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 Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by Kingdom of France, 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 King ...

. He was born in Montreal to French colonist parents.

Early life

Pierre Le Moyne was born in July 1661 at Fort Ville-Marie (now

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

), in the French colony of

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 tota ...

, the third son of Charles le Moyne de Longueuil et de Châteauguay, a native of Dieppe or of Longueuil near Dieppe,

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and lord of

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly a ...

in Canada, and of (called Catherine Primot in some sources) from

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

. He is also known as ''Sieur d'Iberville'' (''et d'Ardillières''). He had eleven brothers, most of whom became soldiers. One, Jacques Le Moyne de Sainte-Hélène, led French and Indian forces in the Schenectady massacre in present-day New York's Mohawk Valley. Charles le Moyne de Longueuil, Baron de Longueuil, was governor of Montreal. Another, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne Bienville, founded

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...

, and Joseph LeMoyne was with him in

. Le Moyne d'Iberville was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

under the Jesuit order. Parish records indicate that he made his First Communion at the age of 12. Like most young men of his background, who received a classical and religious education, d'Iberville was educated in a Sulpician seminary. Destined for the priesthood, he chose the military vocation. At the age of 12, he became a cabin boy on his uncle's ship trading to Port Royal, Acadia. A few years later he was in the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mo ...

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie is a cross-border region of Canada and the United States located on St. Marys River, which drains Lake Superior into Lake Huron. Founded as a single settlement in 1668, Sault Ste. Marie was divided in 1817 by the establishment of ...

in Canada, where he would have learned something of canoe travel in the wilderness. He later became quartermaster on one of his father's ships.

Hudson Bay expeditions

The

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...

was founded in 1670. This company diverted furs away from Quebec and threatened further expansion into French territory. In 1682, the ''Compagnie du Nord'' was founded to compete with the English on the Bay. In 1686, the aggressive Governor General Denonville decided to drive out the English even though the two countries were at peace. Under the command of

Pierre de Troyes, Chevalier de Troyes Pierre de Troyes (born at unknown date – died 1688) was a captain that led the French capture of Moose Factory, Rupert House, and Fort Albany on Hudson Bay 1686. Arrival in Canada A captain in the French army de Troyes arrived at Quebec in Au ...

, d'Iberville his brothers Paul and Jacques led the Canadian woodsmen on a 1686 expedition to Hudson Bay. He played a heroic part in the capture of the fort at

Moose Factory Moose Factory is a community in the Cochrane District, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Moose Factory Island, near the mouth of the Moose River, which is at the southern end of James Bay. It was the first English-speaking settlement in lands ...

. At Fort-Rupert, he captured the

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...

''Craven'' and killed at least one unarmed sailor. As a result, the French seized all three English posts on James Bay, leaving the English only York Factory which was far to the northwest and inaccessible by land. De Troyes left in August 1686, leaving d'Iberville in charge with 40 men. The following summer, when no supplies arrived, d'Iberville left 12 men at the forts and went first south to Quebec and then to France. In France, he lobbied for the ''Compagnie'' and obtained command of ''Soleil D'Afrique'' and returned to James Bay in the summer of 1688. There he captured three HBC ships that were trying to re-establish their position on James Bay. Returning to Quebec, he was caught up in

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 Alli ...

and sent south to attack the British colonies (see below). In July 1690, he left Quebec with three ships in the hope of capturing York Factory. Finding himself outgunned by a larger English ship, he fled south and captured the new HBC base at

Fort Severn Fort Severn, in present-day Annapolis, Maryland, was built in 1808 on the same site as an earlier American Revolutionary War fort of 1776. Although intended to guard Annapolis harbor from British attack during the War of 1812, it never saw act ...

. In 1692 and 1693, he again planned to attack York Factory, but both times the needed ships were diverted. It was 1694 before he could effect the

capture of York Factory The Capture of York Factory was a 1694 Anglo-French conflict on Hudson Bay. In 1686 Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville marched overland from Québec and captured all the English posts on James Bay. This left York Factory, which was too far away and ...

. His work was undone when the English recaptured Fort Albany in 1693 and York Factory in 1695. 1695 and 1696 were spent in coastal raiding. In 1697 he captured York Factory a second time after winning his most heroic battle. It was too late in the season to capture Fort Albany, so he left Hudson Bay, never to return. York Factory remained French until 1713.

