Here's a little more for you: a seemingly small incident not unlike that of a certain controversy involving a certain Afro-American fellow in a certain West Coast town in a certain year, blows up into something much worse. The Spaniards get their asses handed to them and Napoleon makes his move.
**
Chapter 1-A Different Election.
Part 3: A Little Problem in Louisiana, Part 1.
The following was taken from “Louisiana: The Land, Its People, and Its Culture.”, by John Halbert.
Midwest Press, Kansas City, 1966
….After the Seven Years' War, Louisiana was ceded by the French gov't to Spain in 1763, as per the Treaty of Paris. Though the Spanish had hoped to expand their influence in that part of the Americas, Madrid was slow to actually send officials to the region. As a temporary measure, a minor French official, Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie was installed to replace the former governor, Kerlerec, but he died in February 1765, so Captain Charles Aubry took his place and waited for the Spaniards to arrive and finalize their claims on Louisiana.
Unfortunately, for Madrid, there were some business leaders in New Orleans who had not approved of the transaction. The first Spanish governor, Antonio de Ulloa, hadn't even stayed in the city for more than a few days after his arrival, quite possibly fearing reprisals from the citizenry, instead ruling from Balize, though basically leaving the real power in the hands of Mssr. Aubry, who remained in New Orleans. Many of the ordinary denizens of the region were insulted by what many saw as cowardice on the part of de Ulloa, and, ironically enough, were also displeased at the fact that he ruled through the old French officials, such as Aubry.
It certainly didn't help that de Ulloa had cracked down on 'illicit' trade, either, as well as forbidden that with France, which even further harmed his reputation; by October 1768, he had become so reviled by the populace that Mssr. Aubry advised that he make a journey back to his home country, a proposal which de Ulloa wholeheartedly agreed to. The leaders of the New Orleans Insurrection, overjoyed with their initial success, hoped that maybe someday all of Louisiana could become French again.
Meanwhile, when the Spanish government caught word of the Insurrection, a rather distraught Carlos IV sought to have the insurrectionists tried for treason. In November, Alejandro O'Reilly was dispatched to New Orleans to quell the rebellion before it could take off. When he arrived, he immediately began to interrogate Charles Aubry about the events of the past several months. Aubry cooperated and gave a detailed list of the names of the leaders and the dates of various rallies. After a few weeks, the investigation concluded, and 12 men were singled out as the guilty parties; half were executed, and the other half sentenced to lengthy prison terms. However, though, in a surprising turn, O'Reilly declined to charge any other person who had been suspected of aiding the Insurrection.
After this event, O'Reilly was installed as the acting governor of Louisiana. He almost immediately began to institute a number of sweeping reforms in the government; one of these was the establishment of fixed prices for various goods, which greatly helped to lessen the effect of inflation, amongst other things such as improving relations with the Native Americans. O'Reilly also wanted a census to be taken, and so, he requested one for the entire colony.
It may seem strange to some today, but not counting the Indians, only about 14,000 people lived in Louisiana, including 3,500, or a quarter of the total population, in New Orleans, and a majority of them were slaves.
However, though, O'Reilly only governed for 8 months; in December, 1769, his hand-picked successor, Luis de Unzaga, took over. The one thing of note that Unzaga seems to have done was the re-establishment of trade with the British, due to how important it had become for Louisiana's economy. Other than that, though, he was to be overshadowed by the man who took his place, Bernando Galvez.
Galvez, for whom the famous island city in coastal East Texas was to be named, sought to build on O'Reilly's previous reforms. He again banned the underground trade with the British and began to open the colony up to a larger number of Spanish ports, as well as supporting the trades of goods like cane sugar & tobacco. He was also much respected by the American Revolutionaries, whom he assisted on several occasions, particularly in Baton Rouge. The next governor, Esteban Miro, would, too, follow in O'Reilly's footsteps; particularly by having another census done as well as improving relations with the Native tribes. Perhaps his most notable act was to open settlement to Anglo-Americans, in 1786, and Louisiana continued to grow even larger thanks to that.
Unfortunately, however, trouble began to arise again not long afterwards; in 1789, the French Revolution completely deposed the monarchy. Revolutionary sentiment began to spread like wildfire across the world and soon began to appear in Louisiana. In an attempt to counter this, the government banned all revolutionary clubs, but a slave revolt in Haiti in 1795 made these laws unenforceable due to significant support for them here.
It certainly hadn't helped that quarrels had begun to develop with the United States, either. In particular, the most contented issue was the southern extent of U.S. Claims, especially east of the Miss. River. The Americans had contended that the 31st parallel should have been the border, while the Spanish insisted that it lay no further south than 32'20* North. Luckily for Madrid, President Washington was willing to send Thomas Pinckney to Spain to negotiate the terms of settlement, and in October, 1795, the Spanish Prime Minister, de Godoy, signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo, which not only placed the border at the 31st parallel as per the Americans' request but it also gave U.S. Citizens full navigation rights to the entire Mississippi River area, as well as allowing for a three-year period of U.S. Merchants to deposit their wares in the city, including those to be transferred upriver. This effectively ended all tensions with the United States and today is considered to be one of Thomas Pinckney's greatest diplomatic victories.
