 the wound had festered, so that the colony had become what La Salle, Iberville, Bienville, and their royal masters had envisioned: a smuggling station through which French goods reached New Spain and Cuba and their goods—dye stuffs and silver mostly—reached France and helped to pay the costs of a colony that consumed more than it produced, at least so 1 far as the French crown’s finances were concerned. * © 2017 Paul E Hoffman. Professor Emeritus of History, Louisiana State University. 1. I have borrowed the “thorn” from ROBERT S. WEDDLE, THE FRENCH THORN: RIVAL EXPLORERS IN THE SPANISH SEA, 1682-1762 (1991); ROBERT S. WEDDLE, CHANGING TIDES: TWILIGHT AND DAWN IN THE SPANISH SEA, 1763-1803 (1995) (carries the story of explorations). The most detailed history of the French colony to 1731 is the five volumes of A History of French Louisiana: MARCEL GIRAUD, 1-4 HISTOIRE DE LA LOUISIANA FRANÇAISE (1953-74); 1 A HISTORY OF FRENCH LOUISIANA: THE REIGN OF LOUIS XIV, 1698-1715 (Joseph C.
    [Show full text]
  • BOOK BANKRUPTCY of EMPIRE.Pdf
    1 Below is the index of this book by Carlos Marichal and published by Cambridge University Press in 2007. You may visualize the Introduction and chapters 1 and 2. For the rest of the text we recommend you contact Cambridge University Press web site for acquisition in the paperback edition. BANKRUPTCY OF EMPIRE: MEXICAN SILVER AND THE WARS BETWEEN SPAIN, BRITAIN AND FRANCE, 1760-1810 Acknowledgements Introduction: Chapter 1: Resurgence of the Spanish Empire: Bourbon Mexico as Submetropolis, 1763-1800 Chapter 2: An Imperial Tax State: The Fiscal Rigors of Colonialism Chapter 3: Imperial Wars and Loans from New Spain, 1780-1800 Chapter 4: The Royal Church and the Finances of the Viceroyalty Chapter 5: Napoleon and Mexican Silver, 1805-1808 Chapter 6: Between Spain and America: the Royal Treasury and the Gordon/Murphy Consortium, 1806-1808 2 Chapter 7: Mexican Silver for the Cadiz Parliament and the War against Napoleon, 1808-1811 Chapter 8: The Rebellion of 1810, Colonial Debts and Bankruptcy of New Spain Conclusions: The Financial Collapse of Viceroyalty and Monarchy Appendix: Several Tables List of Loans from Colonial Mexico for the Spanish Crown, 1780-1815 List of Loans taken by Spain from Holland with guarantees of payments in Mexican Silver, 1780-1804 Bibliography 3 INTRODUCTION From before the time of Gibbon, historians with a global perspective have been discussing the rise and fall of empires. Today political scientists frequently speak of hegemonic states. If we review some of the best-known studies conducted over the last forty-odd years, it is possible to identify a variety of theoretical approaches adopted by those working on the history of imperial or hegemonic states.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise and Fall of New France / by Prof. Frederick J. Turner
    AN UNFAMILIAR ESSAY BY FREDERICK J.TURNER Quite early In his professional career Professor Turner evinced an Interest in immigration problems, historically considered, as a particular aspect of his central interest — the study of the territorial advance of the American popula­ tion. In the course of a review of Roosevelt's Winning of the West, In 1889 Turner wrote: To this valley, also, have come migrations from the Old World such as can be compared only with the great Wandering of the Peoples — the Volkerwanderung — of the Middle Ages. A new composite na­ tionality is being produced, a distinct American people, speaking the English tongue, but not English.^ Once his period of apprenticeship was completed—It ter­ minated when Johns Hopkins conferred the doctorate In 1890 — Turner seized the opportunity of planning research projects In this inviting field. As his seminar topic for the college year 1890—91, he selected the study of immigration into Wisconsin.^ Turner's approach to the subject was broad and philosophical. Wisconsin had been rocked by controversies between natives and foreign-born, the latter strongly resenting the enactment of the Bennett Law, which prescribed that all schools in the state should give a portion, of their Instruction In the English language. To the schol­ ar's mind it was clear that immigration, historically treated, opened the gate to a better understanding between native and foreigner. Toward the close of 1891 Turner published an essay on the "Philosophy of History," in the course of which he took occasion to remark: "^The Dial (Chicago), 10:71 (August, 1889).
    [Show full text]
  • The Historic New Orleans Quarterly Vol.Xxviii, Number 4
    THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION E INSID French Collections . 6 Acquisitions . 16 The Shop . 19 Volume XXVIII Number 4 Fall 2011 RLY RLY E E QUART QUART THE THE Major Acquisition of Manuscripts Documenting the Legacy of John Law The Rise and Fall of John Law in Louisiana n the late summer of 2010 The Collection acquired an exceptional collec- ambler, swindler, stat- King’s Bench prison in the 1690s) pre- Louis’s death left France in the tion of some 232 documents concerning Scottish economist John Law’s istician, genius have all ceded him. hands of his five-year-old great-grandson, Iinfamous System, which encompassed far-reaching economic programs been used to describe The following year Law sought an whose reign would be overseen by the for the establishment of a national bank and a global trading company. Law’s one of ancien régime France’s most audience with Louis XIV in France, where regent, Philippe, duc d’Orléans, until he enterprise, first known as the Company of the West, then as the Company of Gnotable and notorious figures: John Law. a severe specie shortage, repeated military reached the age of majority at 13. The the Indies, undertook the establishment of New Orleans in 1718. Compris- Born in Scotland in 1671, Law spent engagements, and a mounting state debt regent inherited a financial crisis of epic 2A—to come ing imprints, posters, and manuscripts, the John Law Collection (MSS 606) much of his early adulthood frequent- combined to put Europe’s most popu- proportions. France’s treasury was bank- allows researchers to trace, step by step, the development of Law’s financial ing the gaming tables of Amsterdam, lous nation on increasingly precarious rupt.
