Chapter 6: Spanish Louisiana

Themes:• Louisiana and the World Timeline (pp.

124-125)• Spanish Government Begins; New Laws

(pp. 126-130)• Unzaga; Gálvez; Miró (pp. 131-135)• The Acadians (pp. 136-137) • The New Orleans Fires (pp. 138-139) • Carondelet; Economics (pp. 140-141)

Themes:• End of Spanish Louisiana; Louisiana

Purchase (pp. 142-146)• Review (p. 147)

I. Spanish Government Begins • Creoles were outraged when they learned

that the Spanish had control of the colony.

GLEs: 64, 65, 66, 72, 73, 76, 77

A. Antonio de Ulloa• Spain owned the colony, but France continued

to run it.

• Spanish leaders appointed, Ulloa, a famous scientist and engineer as Louisiana’s first Spanish governor.

• Ulloa was weak, distant, a poor manager, and an introvert.

• He was ousted from power during the Creole Revolution.

B. French Colonial Government Remains

• Rather than making a bold transition, Ulloa chose to forego a formal public ceremony celebrating the transfer of control from France to Spain.

• He planned to rule behind the scenes.

C. Unrest in the Colony• Ulloa married a Mestizo woman, so many felt

he had violated the Code Noir.

• New economic regulations destroyed traditional trade ties.

• Inflation was out of control so Ulloa fixed prices.

• Merchants did not like being told how much they could charge for goods.

• The Superior Council hated him and began plotting to rebel.

D. The Creole Revolution• October 28, 1768—a mob of locals disabled the

cannons protecting New Orleans. • Four hundred Creoles and German Coast

residents stormed the city, and the Superior Council ordered Ulloa to leave.

• Ulloa left, and the French flag flew once again.• The colonists wrote a letter to the French king

asking to be taken back by France. The king did not respond.

• Spain was going to strike back!

Spanish Soldier Re-enactor

E. The Spanish Return to Louisiana • One year later, a Spanish fleet with

2,000 soldiers arrived in New Orleans to take back control.

• The fleet was commanded by General Don Alejandro O’Reilly.

• He raised the Spanish flag once again.

F. “Bloody” O’Reilly• Although Irish, O’Reilly served Spain

and returned Louisiana to Spanish control after the Creole Revolution.

• He executed and imprisoned the revolt’s leaders and served as Louisiana’s governor for a year.

• He became known as “Bloody” O’Reilly.

Don Alejandro O’Reilly

II. New Laws• The Spanish government was more

effective than the French government had been.

A. Something Old, Something New• The Spanish officials were specifically trained for their

jobs so the Spanish government was more efficient than the French government.

• Checks and balances reduced political corruption among officials.

• Two lieutenant governors assisted the governor. • The colony was divided into 12 districts with a

commandment in each to enforce the law and judge minor cases.

• The Spanish government established twelve parishes. Each had a Catholic church and a priest.

• The colony’s economic affairs were controlled by the intendant.

B. The Cabildo• The Cabildo replaced the Superior Council

and passed laws for the city of New Orleans.

• It included members who were appointed (even Creoles), as well as some who paid for their positions.

• Each member had specific responsibilities.

• If someone was convicted of a crime, he or she could appeal the conviction to the Cabildo.

C. The Legal System Improves• The O’Reilly Code was the name of the

new Spanish legal system.

• The French customs of Paris was replaced with the O’Reilly Code.

• It had various levels of courts and judges who were trained for their positions

D. Changes to the Code Noir• The Spanish Code Noir was similar to the French

Code, but it included more rights for slaves. • Freed slaves had the same rights as whites.• Slaves could now testify in court.• Slaves were guaranteed a 30-minute lunch break and

two-hour dinner breaks. • Owners could now free slaves without government

permission. • Slaves had the right to buy their own freedom by

splitting any wages they earned with their owners. • These changes resulted in a steady increase in the

number of freed slaves.• Most became small merchants or craftsmen.

E. French Culture Survives• The Creoles tolerated the Spanish and

then began to appreciate them.

• O’Reilly established language schools, but he did not force Creoles to adopt Spain’s language or customs.

• The Creoles could maintain French customs and traditions as long as they did not conflict with the Spanish.

III. Luis de Unzaga• Unzaga replaced O’Reilly as governor of

Louisiana. • Unzaga’s calm manner and marriage to a

local woman made him very popular. • He allowed English trading vessels, called

floating warehouses, to come down the Mississippi River and trade goods—even though it was illegal. This quickly built the economy.

GLEs: 64, 65, 66, 72, 73, 74, 76, 78, 80

A. The American Revolution • 13 colonies on the eastern seaboard had been

arguing with Great Britain for years.• Fighting erupted• July 4, 1776, colonial delegates approved a

document declaring their independence as a separate nation

• Spain did not officially support either side, but hoped the colonies would win.

• Unzaga then offered the colonies help.• Unzaga provided Oliver Pollock, an American

merchant with wheat to aid the colonies.