However, though, despite all this, the revolutionaries continued to lurk in the background, and thanks largely to what many came to see as the government's tyranny(and de Carondelet's increasing incompetence), with his continued arrests of suspected subversives and crackdowns on anything even remotely pro-French, the time eventually came to strike, and on October 20th, 1797, the Second Rebellion began with a bang....[1]
**
The following is from “Le Bonne Etat: A Complete History of Louisiana”, by Pierre Gustave Boulee.
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 1988.
The Rebellion of 1797.
In the mid-1790s Louisiana was a region growing quickly and prospering nicely under Spanish rule; goods from all over the world could be found in New Orleans, as well as the first budding traces of Creole culture, as Frenchmen, Spaniards, free Africans and Indians all cohabited and mixed together in the cosmopolitan town of 8,000 and life seemed to be ever the grander. But beneath the sunny exterior lay a dark and angry underground; in the fall of 1768, French Creole and German settlers had revolted over France's surrender of Louisiana to the Spanish, which had required a crackdown by Madrid, resulting in the dispatch of the famed Hispano-Irish soldier Alejandro O'Reilly to crush the rebellion and execute and imprison several of its leaders. Although he had been merciful to most of the lower-level conspirators, and had implemented many reforms, some bitterness would remain, especially amongst the French-descended people of the region. While much of this would remain low-key for a few decades, mainly thanks to the fact that the majority of the succeeding Spanish rulers were skilled statesmen and well-regarded by the most of the populace, that unfortunately came to a screeching halt during the term of Governor Francisco Luis de Carondelet. Carondelet, of French, possibly Walloon descent, was born in Flanders in 1748 and from what is known about his life, appears to have spent much of his adult life in the Spanish military, ascending to the rank of general. The Baron was long acknowledged as possessing a remarkable zeal for his willingness to serve his adopted home country and his ability to carry it out.
In 1789, he was appointed governor of El Salvador, then part of Guatemala; the Spanish government was impressed with his record in Central America, and because of this, he was called to serve in Louisiana in 1791.
Carondelet, pre-Revolution, was best known as for civic actions such as several works projects that helped expand the city, most notably the Carondelet Canal and Fort Robeson[2], as well as his introducing laws for the more humane treatment of slaves, and was actually, at one point, respected by many Louisianans. In 1794, however, things would begin to change, and unfortunately, not for the better.
In February of that year, a French Jacobin society based the Philadelphia area began to circulate pro-French articles in Louisiana[3]. While these in and of themselves may not have been important, the reaction to them was. This greatly concerned the Baron, especially due to the fact that he had caught wind of a possible plot by the French Foreign Minister Genet and certain parties in America, to invade and conquer Louisiana, the effort of which was to be headed by Genet himself. Though this never came to pass, de Carondelet sought to take no chances: he restricted trade with the Americans late in 1794.
Another significant problem that had faced the Baron's regime was agricultural issues; the colonists had never been particularly successful in planting any kind of crops, and in the southernmost areas, summer and autumn hurricanes did a great deal of damage to many farms over the years. Insects had also been a problem, particularly on indigo patches; oftentimes, the plants were stripped completely bare.
1793 and 1794 were particularly bad harvest years; so bad, in fact, that many began to worry that famine might soon come to the region, not to mention the large amount of profit lost, as well. Though Etienne de Bore was able to revive sugar production in 1795, it didn't do much to help the food shortages, though it did manage to recover some lost profits, and in the summer of 1797, an even worse shortage occurred, driving some farmers to leave Louisiana altogether..[4]
It hadn't helped the government had started to become somewhat paranoid about subversion from the outside; a number of people with sympathies towards the French Revolutionaries had been arrested and jailed, sometimes only on the most trivial pretenses, which served only to antagonize a number of the people. The tipping point appears to have been the arrest, trial, and execution of a young couple suspected of being possible Revolutionary subversives in New Orleans on the 16th of February, 1797. While the authorities originally believed they had had enough evidence to convict them, a two-month long investigation eventually concluded that while the accused had indeed sympathized with the new French government, they had not likely planned any treasonous activity; basically the execution had been for naught. Combined with exposed attempts at a cover-up, this inflamed many Louisianans enough to openly protest and demand their voices be heard. But instead, many dissenters found themselves arrested, and sometimes, unfortunate incidents would result in injury, or worse. One of the most well-known events occurred on the afternoon of April 25th in La Balize when a young Creole farmer, known only as Pierre, was questioned by the authorities regarding a report suspicious activity near a local tavern the last Friday evening. When the young man tried to tell his accusers that he had been in New Orleans selling sugar cane in the hopes of earning a little extra money to feed his wife and newborn son & daughter, the police began to press him further, and when Pierre contined to deny his alleged involvement in any alleged crimes, one of the lawmen began to push him around in front of his wife, and when Pierre cursed at him for doing so, two of the others began to beat him severely, breaking several of his bones. Though all four of the lawmen who had participated in the interrogation denied that they had started anything when it came to attention the next day, a prominent resident of La Balize soon came forward and admitted that while taking a leisurely walk through the area, he had seen the incident unfold from start to finish, and that the officers had indeed started the fighting. A trial was convened in New Orleans at the behest of Governor Carondelet himself on the morning of the 27th. Unfortunately, for the plaintiff, the jury arrived with a verdict of not guilty for all