King William's War

Les Anglais attaqués par les Français à Terre-Neuve en 1696

In 1690, he was second in command to his brother Jacques in a raid south to New York that culminated in the Schenectady Massacre. In 1692, he convoyed supply ships from France and harassed English coastal settlements, taking three prizes. In 1694, he returned to Hudson Bay and captured York Factory for the first time. In the spring of 1696, he sailed from France with three ships. Sending one to Quebec, he led the other two to the aid of the governor of

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...

, Joseph Robineau de Villebon, whom the English were blockading at the mouth of the Saint John River. He captured one enemy ship and drove the other two away. He then went 200 miles west and captured the most northerly settlement in New England, Pemaquid (

Siege of Pemaquid (1696) The siege of Pemaquid occurred during King William's War when French and Native forces from New France attacked the English settlement at Pemaquid (present-day Bristol, Maine), a community on the border with Acadia. The siege was led by P ...

, 14 August). He then sailed east to Placentia, the French capital of Newfoundland, and began the Avalon Peninsula Campaign on 1 November. On this expedition he captured St. John's and ruined most of the English fishing villages. During four months of raids, Iberville was responsible for the destruction of 36 settlements. The Newfoundland campaign was one of the cruelest and most destructive of Iberville's career. Before he could consolidate his hold on Newfoundland, he was diverted north to capture York Factory for a second time during the summer of 1697. Soon after his departure, the English arrived in Newfoundland with 2,000 troops and restored their position. Hostilities ended with the Treaty of Ryswick in September 1697.

Exploring Louisiana

In 1682,

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, ...

was the first European to travel from the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

down the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United S ...

. The French began dreaming of building a great empire by linking the

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

and Mississippi basins, thereby bottling up the English on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

. This presented diplomatic problems; the Gulf

was claimed, though not occupied, by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Pontchartrain, the minister for naval affairs and colonies, gave d'Iberville the task of locating the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on t ...

of the

, which La Salle had failed to find on his

last expedition Last Expedition is a Macedonian alternative rock band, formed in 1985 by brothers Sead and Enis Hadžić. History The band was formed in 1985, in the Đorče Petrov municipality of Skopje, with Dimitar Petrov on drums, Enis Hadzic on bass, Sea ...

, and building a fort which would block the river to other nations. D'Iberville left Brest with four ships in October 1698. He sailed along the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

coast, past the base the Spanish were building at

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

. In March 1699, he entered the Birdfoot Delta. It was only after meeting some

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

who remembered La Salle that he was sure that this was the Mississippi. Having achieved his first aim and finding no good sites in the delta, he built a temporary fort

Fort Maurepas Fort Maurepas, later known as Old Biloxi, "Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville" (biography), ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', 1907, webpage: gives dates: 13 Feb. 1699, went to the mainland Biloxi, with fort completion May 1, 1699; sailed f ...

Ocean Springs, Mississippi Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, approximately east of Biloxi and west of Gautier. It is part of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 17,225 at the 2000 U.S. Censu ...

, left a garrison of 81 men, and returned to

Exploration du cour du Mississippi et fondation de la Louisiane en 1682-1699

On his second voyage, he reached Biloxi in January 1700. He built a second "Fort Maurepas" 40 miles up the Mississippi River. On his return journey, he is said to have stopped at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and sold 9,000 furs that coureurs des bois had given him, in preference to hauling them back to

. (This story illustrates the benefits of the future

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

, the size of the French presence on the Mississippi at this early date, and d'Iberville's questionable business practices.) On his third voyage in February 1701, he built a fort at

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 ...

. Here,

Henri de Tonti Henri de Tonti ('' né'' Enrico Tonti; – September 1704), also spelled Henri de Tonty, was an Italian-born French military officer, explorer, and '' voyageur'' who assisted René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, with North American ex ...

aided him in establishing good relations with the

. He left

for the last time in April 1702. His brother

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 fou ...

founded New Orleans in 1718.

Queen Anne's War and his death

In 1702, England and France were again at war (

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phili ...

, 1701–1714, the North American theater of which was

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...

