Nicolás María Vidal
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Don Nicolás María Vidal y Madrigal (10 December 1739 – 25 May 1806) was a colonial official in Spanish Louisiana and
Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...
from 1799–1801.


Biography

Vidal was born in
Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...
in 1739 to Pedro Luis Vidal and Josefina Marcelina Madrigal y Valdés. He was educated at the Colegio de San Bartolomé, Santa Fé in Bogotá, Colombia and earned degrees in civil and canon law in 1763. He worked for 20 years as an attorney in Colombia for both the Spanish government and private clients, including serving as an interim governor in Popayán and
Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...
. He also worked as a law professor at the Colegio Seminario de San Bartolomé. In 1790, he was posted to Louisiana as a governmental legal adviser (''auditor de guerra''), arriving in New Orleans on March 17, 1791. Vidal's relationship with The Cabildo was contentious with disputes over larger issues like smallpox vaccination, fire hazards, and slavery, as well as minutia around protocol. Following the death of Louisiana Governor
Manuel Gayoso de Lemos Don Manuel Luis Gayoso de Lemos y Amorín, KOM, OTS (May 30, 1747 – July 18, 1799) was the governor of Spanish Louisiana from 1797 until his death in 1799. Biography Early years and military career Born in Oporto, Portugal, on May 30, ...
of yellow fever on July 18, 1799, Vidal was named civil governor of Spanish Louisiana alongside Col. Francisco Bouligny, who was named military governor of the territory, under the authority of the new Acting Governor General Sebastián Calvo de la Puerta, 1st Marquess of Casa Calvo. After Bouligny's death, Vidal continued to serve as lieutenant-governor under Casa Calvo until the last Spanish governor, Juan Manuel de Salcedo, arrived to oversee implementation of the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso and the return of Louisiana to France. After the transfer of Louisiana to the United States was complete, Vidal removed to Pensacola, capital of Spanish West Florida, where he served as ''auditor de guerra'' until his death in 1806.


Personal life

Vidal was described as a "shameless
roué In a historical context, a rake (short for rakehell, analogous to "hellraiser") was a man who was habituated to immoral conduct, particularly womanizing. Often, a rake was also prodigal, wasting his (usually inherited) fortune on gambling, w ...
with a face like a monkey," and in his official acts he was very sensitive to the importance of his position. He complained to Spanish officials on several occasions about public slights and offences. Starting in 1800, Vidal acquired through purchase and a royal grant several properties along Bayou St. John in New Orleans to establish a plantation. He sold the property in 1804, following the
sale of Louisiana The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...
. Vidal acknowledged at least four children — Carolina Maria Salome (b. 1793), Maria Josefa de las Mercedes (b. 1795), and two older daughters — born through plaçage relationships with free women of color. The unnamed daughters were born in Colombia to women identified as a "''mulata libre''" and a "''negra libre''" and were left with their mothers in Cartagena when Vidal moved to Louisiana. In Louisiana, he entered into a relationship with Eufrosina Hisnard, who at the time was about 15 years old. Hisnard and Vidal had Mercedes and Carolina, along with a son who died in infancy. Although he was not listed on the children's baptism records, Hisnard and Vidal's daughters were accepted as part of Vidal's social circle without scandal. Following Vidal's death, Mercedes and her mother sought help from U.S. authorities in the newly acquired Florida Territory in settling Vidal's estate, which led to a conflict between Andrew Jackson, the newly appointed military commissioner and governor, and the last Spanish governor of Florida,
José María Callava José María Callava was the final governor of Spanish West Florida, serving from February 1819 to the time of Spain's transfer of the territory to the United States on 17 July 1821. Callava was an officer in the Spanish military who had been rapi ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Nicolas Maria 1740 births 1804 deaths Colonial United States (Spanish) People of New Spain Pre-statehood history of Louisiana Pre-statehood history of Florida Spanish colonial governors and administrators Royal Governors of La Florida