IV. Bernardo de Gálvez• Became governor after Unzaga.

• He was popular with the citizens of Louisiana and secretly helped the colonies as they fought for independence.

• Worked secretly with Pollock to provide aid to the colonies

• Shipped medicine, clothing, and weapons up the Mississippi to the rebels

A. The Willing Expedition• James Willings, an American, launched a military raid

on British West Florida.• Attacked English plantations around Natchez and Baton

Rouge• They burned, looted, stole private property, and

captured and English warship. • Willing then transported goods to New Orleans to sell • Galvez was caught in the middle• Willings’ action turned West Florida residents to the side

of the English due to his brutal treatment

B. Taking Sides• France and Spain decided to join the colonies in their

war against England .• Galvez raised an army and marched for Baton Rouge. • Army included Spanish soldiers, Creoles, black

militiamen, and Indians• Galvez captured Fort Bute, Fort Richmond, an English

regiment at Mobile, and Pensacola. • Treaties ending the Revolutionary war forced England to

give: – Independence to Americans – Florida to Spain

• Baton Rouge and the rest of West Florida continue to be separate from Louisiana

• Spain owned the entire Gulf Coast

North America,

1783

V. Esteban Rodríguez Miró • A Louisiana governor fluent in seven

languages.

• More settlers came to Louisiana during his term than during that of any other Spanish governor.

A. The Colony Grows• The population grew under Spanish

control.

• It grew because the Spanish wanted to move in large numbers of people to protect the gold and silver mines in Mexico.

B. Land Grants• Spain built colonies population by

offering land grants which was a parcel of land promised to each family who would settle in Louisiana.

• Government also provided tools, a rooster, two hens, two pigs, and supplies for a year.

C. The Isleños- “Islanders” • Spanish group from the Canary Islands

• Settled mostly in areas of St. Bernard, Ascension, and Plaquemines Parishes and made their livings by fishing and trapping

D. Settling Northeast Louisiana • Settled by a few French hunters and their

families

• They complained that the English and their Indian allies were raiding the area.

• Spanish official took action

• Miro sent Captain Don Juan Filhiol up the Ouachita River to organize the French families into settlements

E. The Kaintocks• Tensions over the Mississippi grew• Americans frequently traveled down the river to trade in

New Orleans. • Most came from Kentucky, the Creoles called all of

them Kaintocks.• they came into the city, drank too much, got into fights,

and generally caused trouble. • Due to the recent troubles, Miro closed the river to most

American trade. • Sometimes they let them through and sometimes they

didn’t.• Kaintocks were furious with this inconsistency.

F. The Spanish Conspiracy • Miro was involved• General James Wilkerson, an American and former

American Revolution general, was an ambitious and untrustworthy man.

• He was forced to resign from the army • Wilkerson moved to Kentucky Territory• He traveled to New Orleans and met secretly with

Governor Miro.• He swore allegiance to Spain • Tried to get Kentucky to break away from the United

States and join the Spanish territory. • He failed and Kentucky became a US state.

VI. The Acadians• One of the largest group of settlers • French-speaking Catholic colonists who lived in

the French Canadian province of Acadia, which is modern-day Nova Scotia.

• England acquired Acadia during one of the colonial wars, but the Acadians did not like the English Protestants.

• The French and Indian War erupted and the English were afraid the Acadians would help the French, so they were deported.

GLEs: 64, 65, 74, 75, 78, 81

General James Wilkinson

A. Le Grand Deŕangement• 1755, the English government called a

meeting and forced about 6,000 Acadians aboard a ship.

• It was traumatic and life-shattering.

• No one wanted the Acadians

• People thought they were a burden and were competitors for jobs

B. Acadians Find Refuge in Louisiana • After many year in exile, Spain realized

they would help populate the colony.

• Spain offered to pay their way to Louisiana.

• 1769-1785: perhaps as many as 10,000 Acadians came to the colony

• Settled in the prairies of southwest Louisiana and along Bayou Teche

**Acadians and Cajuns (Read more about it on page 137)

**”Evangeline” and Bayou Teche (Read more about it on page 137)

Evangeline Oak

**New Orleans Fires of 1788 and 1794 (Read more about it on page 138)

• When a priest knocked over a candle the curtains caught fire.• Since it was Easter, bells were kept quiet so it took longer to

notify the fire department.• Because the firemen spoke only French and the officials

giving order spoke Spanish, they were unable to communicate effectively.

• Due to the size of the fire, it destroyed over 850 buildings, and over 1000 people lost their homes.

• To reduce fire hazards, Governor Carondelet ordered builders to use brick for structures over one story tall.

• After the second fire, architects and builders copied Spanish styles so most French Quarter architecture is more Spanish than French.

GLEs: 65, 73

VII. Francisco Luis Hector, Baron de Carondelet

• He was born in France, served in the French military, then joined the Spanish Army.

• Although French, he governed Louisiana for Spain.

• He established laws under which slaves were treated more humanly.