). D'Iberville had contracted

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...

on the Gulf coast, and both his health and judgment seem to have deteriorated. Early in 1706, he left France in command of twelve vessels. A squadron under Henri-Louis de Chavagnac devastated Saint Kitts. From 1 to 22 April, d'Iberville and Chavagnac devastated the island of

Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation ...

and took much of the population prisoner. He went to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, where he was involved in planning an expedition against

Charles Town, Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, South Carolina, Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston metropolitan area, South Carolina, Charleston–North Charle ...

(an English colonial settlement), when he died suddenly, perhaps of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

, in July, 1706. D'Iberville was buried at Church of San Cristóbal (

Havana Cathedral Havana Cathedral (''Catedral de San Cristóbal'') is one of List of cathedrals in Cuba, eleven Catholic cathedrals on the island. It is located in the Plaza de la Catedral on Calle Empedrado, between San Ignacio y Mercaderes, Old Havana. The thirt ...

); the burial records identify him under his French name, and as El General Dom Pedro Berbila. After his death, his estate became involved in an inquiry that dragged on for more than thirty years. D'Iberville had acquired a large fortune by uncertain means. The accounts of the West Indian expedition were hopelessly disorganized; there were accusations of embezzlement. His widow, Marie Thérèse Pollet (1672–1740) was forced to pay back a large part of her inheritance. D'Iberville was perhaps the first great soldier born in Canada. Students of the art of war may see his career as an example of the importance of following up after a victory, for he won all his battles but never was able to consolidate what he had won.

Honours

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville was a knight of the

Order of Saint-Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a rewa ...

Legacy

The following works and sites are named for d'Iberville: * '' D'Iberville'', a 39 episode television series on

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

from 1967 to 1968 * The city of

Iberville, Quebec Iberville was a city in the Montérégie region of the Canadian province of Quebec on the east side of the Richelieu River, across from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. It was about 30 miles (50 km) from Montreal, and about the same distance ...

, now a district of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu * A high school in

, Quebec, on the south shore of Montreal, is named after him. * A secondary school in Rouyn-Noranda, Québec, bears the name D'Iberville * Avenue Iberville, located in

Shawinigan Shawinigan () is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,349 as of the 2016 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, 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 ...

, Canada * Rue D'Iberville and the adjacent D'Iberville metro station in

, Quebec * The provincial electoral district of Iberville, Quebec * Mont d'Iberville, the highest mountain in Quebec * The city of D'Iberville,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

Iberville Parish, Louisiana Iberville Parish (french: Paroisse d'Iberville) is a parish located south of Baton Rouge in the U.S. state of Louisiana, formed in 1807. The parish seat is Plaquemine. At the 2010 U.S. census, the population was 33,387, and 30,241 at the 2020 ...

* Iberville Street in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Chicoutimi, Québec * Rue Iberville in Radisson, Québec *Rue d'Iberville in Alma, Québec * A number of French ships, notably: ** A torpedo aviso, one of the first French ships to be designated as a "''contre-torpilleur''" ( destroyer) ** A colonial sloop scuttled in Toulon harbor on 27 November 1942 * ,

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in ...

icebreaker. * Has a statue in Mobile erected in 2002, a gift from Hand Arendall, L.L.C. *The cafeteria at Northwestern State University of Louisiana is named for him. * '' Ibervillea'', a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s belonging to the family

Cucurbitaceae The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are: *'' Cucurbita'' – squash, pumpkin, zucchini, some gourds *'' La ...

, from Central America and Mexico.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Frégault, Guy. ''Iberville le conquérant.'' (Montréal, 1944).

External links

*
''Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville at the Valiants Memorial''

Iberville Prospectus
a
The Historic New Orleans Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Moyne Diberville, Pierre Explorers of Canada Explorers of the United States People of New France 1661 births 1706 deaths French explorers of North America French Navy officers French naval commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession Military personnel from Rouen Canadian nobility (French) Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Deaths from yellow fever Infectious disease deaths in Cuba Louisiana (New France) Le Moyne family 1680s in New France 1690s in New France 1700s in New France Military history of Canada Naval history of Canada Military history of Acadia Military history of New England Military history of Nova Scotia King William's War

Early life

Hudson Bay expeditions

King William's War

Exploring Louisiana

Queen Anne's War and his death

Honours

Legacy

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links