four of the lawmen involved in the interrogation gone wrong. Fearful of negative reactions, de Carondelet ordered a press blackout immediately upon hearing of the conclusion. However, though, a local newspaper owner had also heard of the news, and answering the questions of thousands of anxious Louisianans, he decided to publish the full proceeding of the trial as it had occurred, with consise information from a friend of his who had attended, early the next morning. That one event is now widely believed to have been the final catalyst for the tribulations to come; early that afternoon, a small protest began to occur in New Orleans, soon growing to over 200 men and women. At around 4 o'clock one of the soldiers who had been dispatched to keep order in the area spotted a man whom he thought might have been reaching for a weapon. When the man tried to explain his actions, the soldier fired, hitting the hapless bystander in the chest. And that was all that was needed to turn angry protesters into a raging mob, and a rapidly growing one at that.[5]
By the morning of the 29th, New Orleans was firmly in the control of the rebels; they had organized surprisingly quickly, and Governor de Carondelet demanded to know who had managed to head such an effort. One of his spies reported that one of the more notable figures who may have been involved in the insurrection appeared to be a man by the name of Charles de Langlade.
Charles de Langlade was born in the Michillimackinac area of what is now in the general vicinity of today's Apple Cove, Michigan, in 1728. His father, Auguste, was a French trader and his mother was the sister of the head chief of the Chippewa tribe. He was a rather shrewd and resourceful leader, well respected by his people, and he was able to hold office under three governments. His career started in 1745 when he opened up a trading post near today's Green Bay, Wisconsin, though before the 1790s, he was best known for his exploits during the French and Indian War, when he routed the British general Braddock during the battle of Fort Duquesne; he also helped spare the lives of the survivors of the Mackinac Massacre in 1763, returning to Green Bay the following year.
Why Charles Langlade originally came to Louisiana wasn't known until very recently, but now it is accepted that he had long wished to expand his trading business, and so he sought a chance to expand, in New Orleans of all places. Though he had been somewhat intimidated by the alien environment; after all, the degree 90-degree heat was hellish compared to what he was used to in Wisconsin, and he was rather uneasy about hurricanes, but he decided to cope with it, and by the summer of 1796, he had built a trading post in New Orleans, which almost immediately became successful. However, though, some of his customers began to casually slip in some talk about their various opinions and stories concerning recent life in the area. Langlade's opposition to the provincial government is believed to have started when he witnessed an altercation between a drunken soldier and a regular customer in September 1796, as laid out in his personal journal; Charles intervened on the customer's behalf but the soldier was never detained, and instead, it was the former man who ended up staying a few days in the New Orleans jailhouse. Langlade paid for his release, but was taunted by the warden for having done so. His business truly began to take off later that autumn, but so too, did his distrust for the government of Louisiana. Langlade himself had had problems with the authorities; he was even detained in January 1797 for intervening and mediating in a scuffle between a government official and another, more plain customer after the former physically attacked the other man for being a 'Revolutionist pansy', or so Langlade would tell it. Langlade was released from prison after only 2 weeks, having paid his own bail, but this experience only served to sour his views of the men in charge of Louisiana.
Late in February, he organized a notable protest in New Orleans in the support of the young couple infamously arrested for subversion, which antagonized the local authorities but earned the newcomer trader many admirers, forcing the government to leave him be for the time being[6]. As the tensions in Louisiana grew, so did Langlade's desire to become a force for change. In late March, he organized a march on the capitol to demand a fair trial for the accused couple in the subversion case, though it was dispersed rather quickly, and several people were arrested.
Perhaps the biggest event during Langlade's stay in New Orleans was the riot that occurred in the city after the trial concerning the beating of the young Creole farmer known to us only as Pierre, on April 28th. He had been instrumental in organizing yet another protest, this time as a vehicle of support for Pierre's defense, though he abhorred the thought of violent conflict and tried to act as a mediator as well as an organizer. At first, this worked well, but that afternoon, one of the soldiers shot an innocent townsperson after he thought he was about to pull out a weapon. Langlade recalls that:
“After this young free Mulatto, an admittedly handsome fellow no older than twenty-five, perhaps, had been felled by the soldier's bullet, many members of the crowd stared at both men in nothing less than abject horror. And then, we all saw what had come loose from the young man's pocket; it was nothing more than a mere apple. That's all it was, just a piece of fruit for a snack. Not long after one of the protesters pointed at the soldier, his face as red as the apple that had dropped, and shouted, quite angrily, “Murderer! You're a murderer!” I quickly began to fear that all my efforts to keep this demonstration peaceful were about to come quite conclusively to naught. Unfortunately, not fifteen seconds afterward, I heard collective roars of anger from the entire crowd of the some two hundred that had gathered that day. The soldier ran to his fellows in uniform and not two minutes had passed before more uniformed men had gathered to meet the crowd. Then, the real carnage would begin...”[7]
And so, began the event now known as the 'New Orleans Uprising'. For about a week, the government would be unable to restore control over New Orleans and many of the surrounding cities; de Carondelet had to move the government to St. Louis, and would remain there for some time afterwards. Charles Langlade, though he tried to keep violence to a mininum, soon became recognized as a spokesperson for change in Louisiana, though he would soon to relocate to Baton Rouge after the government re-took New Orleans, fearing possible government reprisals.