GLEs: 64, 65, 66, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80

A. Boundary Disputes• Spain gained West Florida, but it’s northern

boundary was under dispute.• Spain claimed Natchez as part of the territory.• United States argued• Western America threatened to attack New

Orleans and secure take the Mississippi River.• American’s were angry because Spain had

closed the river again. • Spain knew they would lose a war with the

United States and have to give up Louisiana.

B. Treaty of San Lorenzo-Pinckney’s Treaty

• Spain avoided war

• US got to use the Mississippi River for trade and had the right of deposit in New Orleans for 3 years.

• West Florida boundary was changed at 31 degrees north latitude.

C. The Pointe Coupée Slave Revolt• Carondelet felt harsh treatment of slaves could

lead to rebellion, so he established laws that treated slave more humanely.

• His policy has several effects.• These included:

– Slaves challenging their owners’ authority– Work slowdowns– The Pointe Coupee Slave Rebellion-which resulted in the

hanging of 23 slaves and 31 floggings so severe that only four survived

– Some slave owners then began treating slaves even more harshly than before the new policy

– The new policy put slaves under the authority of all whites.

VIII. Economics

• Spain was much more successful than France

A. Sugar• Became the largest cash crop in the

colony.

• Etienne de Bore was a sugarcane grower with a plantation in New Orleans.

• His new granulation process made sugarcane a very profitable crop.

B. Perique Tobacco

• Became an important cash crop that brought money to the colony.

C. Land Grants• Marquis de Maison Rouge and Baron de

Bastrop were given land grants.

• Neither man met his quota to bring new settlers in.

• Most settlers who did come to the colony were Americans who brought English culture with them.

IX. The End of Spanish Louisiana

• During the French Revolution, working-class people rebelled against upper-class aristocrats who ruled France.

• During the 10-year revolt thousands were killed.

• The King and Queen were beheaded.

GLEs: 65, 66, 72, 73, 74, 76, 78

A. Foreign French• Louisiana’s French population grew because

of the masses of French fleeing the country to escape the Revolution.

• They were called Foreign French • Soon Revolutionary societies sprang up in

Louisiana and the Spain feared a revolt.• Governor Carondelet sent in more troops and

arrested the rebels. • There was no revolt

B. Napoleon Bonaparte• He became France’s Dictator after the French

Revolution. • Dreamt of rebuilding the French empire in

America• The only significant colony France had left in

North American was Saint-Domingue.• He wanted to turn this colony into a money-

making sugarcane plantation.• He needed a place to get food for the

plantation slaves and Louisiana was the answer.

Napoleon Bonaparte

C. A Secret Treaty

• Fall of 1800 Napoleon forced Spain to give Louisiana back to France in the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso.

• Spain’s military was too weak to fight Napoleon • He allowed the Spanish to continue running the

colony• President Thomas Jefferson became

concerned the Napoleon may want to attack the United States

Thomas Jefferson

James Monroe

D. Fighting for Control

• 1802 Spain revoked the right of deposit to American traders

• If the river was eventually closed to trade the US economy would suffer

• Jefferson decided to buy the Isle of Orleans

• He know whoever controlled the city of New Orleans controlled the entire Mississippi Valley

E. A Change of Plans• Jefferson send US ambassador to France,

Robert Livingston to make the purchase• Napoleon would not consider selling the Isle of

Orleans• James Monroe then traveled to France • Napoleon decided he wanted to sell all of

Louisiana• He wanted the money for a war against

England and he had lost Saint-Domingue to a slave revolt (became Haiti) , so he no longer needed LA for food supplies

F. The Louisiana Purchase• Napoleon planned to turn Saint-Dominque into a giant sugarcane

plantation, but he would then need to feed the slaves by raising more crops in Louisiana.

• A war with England and a slave rebellion on the island forced him to sell Louisiana to the United States instead.

• Jefferson knew how aggressive Napoleon was and wondered if he might attack the United States.

• Robert Livingston and James Monroe traveled to France to convince Napoleon to sell the Isle of Orleans to the United States.

• They soon learned Napoleon wanted to sell the entire colony of Louisiana for the price of $15 million.

• To pay for this, Jefferson arranged to borrow most of the money from English banks.

• Our nation doubled in size thanks to the Louisiana Purchase• The area was later carved into 15 different states.

The Louisiana Purchase

**Troubled in the Bubbles (Read more about it on page 144)

G. Another New Culture

• Residents of the colony had lived under both French and Spanish rule before being acquired by the United States.

• Resident included slaves, free blacks, Acadians, and immigrants from the Canary Islands and France.

• Evidence of French, Spanish, and Cajun culture is still evident today.

H. Three Flags in Three Weeks

• Spain to France

• 3 weeks later, France to the United States

Spanish, French, and American flags

I. A New Era• Mercantilism was gone• all powerful monarchies were gone• LA had to get accustom to American ideals,

such as • Free enterprise• Voting• Jury duty• Political parties• Freedom of Religion

Chapter Review