Louisiana:
The History of an American State
Chapter 7
Louisiana’s Spanish
Colonial Era:
Stability and Success
Study Presentation
©2005 Clairmont Press
Chapter 7:
Louisiana’s Spanish Colonial
Era: Stability and Success
Section
Section
Section
Section
1:
2:
3:
4:
Louisiana Becomes a Spanish Colony
Spanish Control
Louisiana in the American Revolution
Spanish Louisiana after the American
Revolution
Section 1: Louisiana
Becomes a Spanish Colony
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
–What events led to the transfer of
Louisiana from France to Spain?
Section 1: Louisiana
Becomes a Spanish Colony
What word do I need to know?
1. treason
Louisiana Becomes a
Spanish Colony
• 1762: Louisiana transferred to Spain by
France (during French & Indian War)
– Accomplished with secret Treaty of
Fountainebleu
– Money and military aid needed from Spain
• New colony – expensive for Spain to
operate
– Huge military expense
• New colony – a strategic location for Spain
The Acadians
• The Acadians – exiles from French Acadia
– Peasants coming from France to Canada
(1632)
– Hard-working trappers & farmers
– Valued land, family, Catholic faith
• 1755: Acadians evicted from their land
– Accused by British officer of refusal to take
oath of allegiance to Protestant British King
– Sent to British colonies on Atlantic Coast
The Acadians
• 1764: Arrival of first Acadian group in
Louisiana
– Given supplies from government warehouses
– Sent to live in Attakapa region
– Raised livestock on prairies
– Increased in numbers in colony
• Present-day Louisiana – home to
descendants of Acadians
The Secret Transfer
• Government official sent by French to
transfer colony to Spain (1763)
– Transfer kept as secret from colonists
– French officials waiting for arrival of Spanish
• September 30, 1764: official
announcement regarding transfer of
colony from France to Spain
– Colonists bitter about betrayal of France
– Leader (Jean Milhet) selected to urge France
to keep Louisiana
Arrival of the
Spanish Governor
• Antonio de Ulloa – sent by Spain to
Louisiana as 1st Spanish governor (1766)
– Little ability as forceful leader
– Rule as governor confusing to colonists
• Unpopular changes made by Ulloa
– Worked with French officials to conduct
business of colony
– Tried to impose Spanish trade rules on colony
The Rebellion
• 1768: Rebellion of mob against Ulloa
• Appeal by the people to French King to
return Louisiana to French family
– Pleas ignored by King Louis XV (no desire
to offend ally, King Carlos III of Spain)
– Colony an expensive burden to maintain
• Help requested from British governor at
Pensacola
Arrival of the Military
• Colonists’ actions considered by Spanish
to be treason
• Alejandro (Alexander) O’Reilly selected to
regain and control colony
• Power of Spain asserted by O’Reilly
– Required colonists to take oath of allegiance
to Spain
– Leaders of rebellion sentenced to death or
prison
• O’Reilly called “Bloody O’Reilly” by French
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Section 2:
Spanish Control
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
–What was the Spanish plan for the
Louisiana colony?
Section 2:
Spanish Control
What words do I need to know?
1. Cabildo
2. surveyor
Order and Organization
• O’Reilly charged with removing French
power and law from Spanish colony
– Used Spanish colonial law as model
– Replaced French Superior Council with
Spanish Cabildo
– Abolished Indian slavery
• Population census commissioned by
O’Reilly
• End of rebellion – colony under control
Louisiana Under Unzaga
• Luis de Unzaga y Amezaga sent with
O’Reilly to become next governor
– Overlooked Spanish laws, allowed British
merchants to set up shops in New Orleans
– Appointed many French to government
positions
– Repaired & strengthened Louisiana forts
• More soldiers brought into colony
• Sell of firearms to Indian tribes (increased
the loyalty of the Indians)
The Isleños
• Arrival of new colonists from Spanish
Canary Islands (off NW coast of Africa)
– Called themselves Isleños (Spanish word for
“islanders”)
– Faced disease, hurricanes, lost ships, delays
– Death of many (settlements of few in colony)
• Isleños brought to Louisiana for military
purposes
– Directed to become farmers
– Given basics by Spanish government
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Section 3: Louisiana in the
American Revolution
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
–What was Spanish Louisiana’s role
in the American Revolution?
Section 3: Louisiana in the
American Revolution
What words do I need to know?
1. neutral
2. militia
3. siege
Louisiana in the American
Revolution
• April, 1775 – beginning of American
Revolution (“the shot heard round the
world”) in Lexington, Massachusetts
• Resistance from colonists (British
troops sent to seize their weapons)
• July 4, 1776 – Independence from
King George III & Great Britain
declared by American colonies
Spain Supports the
American Revolution
• Spain glad to see Great Britain in trouble
• Americans secretly supported by Spanish
with supplies from New Orleans
• 1777 – Bernardo de Gálvez (new
governor)
• Secret Spanish assistance to Continental
Congress directed from New Orleans by
American agent Oliver Pollock
Spain Enters the War
• 1779: Spain entered war
– Allies with France against British
– Did not become ally of Americans
• September 21, 1779: British fort (New
Richmond – present-day Baton Rouge)
seized by Gálvez
• Mobile and fort at Pensacola captured by
Gálvez
– Gálvez honored with royal title
– Gálvez still honored today as Spanish hero
The War Ends
• 1783: war ends with Treaty of Paris
• Florida – a possession of Spain again
• Camino Real (“Road of the King”)
improved to protect Spain’s possessions
• Route from Texas to Louisiana used by
vaqueros (cowboys)
– Part of this old Spanish trail (presentday Highway 90 in Louisiana)
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Section 4: Spanish Louisiana
after the American Revolution
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
–What were the issues with
American settlers and the results of
Pinckney’s Treaty?
Section 4: Spanish Louisiana
after the American Revolution
What words do I need to know?
1. French Revolution
2. right of deposit
Spanish Louisiana after the
American Revolution
• Gálvez promoted to another
assignment in colonial Spain
• Esteban Rodriquez Miro sent to
Louisiana as new governor
(1785)
Challenges
• Major problems with Native Americans
• After war’s end – push of American settlers toward
Spanish territory
• Desire of Spanish government for more loyal
colonists in Spanish Louisiana
• 1788: Great New Orleans Fire (856 homes lost)
• 1794: Another devastating fire
• Improvement of life in colony
– Looser trade laws by Spain
– Increase in population
• 1790: Establishment of Fort Miro
– Origin of city of Monroe
– Name given to honor Governor Miro
Growth
• 1791: Francisco Luis Hector,
Baron de Carondelet chosen as
next Spanish governor
–Allowed free trade with United
States
–Permitted foreign trade ships to
enter port of New Orleans
The French Revolution
• Unrest in colony due to French Revolution
– Connection of French heritage of many
colonists
– Attraction of ideas of freedom
• Situation in France more violent (beginning
of “the Reign of Terror”)
– Loyal French in constant danger of being
beheaded
– Escape of some of noble class to Louisiana
Boundary Disputes
• Push of western American farmers for
more access to port of New Orleans
• 1795: Pinckney’s Treaty formulated to
solve situation
– free navigation of Mississippi to Americans
– agreement of right of deposit
– boundary set between United States and the
Spanish territory
The Final Spanish Years
• 1794: Beginning of 1st newspaper in the
colony (Le Moniteur de la Louisiane)
• New Orleans lifestyle offensive to Spanish
priests
• Jesuits credited with bringing sugar cane
to Louisiana
• Importation of slaves – temporarily
stopped by Carondelet
• Colony still unable to support itself (too
expensive for Spain to keep)
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