Though Langlade reports originally feeling somewhat out of place when moving to Baton Rouge, he also stated that there were those in town who knew of the man before he arrived, and most of them were admirers of his. In any case, we know that he set up a temporary post in that city to replace the one he was forced to leave behind in New Orleans.
Meanwhile, the anger of the people grew and grew ever faster, and ever more virulent in Louisiana, as the government fastened its grip on the citizenry. In the summer of 1797, de Carondelet approved a series of laws that allowed for far greater government oversight over the larger towns, such as St. Louis and New Orleans. One particular act signed in June also authorized military patrols in more rural areas, which many settlers, particularly Americans, opposed. It also basically allowed the government to spy freely and to detain any civilians even suspected of wrongdoing on the slightest of pretenses. More incidents began to occur as the weeks passed, and rioting became more and more frequent. De Carondelet's popularity sunk further and further until he was recalled by the Spanish government in the middle of September, to leave for Quito. Before he left, however, his final act was to approve a request to detain Etienne Bore, who had become even more popular amongst the rebels than the Ottawa immigrant trader, Charles Langlade(a rather well-liked man in his own right, and no longer just in New Orleans, either) for questioning, and imprisonment, for his part in various anti-government activities, as well another allowing for martial law to go into effect; though the Baron had originally opposed both of these, he also felt that sticking to his guns, as it were, would not have proven any wiser. His departure was met with mixed emotions; some sympathized with the Baron, who had been under rather stringent pressure from his advisors, as well as the military, and pointed out that he had done a rather fine job of expanding New Orleans. His detractors, on the other hand, saw him as a coward and a fool who allowed paranoia to triumph over reason and who had allowed the military and law enforcers to run amuck.
In any case, de Carondelet picked his successor by hand, having gotten permission from Madrid to do so; that man was Manuel Hoa[8], the former comptroller, who wasn't exactly popular with the people himself in recent months but hadn't had so many detractors, either, and so was thought to be the right man for this increasingly difficult job; unknown to most Louisianans, he had also functioned as an unofficial second-hand advisor to the Baron, who had come to trust him greatly.
Unfortunately for Hoa, his tenure wasn't long lasting; on the morning of October 13th, the acting Governor began an hour-long speech in New Orleans, including topics such as the danger of treason, and the decadent influence of foreign traders. Just after the completion of the speech, an American wearing a coonskin cap, who had placed himself behind the small crowd aimed a pistol towards the governor, and yelled, “Sic Semper Tyrannis!”[9] and fired a single shot at Hoa, hitting him in the chest. Two soldiers who saw the shooting immediately detained the man and dragged him to jail. Hoa had survived but was in serious need of medical treatment.
Later that night, meanwhile, the American confessed his motive for the shooting; he was a trader who lost his business after the government had seized it because of the sale of illicit goods from his country, but also told his interrogators that he never had any particular pro-French sympathies. However, though, feeling suspicious, one of the soldiers decided to start beating on the American, until he cracked; the accused gave the name of an associate in New Orleans who was a French sympathizer, and who had despised Hoa. The soldier left him alone, and his comrade ordered the trader to be removed from the premises. Two days later, the trader's companion, a former privateer and known rebel leader, Alexandre Bolchoz[10], was arrested in a New Orleans bar, and charged with plotting the attempt on Hoa's life. An unusually speedy trial saw him found guilty, and sentenced to be hung on the morning of the 20th. During that time, many of Bolchoz's associates were also tracked down and detained, including a French woman named Marie[11] who had been a recent paramour of his. At 10:45 a.m. that morning, Bolchoz was brought before the gallows, to make his last statement and to pray one last prayer.
As of October 20th, the rebels had over 8,000 members of several nationalities, and leaders included men such as Charles de Langlade, Etienne Bore, himself a prisoner, and Alexandre Bolchoz, who was to be hung that day; only Langlade, the now 69-year-old Metis[12] trader from Wisconsin, had escaped the grasp of Louisiana's now very paranoid authorities.
