Jean-Michel de Lépinay (c. 1665 – January 3, 1721) was a French officer in Canada and governor of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

Biography

Jean-Michel de Lépinay was born in

Fougères Fougères (; br, Felger; Gallo: ''Foujerr'') is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine department in the region of Brittany in northwestern France. As of 2017, Fougères had 20,418 inhabitants. The Fougères area comprises appr ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. After joining the French Army, Lépinay immigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

as an ensign in 1687 and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1690 and lieutenant in pied in 1691. In 1691, he was appointed captain of the port of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

at the request of Governor General of New France

Louis de Buade de Frontenac Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac et de Palluau (; 22 May 162228 November 1698) was a French soldier, courtier, and Governor General of New France in North America from 1672 to 1682, and again from 1689 to his death in 1698. He established a nu ...

. He served in this role until April 20, 1695, at which time he returned to France to address family affairs. On March 12, 1716, Lépinay was next appointed governor of Louisiana by

Antoine Crozat Antoine Crozat, Marquis du Châtel (c. 1655 – 7 June 1738), French founder of an immense fortune, was the first proprietary owner of French Louisiana, from 1712 to 1717. Career Antoine Crozat and his brother Pierre Crozat were born in Toulo ...

, the royally appointed administrator of the colony. Before leaving France, Lépinay sought and received the Cross of St. Louis, which, he argued, would increase his prestige in the eyes of the native tribes of the region. Lépinay left France on board the ship "Ludlow", which he commanded, on December 21, and took office in February 1717. He came to the colony with a new Commissary-Commissioner, 50 new colonists, and three companies of infantry. However, Lepinay soon found himself at odds with

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (; ; February 23, 1680 – March 7, 1767), also known as Sieur de Bienville, was a French colonial administrator in New France. Born in Montreal, he was an early governor of French Louisiana, appointed four ...

, twice governor and an influential leader in the colony. Failing to show any improvement over the administration of the former governor, Sieur de Cadillac, Lepinay was replaced as governor by Bienville after Crozat successfully petitioned to be released from his agreement to develop the colony. In November 1717, Lépinay was appointed governor of

. On May 18, 1720, he left the island of Aix en Atalanta to join his new government in Grenada, arriving on June 28. He died on January 3, 1721, in

Fort Royal Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Histo ...

(

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

References

* Davis, Edwin Adams. ''Louisiana the Pelican State.''

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

Louisiana State University Press The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of American Univer ...

, 1961. LCCN 59:9088. Governors of Louisiana (New France) Governors of Grenada 1721 deaths 1665 births {{KingdomofFrance-stub