The Rebellion of 1768, also known as the Revolt of 1768 or the Creole Revolt, was an unsuccessful attempt by the
Creole elite of
, along with nearby German settlers, to reverse the transfer of the French
Louisiana Territory
The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. The territory was formed out of the ...
to
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")
, i ...
, as had been stipulated in the 1762
Treaty of Fontainebleau.
The rebellion aimed to force the Spanish
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 ...
,
Antonio de Ulloa
Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre-Giralt, FRS, FRSA, KOS (12 January 1716 – 3 July 1795) was a Spanish naval officer, scientist, and administrator. At the age of nineteen, he joined the French Geodesic Mission to what is now the country o ...
, to leave New Orleans and return to Spain, but his replacement, General
Alejandro O'Reilly
Alejandro O'Reilly, 1st Count of O'Reilly, KOA (; October 24, 1723 in Baltrasna, Co. Meath, Ireland – March 23, 1794 in Bonete, Spain), English: Alexander, Count of O'Reilly, Irish: ''Alastar Ó Raghallaigh, ''was an Irish-born military refo ...
, was able to crush the rebellion, execute five of its ringleaders, and firmly establish Spanish control over the territory.
Background
In the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
at the conclusion of the global
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
, known in America as the
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the U ...
, France lost all of its territories on the North America continent including
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 ...
,
Illinois Country
The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Illinois ; , i.e. the Illinois people)—sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana)—was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is n ...
and Louisiana. It got to keep its
French West Indies islands in the Caribbean and also the islands of
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...
.
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
acquired Canada and all the land on the east bank of 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 fl ...
and its tributaries. As compensation from losses elsewhere, France handed over control of New Orleans and all the land on the west bank of the Mississippi River and its tributaries to their Spanish allies. Implementation of the turnover was slow in North America with the French continuing to expand its villages including founding
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. In April 1764 the first Spanish governor,
Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie, a French official who was administering Louisiana for the Spanish, took office and heard complaints from among the natives. d'Abbadie died from illness on February 4, 1765. The senior military officer in the colony Captain
Charles Philippe Aubry, a French officer, assumed control and continued to administer the colony for Spain. After a mass meeting in January 1765, Jean Milhet, a rich and influential New Orleans merchant, was sent to France to appeal directly to
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
to rescind the decision to transfer Louisiana to the Spanish crown, but the King would not grant him an audience.
On March 5, 1766, Antonio de Ulloa, the new Spanish governor, arrived, but brought with him only 90 soldiers and a small group of bureaucrats. Spain had expected French soldiers to join the Spanish army with the transfer of control of Louisiana, but few did. Having insufficient military support if there were to be an insurrection, he did not present his credentials and did not formally accept the handing over of the territory, not even raising the Spanish flag over the
Place d'Armes
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government
* "Place", a type of street or road name
** Often ...
. Instead, he decided to run the colony through Aubrey, the interim French governor. Ulloa finally took formal possession of the colony in late January 1767, in an impromptu ceremony held at
La Balize, Louisiana; however, he changed his mind the next day when it came time to sign the act of transfer, saying he would wait to do so when he had sufficient military support on hand. The elite of New Orleans were displeased at Ulloa's actions, especially as the transfer ceremony did not take place in New Orleans, the colony's capital, with what they saw as the necessary pomp. They were also confused that the French ''fleur-de-lis'' flag still flew over the city while the Spanish flag flew over La Balize.
Ulloa's superiors in
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. virtually ignored his many requests, including to replace the colony's French currency with pesos and the dispatch of more soldiers. Although fluent in French, Ulloa disliked New Orleans society, which he considered to be full of boors who drank too much and were profligate with their money. A Renaissance man, scholar, and
naturalist who also studied
cartography
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an i ...
,
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
, and
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
, Ullola preferred to spend his time at La Balize, nearer to the mouth of the Mississippi River, where he could live a simpler life studying the area's flora and fauna and corresponding with scientists and scholars from all over the world. In the summer of 1768, Ulloa announced plans to crack down on Louisiana's considerable smuggling operations by reducing the mouth of the Mississippi to a single channel to improve security; officially he spent his time at La Balize supervising the engineering of the project. At the same time, he also announced that Louisiana would no longer trade with other nations, including France and any of its colonies, consistent with policy in other Spanish possessions. Among the other trade policies enacted at the time were a ban on the importation of French wine and a requirement that Spanish sailors make up the majority of all ships' crews.
Rebellion
In the spring or early summer of 1768, Denis-Nicolas Foucault, who was Louisiana's
''commaissaire-ordonnateur'' — the chief financial officer of the colony — under the French, and had continued the position under the Spanish during the transition, and
Nicolas Chauvin de La Frénière, who was the Louisiana
attorney general under the French and also continuing under the Spanish, hatched a plot to force the governor out. Most of the complaints of the plotters, who included many of the colony's merchants and other elites, concerned restrictions on trade and other economic issues. The conspirators included many relatives, descendants, and in-laws of
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur 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 ...