Alexandre Bolchoz passed away at 11:05 a.m. Just 2 hours later, the court received a notice from a reliable source, that he was nowhere near New Orleans at the time, and that he had not even had contact with the American assassin for over a month. When the head magistrate ordered a cover-up, the man who defended Bolchoz refused and instead took the document and read it in front of the crowd, now numbering over a thousand. Just a few seconds before the defender was finished talking, a signal was given, known only to certain people in the crowd. The crowd then yelled in anger; they had heard enough. The man who signalled then ushered the public defender out of the area before several soldiers came out of the courthouse, weapons on hand. Suddenly, two dozen men in the mob moved to the front and pulled out their guns. One of the soldiers managed to kill one of the gunmen but all of the others opened fire right afterwards, immediately killing all but one of the six men guarding the courthouse; the sixth man died of his injuries a day later. They then stormed the building, taking the chief magistrate and the prosecutor hostage. Word spread quickly across New Orleans, and not 15 minutes after the siege began, over four dozen soldiers were dispatched to take care of the problem. However, though, when they got there, one of the gunmen shouted seemingly in the open air. Then, from behind several buildings two dozen more gunmen began to shoot alongside their comrades. Though 10 of the assailants were killed, the ambush, and the tactic of hiding in the courthouse had proven effective; only 10 minutes later, all 48 of the soldiers who were sent to deal with the rebels were dead, or dying. By sunset, several more gun battles broke out in the city of New Orleans as the military scrambled, and miserably failed, to keep order in the area.
Governor Hoa, still suffering from his wounds, was evacuated, along with his closest advisors and doctors, just after dusk had fallen, fleeing northwards to the more loyal, although much smaller, community of New Madrid[13]. As he fled, the rebels began to overpower the military forces through an early intrepretation of what we now call guerrilla, or irregular warfare, which it is commonly believed by modern historians, including this author, that they couldn't have won without[14]. Later that night, Charles de Langlade arrived in the city with about 200 supporters, and they stormed the city's jail without firing a shot. Langlade was able to locate Etienne Bore, and some of Bolchoz's acquaintances, including his now pregnant lover Marie, and the two leaders agreed to split up and go in separate directions. As they left, one of the surviving Spanishs official in New Orleans ordered a messenger to travel to Havana, to relay a message to the government in Madrid, informing them of the latest events, and a request to send help, all while the citizenry of New Orleans were celebrating what seemed like freedom at last. Meanwhile, someone else, too, requested help from an overseas government: Etienne Bore, before leaving the city, asked his good friend Victor Collot, the French General, to go to Paris and request military assistance from Paris. The Insurrection of 1797 had indeed begun....[15]
**
Somewhere in Louisiana
October 21, 1797
Charles de Langlade smelled the fresh early morning air around the field that had he had chosen to camp in. It was a rather beautiful day already, and he hoped to meet up with another contingent of rebels from further north in the province. The older man had seen his share of battles in his nearly 7 decades of life, but the man who was to be known as the “Father of Wisconsin”[16] wished to fight one more time, to liberate Louisiana from the incompetent Spaniards who had misruled for nearly 5 years now. And he promised himself he would try to live to see the day when New Orleans was to become French again. “God have mercy on those poor souls in Madrid,” said the old Metis, “For they know not what they have wrought on themselves...”
**
[1]Special thanks to the webmasters of the LSU website for the OTL pre-POD information on this part of Chapter 2.
[2]It wasn't called that then, though. *Small Spoiler* It's a modern name for the area.
[3]Some 'alternative' historians will claim for many decades afterwards that this was a plot hatched by the American government.
[4]Which didn't happen IOTL, as far as it can be seen.
[5]You may notice some similarities to the 1992 L.A. Riots of OTL. This was partly unintentional, though not entirely so.
[6]The young couple died on February 24th, by the way. Both the man and the woman were to be sainted in 1948, by a liberal Pope.
[7]I don't know if Langlade kept any journals IOTL; here, I've decided that he would.
[8]Hoa is a little-known figure IOTL outside of perhaps a few academic circles dedicated to colonial Louisiana history.
[9]Only fitting that it'd come from an American assassin; btw, a fun fact for you: this well-known Latin phrase has been the state motto of Virginia since before the Constitution was drafted.
[10]Another figure who doesn't seem to be that well-known IOTL(It appears, btw, that he had a daughter by the name of Julia IOTL, who married a Peter Mahler in S.C. in 1820. Whether or not she's been butterflied though, will depend on whether she was born before the POD or after it. Any information from readers would be helpful.).
[11]Just assume she's an average Jane who didn't amount to much IOTL.
[12]I don't know when the term originated IOTL but I think it fits, since Langlade was half-Native.
[13]Only since St. Louis wasn't surely known to be safe.
[14]It certainly helped that some of these rebels were Americans from what might be called the 'Back Country', i.e. Tennessee, Kentucky, etc.
[15]And did it ever!
[16]True story, btw. Langlade wasn't forgotten by Wisconsin historians IOTL; this is will all be so much more true ITTL.
**
**
Chapter 1-A Different Election.
Part 4: A Little Problem in Louisiana, Part 2.
The following is from “Le Bonne Etat: A Complete History of Louisiana”, by Pierre Gustave Boulee.
