Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand (21 February 1675 – 7 June 1736) was a French Canadian soldier, politician, and aristocrat who commanded several areas in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

colonized by

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

in the early 18th Century and who served as the seventh

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

French colony The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...

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 ...

Biography

Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand was born 21 February 1675 to Michel-Sidrac Dugué de Boisbriand and Marie Moyen Des Granges in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. He began his military career in 1691 as half pay ensign during

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...

. In 1694, he was promoted to full ensign. In 1695 he served as the second-in-command to Captain Saint-Ours. The next year, he participated in an attack on Newfoundland alongside his cousin

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706) or Sieur d'Iberville was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of Louisiana in New France. He was born in Montreal to French ...

and in 1697 he joined d'Iberville's expedition to recapture

Fort Bourbon Fort Bourbon was one of the forts built by La Vérendrye during his expansion of trade and exploration west from Lake Superior. Besides providing support for the important fur trade in what is now Manitoba, La Vérendrye wanted to conduct explora ...

. In September 1697 de Boisbriand traveled to

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 the

Peace of Ryswick The Peace of Ryswick, or Rijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Rijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance, which included England, ...

. In 1699, he accompanied

on the frigate ''Renommée'' and helped found Fort Mississippi. In 1699, he served as the town major for

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

. In 1700, he moved to Mobile and aided in the construction of Fort Louis de La Louisiane. In 1702, he received a grant of land in the

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

. In 1704, he and 25 French soldiers escorted members of the

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classified as ...

tribe to a peace conference with the

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

tribe. During the conference the

delegates killed the

delegates and they later escorted the French soldiers back to Mobile. In 1714, he was considered by

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 ...

for the position of commander of Fort

Saint-Jérôme Saint-Jérôme () ( 2021 population 80,213) is a suburban city located about northwest of Montreal on the Rivière du Nord. It is part of the Montreal of Greater Montreal. It is a gateway to the Laurentian Mountains and its resorts via the ...

, but Louis Poncereau de Chavagne de Richebourg was appointed to the position instead. In 1716 he was promoted to garrison adjutant for Mobile and the next year he was appointed commandant of Mobile. In 1717, he traveled to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

; he returned to

in spring of 1718 with a commission as first king’s lieutenant and as a member of the council of Louisiana. By the end of the year he was the commandant of the Illinois County. In 1718, Dugué led an expedition to the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

mission at Kaskaskia, Illinois. The next year established

Fort de Chartres Fort de Chartres was a French fortification first built in 1720 on the east bank of the Mississippi River in present-day Illinois. It was used as the administrative center for the province, which was part of New France. Due generally to river floo ...

near the town. From 1725-1727, Dugué served in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

as Governor of Louisiana after his predecessor Bienville was removed over mismanagement allegations. Dugué was recalled to France in the 1729 to answer charges of mismanagement. He lost his military commission, but was later awarded a pension by the king. He died in France on June 7, 1736. While commandant of Fort de Chartres, Dugué conveyed land nearby to his nephew, Ste. Therese Langlois, who founded the town of Prairie du Rocher ("Prairie of the Rock") on the site. The town is one of the oldest

French colonial French colonial architecture includes several styles of architecture used by the French during colonization. Many former French colonies, especially those in Southeast Asia, have previously been reluctant to promote their colonial architectur ...

communities to survive into the 21st Century in the American

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boisbriand, Pierre Dugue De 1675 births 1736 deaths 18th-century French politicians Boisbriand Governors of Louisiana (New France) People of New France People of pre-statehood Illinois

Biography

Further reading

References