, the father of New Orleans, and many of the insurrectionists were members of, or connected with, the Superior Council, created by the French as the colony's chief judicial institution, which gradually — because of lax control of the colony by Paris — had become as much a legislative entity as a legal one.
Joseph Milhet (the brother of Jean Milhet) was sent to villages west of the Mississippi to stir insurrection. Joseph Villeré went to communities northwest of New Orleans. Pierre Marquis was declared leader of the Louisiana militia. In the process, the conspirators arrested the French military officer
Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent on charges of collaborating with the enemy when Governor Ulloa sent him to the
German Coast
The German Coast (French: ''Côte des Allemands'', Spanish: ''Costa Alemana'', German: ''Deutsche Küste'') was a region of early Louisiana settlement located above New Orleans, and on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Specifically, from ea ...
to reassure the settlers there. Balthasar Masan went to the British territory of
West Florida
West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...
to request aid, which the British rejected. On October 28, as riots broke out in New Orleans, Aubry escorted the governor and his pregnant wife to the ''Volante'', the flagship
packet boat
Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...
on which he had arrived in the colony. The Superior Council voted that the governor must leave within three days. He complied, leaving on November 1 in a French vessel, as the ''Volante'' was undergoing repairs.
With the Spanish governor out of Louisiana, St. Maxent was also released. The Superior Council drew up the ''Memorial of the Planters and Merchants of Louisiana on the Revolt of October 29, 1768'', a defense of their actions based on Ulloa's supposed tyrannical rule and the commerce-destroying policies of the Spanish crown. It was intended for consumption both in New Orleans and in France, but they delayed in sending a delegation carrying it across the Atlantic. They did not arrive in Paris until 1769, by which time the version of events as described by Ulloa — who sent his accounting to Madrid as soon after setting foot in Cuba from New Orleans — and Aubrey — who sent his ''mémoire'' to Paris at about the same time — had become the accepted history. While the Parisian people supported the Superior Council's actions, the French court did not. Many officials refused to see the delegates from Louisiana at all, and none of them ever returned to the colony.
Spanish response
Around July 6, 1769 the Irish-born Spanish general
Alexander (Alejandro) O'Reilly — who fought for the Catholic armies of Austria, France, and Spain against the armies of the European Protestant powers — sailed to Louisiana with 23 ships, loaded with 46 cannons, 150,000 pesos, and almost 2,100 soldiers, both black and white, who he recruited in Cuba. The flotilla was headed by Ulloa's ''Volante'', which now served as O'Reilly's flagship. They reached La Balize on July 21. There, O'Reilly landed
Francisco Bouligny
Francisco Domingo Joseph Bouligny y Paret (; 4 September 1736 – 25 November 1800) was a high-ranking Spanish military and political figure in Spanish Louisiana. As a francophone in Spanish service, he was a bridge between Creole and French Lou ...
, his French-speaking aide-de-camp, who carried a letter for Governor Aubrey. Bouligny headed upstream to New Orleans, arriving there on the evening of July 24. He was met by a somber crowd, who had been alerted to his imminent arrival by a fast boat sent by the garrison at La Balize. The following morning, Aubrey assembled the people of the city, formally announcing the arrival of a Spanish armada of ships commanded by General O'Reilly, whose reputation was well known to them.
On July 27, O'Reilly had a "cordial" meeting on ''Volante'' at La Balize with three leaders of the conspiracy, La Frénière, Pierre Marquis and Joseph Milhet. La Frénière declared their profound respect for the Spanish king and noted that no blood had been shed in the rebellion. He blamed Ulloa's "subversion of the privileges assures by the act of cession" for making the rebellion necessary. O'Reilly's reply was succinct: "Gentlemen, it is not possible for me to judge things without first finding out about the prior circumstances." He pledged that he would hold a thorough investigation, and that "seditious people" would be brought to justice. O'Reilly's flotilla arrived in New Orleans after several weeks sailing upstream. O'Reilly disembarked on August 18, having previously met with Aubrey to tell him that he wished to hold the ceremony of taking formal possession of Louisiana as soon as he arrived. A cannon shot announced the beginning of the spectacle, which included the disembarking of all of O'Reilly's troops, which included 90 horsemen. Spanish officials who had remained in New Orleans when Ulloa left joined O'Reilly's entourage. Aubrey read out the transfer orders from the kings of France and Spain, and laid the keys to the city's gates at O'Reilly's feet. The French flag was formally lowered and the Spanish flag raised, and artillery and musket fire rang out, while French and Spanish soldiers cried "Long live the Kings!." The ceremony concluded with a ''
Te Deum
The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...
'' in the cathedral.
Aftermath
The next morning, August 19, O'Reilly requested of Aubrey a full account of the rebellion, providing the names of the ring-leaders and their deeds, and the authors of the 'Memorial of the Planters and Merchants'. This Aubrey gave to O'Reilly on the following day. On the morning of the 21st, after reading Aubrey's document, O'Reilly informed him that he planned to arrest and try the leaders, nine of whom were invited to his quarters under various pretexts. O"Reilly accused them of treason, and told them they were arrested. They gave up their swords and were escorted away. Because of the many family and commercial connections between the conspirators and the rest of New Orleans' elites and merchants, there was much trepidation among concerning what would happen to them. O'Reilly put them at ease by telling them that he wanted to administer "precise justice", and that they had nothing to fear. He posted an amnesty proclamation on the 22nd, and another on the 24th telling free inhabitants to come to his residence on the 26th to swear loyalty to the Spanish crown.