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 1988.
...Etienne Bore was born in Kaskaskia, Ill., now Cameron, Mo., on Dec. 27th, 1741, originally as Jean Etienne de Boré, the son of Louis de Boré, himself a scion of a Noble Norman family, and Celestine Therese Carriere, whose lineage and occupation remains unknown today[1]. Though from North America, Etienne's parents decided to educate him in France, and he remained there for some decades. While in France, he became a member of the King's Household Guards in 1768, and was quickly promoted to captain of a musketeer's company just two years later. He married Jeanne Marie des Tours in September 1771[2], and with his new bride in tow, he moved to Louisiana in 1776, hoping to live a peaceful rural life.
Just five years after his arrival, Bore was able to obtain a grant to grow crops in an area surrounding much of New Orleans, including today's Carville Street[3a] neighborhood and Robert E. Lee Memorial Park[3b], and with this he decided to start a small colony. This colony became so successful that by 1790 he was bringing in as much as $180,000 a year. Unfortunately, this stroke of good fortune ended thanks to a series of droughts, and major insect infestations in 1793-94 which killed many of the indigo crops and nearly bankrupted his farm.
Desperate, Etienne decided to try risking his remaining money on a new venture; sugar cane. Though the Jesuits had been the first to experiment with sugar cane earlier in the century, they had not been successful in turning it into a money maker. Despite opposition from family and friends, Bore was nevertheless highly determined to make things work in his favor; in 1795 the intrepid entrepreneur purchased some cane from a pair of Spanish farmers named Mendez and Soliz and planted right away.
To his relief, the cane grew very well, and that fall he began to experiment with various different methods to try to find a way to granulate the sugar. One method that seemed to be worth trying was to combine a vacuum pan process with an old Iberian method that was used to create molasses. And to his absolute delight, it worked very well. De Bore showed off his new method to anyone who seemed interested, and the following year he sold his crop for $12,000. His method gave birth to the Louisiana sugar industry, for which he is still fondly remembered today[4].
De Bore, during his stay in Spanish Louisiana, had also become a well-liked community leader. His radical political activities are believed to have started in the summer of 1796, when he befriended the French general, Victor Collot, who was visiting Louisiana to gather material on the various wildlife and flora in the area; unfortunately, Governor de Carondelet had ordered his arrest and had considered arresting De Bore as well, but feared significant reprisals from the community so he chose only to let him off with a warning[5]. De Bore is also believed to have been the man who helped Charles de Langlade set up his trading post in New Orleans around that same time period.
In any case, De Bore became increasingly aware in his understanding that indeed, something was terribly wrong in Louisiana and began to host pro-Revolutionary parties on his plantation that fall, which earned him a number of visits from local authorities. Complicating matters was his increasing involvement with Langlade, a man already viewed as a troublemaker by more reactionary factions of the New Orleans establishment, and with Victor Collot, whom he helped bail out of prison in November 1796[6].
De Bore was also one of the men who sought to mediate a peaceful demonstration in New Orleans after the beating of a certain young Creole in police custody in late April. Unfortunately for him, word got out of an incident during another protest in which a young Mulatto had been shot by a soldier, all over an apple in the man's pocket, not an hour earlier. That crowd, too, turned violent, and the dozen or so soldiers guarding the area were soon pelted with various items, including the occasional rock; one of the soldiers was struck in the back of the neck, requiring weeks of medical care. Despite his efforts to calm the situation down, De Bore was viewed as an instigator and the government ordered his entire property confiscated in August, 1797[7]. In between the two periods, De Bore had gathered a small, but not unnoticeable, following of armed men willing to follow any particular requests that he would make, and many more supporters besides. When this was finally exposed, the government began a search to locate him, and it was discovered that de Bore had moved in with a trader in Baton Rouge. On September 11th, he was detained by the authorities on charges of treason and was placed under house arrest. On the day that de Carondelet left office, he authorized the imprisonment of de Bore and that was where he would spend the next several weeks[8].
De Bore, however, was freed by Charles de Langlade and his party of rebels on the night of the 20th, and together, they plotted their next move......
**
Somewhere in Louisiana
October 21st, 1797
Etienne De Bore had noticed the coolness of the air from the minute he awoke that morning. Smoke was still rising from the fire that they had built the previous night, though it had likely gone out a few hours prior; there was barely any warmth at all. Still, he didn't mind; he was still wealthy after all, and so he could afford the finest winter coats to be bought in this area[9], and he also gave a few spares to his closest allies in the party.
Mssr. De Bore was waiting for word from his friend, Charles Langlade, on their first plan of attack now that Louisiana was under full military rule. He hoped that perhaps they could gain even more recruits, possibly even from the United States as well as within Louisiana itself, and amongst the Indians[10], as time went by. He hoped, that that time would come soon indeed...
**
[1]This remains true IOTL as well.
[2]BTW, two of his three daughters became well-known in La. society; his younger daughter, Francoise, married Charles Gayarre, the grandfather of a somewhat well-known OTL historian, at least amongst La. history circles.