    [Show full text]
  • The Survival of French Culture in South Louisiana by Barry Jean Ancelet
    The Survival of French Culture in South Louisiana by Barry Jean Ancelet "What's your name? Where're you from? Who's your daddy?" When Barry j ean Ancelet - a native of Louisiana you first meet someone from south Louisiana, these are the questions where he grew up with French as his first language- received his Master 's Degree in you will probably hear. And you have to answer them before you can f olklore from Indiana University and his get along about your business. They are not rhetorical questions but doctorate in Creole Studies at the Universite quite serious ones designed to elicit information which helps to place de Provence. He is currently Director of Folklore Programs, Center for Louisiana you in the world of the Cajuns and Creoles. If you are from the inside, Studies, University of So uthwestern they want to know where you fit; if from the outside, they want to Louisiana. know how you got in and why. Such concerns could be thought of as xenophobic, but they are not. Rather they are simply part of a ritual to establish relationships - one which is used by a people whose history of tragedy and turmoil has taught them to be careful. Such questions function as boots for a people used to high water. Young and old perform during Cajun Mardi The French founded Louisiana in 1699. At first there were just a few Gras at Fred's Lounge in Mamou, Louisiana. forts perched precariously along the rivers of the frontier. Eventually, Photo by Philip Gould 47 however, there developed a society of French colonials.
    [Show full text]
  • Louisiana and the French Colonial Period 2
    1 The HistoricLouisiana and theLouisiana French Colonial Period New Orleans and the Collection French MUSEUM • RESEARCH CENTER • PUBLISHER Colonial Period Teacher’s guide: grade levels 6–8 Number of class periods: 4 Copyright © 2016 The Historic New Orleans Collection; copyright © 2016 The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History All rights reserved. Copyright © 2016 The Historic New Orleans Collection | www.hnoc.org | copyright © 2016 The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History | www.gilderlehrman.org Louisiana and the French Colonial Period 2 Louisiana and the French Colonial Period Metadata Grade levels 6–8 Number of class periods: 4 What’s Inside Lesson One....p. 4 Lesson Two....p. 11 Lesson Three....p. 15 Lesson Four....p. 20 Common Core Standards CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.SL.8.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. The Historic New Orleans Collection, 533 Royal Street, New Orleans,
    [Show full text]
  • New France (Ca
    New France (ca. 1600-1770) Trade silver, beaver, eighteenth century Manufactured in Europe and North America for trade with the Native peoples, trade silver came in many forms, including ear bobs, rings, brooches, gorgets, pendants, and animal shapes. According to Adam Shortt,5 the great France, double tournois, 1610 Canadian economic historian, the first regular Originally valued at 2 deniers, the system of exchange in Canada involving Europeans copper “double tournois” was shipped to New France in large quantities during occurred in Tadoussac in the early seventeenth the early 1600s to meet the colony’s century. Here, French traders bartered each year need for low-denomination coins. with the Montagnais people (also known as the Innu), trading weapons, cloth, food, silver items, and tobacco for animal pelts, especially those of the beaver. Because of the risks associated with In 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded transporting gold and silver (specie) across the the first colonial settlement at Quebec on the Atlantic, and to attract and retain fresh supplies of St. Lawrence River. The one universally accepted coin, coins were given a higher value in the French medium of exchange in the infant colony naturally colonies in Canada than in France. In 1664, became the beaver pelt, although wheat and moose this premium was set at one-eighth but was skins were also employed as legal tender. As the subsequently increased. In 1680, monnoye du pays colony expanded, and its economic and financial was given a value one-third higher than monnoye needs became more complex, coins from France de France, a valuation that held until 1717 when the came to be widely used.
    [Show full text]
  • Women's Experiences in French Colonial Louisiana
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1997 The Need for "That Certain Article of Furniture": Women's Experiences in French Colonial Louisiana Ellen Margaret Fitzgibbons College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Fitzgibbons, Ellen Margaret, "The Need for "That Certain Article of Furniture": Women's Experiences in French Colonial Louisiana" (1997). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539626134. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-xm1y-h458 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE NEED FOR “THAT CERTAIN ARTICLE OF FURNITURE”: WOMEN’S EXPERIENCES IN FRENCH COLONIAL LOUISIANA A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Arts by Ellen M. Fitzgibbons 1997 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Approved, September 1997 <C^~&UjLOr> A xZlM' James L. Axtell Cam Walker ALu Jimes P. Whittenburg TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv ABSTRACT v INTRODUCTION 2 CHAPTER I. INDIAN WOMEN AND THE ADVENT OF EUROPEAN WOMEN, 1699-1717 11 CHAPTER II.
    [Show full text]