The trial itself began shortly after the conspirators were arrested, and did not conclude until October 24. Its form was the Spanish ''proceso'', in which depositions of witnesses were followed by interrogation of the accused. Each one had an advocate appointed for them, even Joseph Villeré, who had died, because a finding of guilty could affect the disposition of his estate. A painstaking royal prosecutor and a university-trained advocate who had come with O'Reilly from Havana conducted the proceedings. O'Reilly's aide-de-camp, Bouligny, was the official translator. The defendants argued that they could not be tried under Spanish law, because Ulloa had never formally received possession of the colony, an argument which they lost. The result of the trial was finding of sedition and treason for all the defendants.
O'Reilly handed down his sentence a few days after the end of the trial. Five of the accused — La Frénière, Marquis, Joseph Milhet, Pierre Caresse, and Jean-Baptiste de Noyan — were sentenced to death on October 25 and were executed by firing squad on October 26; this would also have been Villeré's fate if he had not died. The five are depicted on a frieze on the front of the
Louisiana State Capital exterior. Foucault, who was a French official, was sent back to France, where he was interrogated and then given an indefinite prison sentence, of which he served two years. Five other plotters were sent to prison in Cuba, one for life, two for 10 years, and the rest for 6 years. They were released after two years. All of the property of the condemned men — except for their dowries — was confiscated. Twenty-one other conspirators were banished from Louisiana, although one, an aging man, was allowed to live out the rest of his life in New Orleans.
One month after the executions, O'Reilly promulgated new laws for the colony, known as "O'Reilly's Code" or "Code O'Reilly". It combined the
Laws of the Indies
The Laws of the Indies ( es, Leyes de las Indias) are the entire body of laws issued by the Spanish Crown for the American and the Asian possessions of its empire. They regulated social, political, religious, and economic life in these areas. T ...
with O'Reilly's understanding of the
Castilian-derived laws of Spain — the
Siete Partidas
The ''Siete Partidas'' (, "Seven-Part Code") or simply ''Partidas'', was a Crown of Castile, Castilian Statute, statutory code first compiled during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile (1252–1284), with the intent of establishing a uniform body ...
or "Seven-Part Code" — but left in place colloquial French legal procedures which were consonant with Spanish law. The administrative and judicial systems were overhauled, and the courts were decentralized, putting local justices in place and abolishing the Superior Council, the members of which were largely responsible for the rebellion. It was replaced by the
Cabildo, a council which was used throughout Spanish America.
The territory remained in Spanish hands until 1800, when on paper it was returned to
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 area ...
following the
Third Treaty of San Ildefonso
The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso was a secret agreement signed on 1 October 1800 between the Spanish Empire and the French Republic by which Spain agreed in principle to exchange its North American colony of Louisiana for territories in Tuscany ...
. However, Spanish officials continued to administer the colony. In April 1803,
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
sold ''
La Louisiane
Louisiana (french: La Louisiane; ''La Louisiane Française'') or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682 to 1769 and 1801 (nominally) to 1803, the area was named in honor of King Louis XIV, ...
'' to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
in the
Louisiana Purchase
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 app ...
, in exchange for money and the cancellation of French debts. Late in 1803 and in the spring of 1804, both of these transfers were formalized back-to-back, with the French flag being raised temporarily in
and again later in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. Then the French flag was lowered and the American flag raised. The 1804 ceremony in St. Louis, was called
Three Flags Day Three Flags Day commemorates March 9, and 10, 1804, when Spain officially completed turning over the Louisiana colonial territory to France, who then officially turned over the same lands to the United States, in order to finalize the 1803 Louisian ...
. Elements of French law still remain in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
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 ...
.
See also
*
French Louisiana
The term French Louisiana refers to two distinct regions:
* first, to colonial French Louisiana, comprising the massive, middle section of North America claimed by France during the 17th and 18th centuries; and,
* second, to modern French Louisi ...
*
Louisiana (New France)
Louisiana (french: La Louisiane; ''La Louisiane Française'') or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682 to 1769 and 1801 (nominally) to 1803, the area was named in honor of King Louis XIV, ...
*
Louisiana (New Spain)
Spanish Louisiana ( es, link=no, la Luisiana) was a governorate and administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1762 to 1801 that consisted of a vast territory in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of t ...
*
France in the Seven Years' War
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 ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louisiana Rebellion Of 1768
Conflicts in 1768
1768 in New Spain
1768 in New France
1768 in North America
18th-century rebellions
Louisiana (New Spain)
German-American culture in Louisiana
Louisiana Creole
Wars involving Spain
Rebellions against the Spanish Empire