[3a, 3b]Both of these places are fictional NOLA neighborhoods but Robert E. Lee Memorial Park and the eponymous neighborhood may be somewhat recognizable to OTL Orleanians because the park isn't that much different from the northeast half of OTL's Audubon Park, though it is somewhat larger; Carville Street, on the other hand, was named for an ATL thoroughfare running close to the Mississippi. Both places were part of the old Audubon neighborhood up until its dissolution in 1905, though the park didn't get its present name until 1949.
[4]This is true IOTL as well.
[5]The same general thing also happened IOTL.
[6]Collot will soon repay him very nicely indeed.
[7]Which didn't happen IOTL, though things never got this bad, either.
[8]Future historians will theorize that this was one of the major events that led to the Insurrection.
[9]It may be Louisiana, but even here, the weather can get cold.
***
Chapter 1-A Different Election.
Part 5: A Little Problem in Louisiana, America Reacts.
The following was taken from “Louisiana: The Land, Its People, and Its Culture.”, by John Halbert.
Midwest Press, Kansas City, 1966
Word of the collapse of the government in Louisiana reached America about as quickly as New Orleans had fallen. Many in the American political establishment had suspected that a collapse was inevitable: though news was often hard to come across, when it did reach America, it usually came from the frontiersmen, many of whom who lived in the north of the area.
Some described various incidents that had occurred and the numerous grievances that many people had with the bureaucracy in New Orleans, in newspapers across the nation[1].
One young Virginian who had ventured out to a patch of the Missouri River valley not far west of St. Louis hoping to make his fortune, recalled that due to his sympathy with the rebels, Spanish soldiers had put the torch to his farm and killed his livestock right around the harvest season in September, and not a thing was done to stop them or to give him compensation for his lost property, in an interview with a New York paper.
Another American farmer who had left Louisiana told a Richmond, Va., publication that his wife had been raped by another Spanish soldier after he refused to pay 'tribute' to the local military squad near the settlement were he lived, near today's Little Rock, Ark.
As more and more tales of the New Orleans bureaucracy gone mad began to flood into the United States, debates began to arise in Philadelphia regarding what should be done in Louisiana. Alexander Hamilton believed that U.S. intervention might backfire on the Jefferson administration should the French have gotten suspicious of America's actions. Others, such as Delaware's James Bayard, however, argued that the government had every right to intervene, not only because of the presence of American citizens in that region, but also to protect American shipping interests as well. He also stated his belief that if America wouldn't take advantage of Louisiana's collapse, then France and Britain most certainly would, and that failure to do so might also be seen as weakness on the
part of Philadelphia.
In any case, the debate would go on for some time. Only in December 1797 did Jefferson make his decision...
**
Philadelphia, Penn.
Dec. 22nd, 1797
“I'm sure you have finished read both of these documents, Mr. President?”, said the Secretary of State, James Madison. On the desk, were a pair of resolutions drafted by two factions of Congress: one that advocated direct intervention in Louisiana, and one that advised that that the American government instead take a stance of neutrality. Both sides were desperately vying for the President's support, and it was beginning to take a bit of a toll on Jefferson at the moment.
“Yes, I have indeed, Mr. Secretary.”, the President replied. He had spent an average four hours looking over each document, per day, since this last Thursday. And it was starting to exhaust him.
“And have you come to a decision, sir?”, Madison asked. Tensions had started to run high as the situation in Louisiana worsened. Most recently, a brawl broke out in Congress just two days earlier which required the removal of three Congressmen. Some arguments had broken out in the streets of some of the major cities as well, especially in New York, where a small riot had seen people on both sides of the debate come to blows. Perhaps it was no significant matter in the overall scheme of things but it did seem to have an effect on Jefferson's thinking.
“Well, Mr. Secretary...” said the President, “while I do indeed sympathize with those who have taken up the mantle of liberty and freedom, and do despise what the Spaniards have done in the name of law and order to them and our settlers[2], I also have come to understand that we cannot risk possibly damaging our relationship with the French, if we go too far, or starting another war with Great Britain should they become fearful for the security of their holdings in the Canadas and what they call 'Rupert's Land'. Therefore, I am afraid that we must keep an appreciable distance. However, we may be able to offer indirect aid to the rebels, whether American or otherwise, as well as assisting the safe passage of those of our citizens, and perhaps a few others as well[3], who would wish to return to these States.” Jefferson sincerely hoped that a compromise would please as many on both sides as possible; if this were to backfire, it could create even more disaster, for all involved.
“Alright then, Mr. President.”, replied Madison, “I shall inform Congress of your decision right away. And Godspeed.” He smiled as he started to leave.
“Thank you, James,” said Jefferson, “I think I'll need much in the way of good fortune in these coming weeks.”[4]
**
This was taken from “The following is from “Le Bonne Etat: A Complete History of Louisiana”, by Pierre Gustave Boulee.
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 1988.
America Steps Back...and France Steps Forward.
The news of America's refusal to intervene in the Louisiana Revolution was met with mixed feelings. While men such as Charles Langlade, the famed Metis trader, believed that the struggle would be much more challenging without American help, others, such as the sugar baron Etienne De Bore, stressed that America's involvement might possibly have backfired and exacerbated an already messy situation, and that continuing the rebellion without much, or any, outside help, might be the most beneficial scenario in the long run. Whatever the case, Jefferson's decision shocked many on both sides, and arguments would continue to erupt for some time; it certainly hadn't helped that many feared that Britain & France could take advantage of what could be seen as U.S. weakness, either. Jefferson, however, informed both parties that regardless of who took control in Louisiana, the American government would assert their rights to use the waterways of the Mississippi as much as any other nation in that area, and any attempts to subvert this would be seen as a provocation to war regardless of who might be the guilty party.
Despite the concerns of a major war should the Louisiana conflict spiral out of control, the United States was fortunate enough in one respect; the French were likely to be far more sympathetic than the British to their desires. In the fall of 1797, a young Corsican nationalist by the name of Napoleon Buonaparte, later anglicized to Bonaparte, had come to power as the first President of the French Republic[5]. Bonaparte, long a republican before his ascent to prominence, had been sympathetic towards the Americans in the fight for Louisiana, but he also desired to keep France's empire in North America alive for a time yet. In February, 1798, he sent an envoy to Washington in the hopes of gaining the respect and trust of the Americans, and to begin negotiations concerning the fate of Louisiana...
The following was taken from “Louisiana: The Land, Its People, and Its Culture.”, by John Halbert.
Midwest Press, Kansas City, 1966
Starting in February, 1798, the French and American governments negotiated a permanent term of settlement for Louisiana, the main part of which would last over a year[6]. Finally, on March 18th, the main part of the agreement was completed, and the terms were as follows.
1.) Settlement- Any Americans who wished to settle in Louisiana were allowed to do so, but on one condition: There was to be no slavery, and any American who brought indentured servants of any race with him had to release them after a certain period of no more than a decade, the exact period of which to be decided by the local government of their new home. Also, any American convicted of a serious crime could be deported at any time, without consent.
2.) Navigation-American traders were given the right to use the Mississippi as much as any Frenchman or Briton, but those living in Louisiana itself were subject to a small income tax, partly to help offset the cost of the damages caused by Rebellion of 1797.
3.) Land Rights outside Louisiana itself - The French agreed to gradually the newly acquired land of West Florida to the Americans, within a decade of April, 1799.
4.) Voting Rights-All American men about the age of 21 who qualified for voting would be allowed to do so, just as any native Louisianan.
The final and most important part of this agreement was signed on the 23rd of July, 1799.
The Americans and Frenchmen agreed on a charter proposition, that ensured that French ownership would be guaranteed for a period. The Americans suggested that the contract of ownership be divided into 3 sections and separate terms be applied to different areas of the colony. The French hesitated for a time, but President Jefferson's solution involved a system based on how strategically & economically important each region was to both of the powers, allowing for the French to inject their own input. This system, in its final form, after having undergone the necessary adjustments[7], went as follows:
1.)All territory north of the Missouri River and the 40th Parallel-10 year charter, renewable 3 times.
2.)Any territory West of the 100th Meridian west-10 year charter, renewable 3 times.
3.)Any territory East of the 100th Meridian and north of the Arkansas down to the 35th parallel North-15 year charter, renewable twice.
4.)South of the 35th to 31*31' North(Upper Louisiana)-25 year charter, extendable by 5 years, no more than 5 times.
5.)Lower Louisiana-30 year charter, may be extended by 10 years, twice.
After the end of the grace period, however, France would no longer be able to guarantee Louisiana's territorial security and could be subject to American annexation, at least, ideally, if both parties agreed to such. France could also, if necessary, end the contract early, if they needed to sell Louisiana. America, on the other hand, could disregard the contract if the French violated their end of the agreement by any means.
This compromise was understood as a fair deal by all, and went into effect with the signing of the Treaty of Richmond in September, 1799...[8]
**
[1]As they likely would have.....most Americans don't take kindly to the oppression and maltreatment of civilians, especially not if the victims are their countrymen....
[2]Jefferson still remembered the bad old days when the Brits had been haranguing those people who had been advocating for America's independence, so you can see why he would feel sympathy for the rebels in Louisiana.
[3]Not too many of them, though, especially certain types of people......Jefferson can't afford to piss off his fellow planters, you know.
[4]Things won't turn out as badly as he had feared, though. You'll see why.
[5]Well, you saw it here first: Napoleon has indeed risen to the top of the pile in the still-young French Republic. Will he become, and perhaps even remain, an emperor? Wait and see.....=)
[6]Diplomacy sometimes takes time to get things done.
[7]These are rather generous terms, IMO; I'm not sure if John Adams would have approved of the same scheme that Jefferson has just done ITTL.
[8]Richmond was chosen by President Jefferson thanks to its status as the first (post-colonial) state capital of Virginia.
**
No comments:
Post a Comment