Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville
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Portrait by unknown artist
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| 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 9th Colonial Governor of French Louisiana | |
| In office 1701–1713 |
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| Monarch | Louis XIV |
| Preceded by | Sauvolle de la Villantry |
| Succeeded by | Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac |
| In office 1717–1718 |
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| Monarch | Louis XV |
| Preceded by | Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac |
| Succeeded by | Jean-Michel de Lepinay |
| In office 1724–1728 |
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| Monarch | Louis XV |
| Preceded by | Jean-Michel de Lepinay |
| Succeeded by | Pierre Dugué de Boisbriant |
| In office 1733–1743 |
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| Monarch | Louis XV |
| Preceded by | Étienne Perier |
| Succeeded by | Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 23, 1680 Montreal, New France |
| Died | March 7, 1767 (aged 87) Paris, Kingdom of France |
| Resting place | Cimetière de Montmartre |
| Known for | Founder of New Orleans |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of France |
| Branch/service |  French Navy French Army |
| Years of service | 1692–1758 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | Nine Years' War Chickasaw Wars |
| Awards | Order of Saint Louis Chevalier |
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (born February 23, 1680 – died March 7, 1767) was an important French leader in New France. He was also known as Sieur de Bienville. Born in Montreal, he became an early governor of French Louisiana. He was appointed governor four different times between 1701 and 1743. He was the younger brother of the famous explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne was the son of Charles le Moyne and Catherine Primot. His father was born in Longueil, France, and his mother in Rouen, France. Charles Le Moyne moved his family to Ville-Marie (now Montreal) when Jean-Baptiste was young. He had fourteen children in total.
Exploring the New World
When he was seventeen, Bienville joined his brother Iberville on a trip to start a new colony in Louisiana. Bienville explored the Gulf of Mexico coastline. Around 1699, he found Mobile Bay, but it was too shallow for their ships.
- He discovered Belle Fontaine, where an artesian spring bubbled from the beach. This spring is now under Mobile Bay.
- Bienville helped found part of the coastline in Mobile, Alabama.
- He also found the Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana and Cat Island and Ship Island off Mississippi.
- He then sailed up the Mississippi River to what is now Baton Rouge and False River.
Before returning to France, Iberville started the first settlement of the Louisiana colony in April 1699. This was Fort Maurepas (also called Old Biloxi) near present-day Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Iberville made Sauvolle de la Villantry the governor and Bienville his Lieutenant.
After Iberville left, Bienville explored the Mississippi River again. He met English ships at a place now called English Turn. When Iberville heard about this, he told Bienville to build a settlement on the first solid ground he found along the river. Bienville built Fort de la Boulaye fifty miles upriver.
Founding Mobile
Following his brother's advice, Bienville moved most of the settlers to a new place in what is now Alabama. This new settlement was on the west side of the Mobile River and was called Fort Louis de la Mobile. He also created a deepwater port nearby on Dauphin Island. This was because Mobile Bay and the Mobile River were too shallow for large ships.
The number of people in the colony changed over time. In 1704, Bienville arranged for twenty-four young French women to arrive. This was partly to prevent French soldiers from causing trouble with native women. These young women were traditionally called casquette girls because they carried their belongings in small trunks called cassettes.
The casquette girls stayed in Bienville's home and were cared for by Madame Langlois. She was a French-Canadian woman who knew how to cook local foods from native tribes. She taught these skills to the young women, which is thought to be the start of Creole cuisine. Some of these women married French soldiers, and the first recorded birth of a white child happened in 1705.
By 1708, the colony had 281 people, but this dropped to 178 two years later due to sickness. In 1709, a big flood covered Fort Louis de la Mobile. Because of the flood and diseases, Bienville ordered the settlement to move downriver. In 1711, they built another wooden Fort Louis at the current site of Mobile, Alabama.
By 1712, Antoine Crozat took over running Louisiana. The colony had 400 people. In 1713, a new governor arrived from France, and Bienville moved west. In 1716, he built Fort Rosalie at the current site of Natchez, Mississippi.
The new governor, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, did not stay long. He was not good at managing the colony, and it did not grow much. He was called back to France in 1716. Bienville became governor again for less than a year until Jean-Michel de Lepinay arrived from France.
Lepinay's time as governor was also short. Crozat gave control of the colony to John Law and his Company of the Indies. In 1718, Bienville became governor of Louisiana once more. During this time, Bienville founded the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Founding New Orleans
In 1717, Bienville wrote to the Company's Directors. He said he found a crescent-shaped bend in the Mississippi River that was safe from tidal surges and hurricanes. He suggested building the new capital of the colony there.
- Permission was given, and Bienville founded New Orleans in the spring of 1718. May 7 is often celebrated as the anniversary, but the exact day is not known.
- By 1719, enough huts and storage buildings were ready. Bienville began moving supplies and troops from Mobile.
- After disagreements with the colony's chief engineer, Pierre Le Blond de La Tour, Bienville told an assistant, Adrien de Pauger, to draw plans for the new city in 1720.
- In 1721, Pauger drew the eleven-by-seven block area now known as the French Quarter.
- Bienville named the new city "La Nouvelle-Orléans" to honor Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was the Prince Regent of France.
- New Orleans became the capital of French Louisiana by 1723, during Bienville's third term as governor.
Founding Biloxi
In 1719, during the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720), Bienville moved the capital of French Louisiana from Mobile. Mobile was too close to the battlefront with Spanish Pensacola. He moved the capital back to Fort Maurepas (Old Biloxi).
However, the settlement had to move again because of shifting sand bars. It moved across Biloxi Bay to found New Biloxi in 1719. After the move, Fort Maurepas was burned. This was a French custom to prevent enemies from using it.
Also in 1719, the new city of New Orleans was completely flooded. This showed that higher ground or levees would be needed for the city. The governing council wanted to keep the capital on the Gulf of Mexico at Biloxi. But the sandy soil around Biloxi made farming hard. Storms also filled Biloxi harbor with sand. New Orleans, however, was a deepwater port and closer to good farmland.
Finally, in June 1722, Bienville began moving the capital to New Orleans. The move was finished in August 1722. The year 1723 was the first full year with New Orleans as the capital of French Louisiana.
Chickasaw War
In 1725, Bienville was called back to France. He left the colony in the care of Pierre Dugué de Boisbriant, who was followed by Étienne Perier. Bienville returned to Louisiana in 1733.
This last time as governor was full of conflict. Relations with the Chickasaw people had gotten worse. Bienville planned a two-part attack. He ordered the Governor of the Illinois District, Pierre d'Artaguette, to bring his forces to meet him in Chickasaw territory for a combined attack.
- Bienville arrived late, so d'Artaguette attacked alone on March 25, 1736, and was defeated.
- After weeks of getting ready, Bienville attacked from the south on May 26, but his forces were also badly beaten.
Feeling ashamed, Bienville planned a second campaign. He gathered his forces at Chickasaw Bluff in 1739. The Chickasaws asked for peace, and a treaty was signed with Bienville in April 1740. After two campaigns that did not go as planned, Bienville asked to be removed from his duties as governor.
While waiting for a new governor, Bienville helped start a Charity Hospital. This hospital was funded by a sailor named Jean Louis. Bienville also led efforts to help when two hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast in late 1740. The new governor arrived in 1743, and Bienville sailed back to France. Even in France, he tried to help the colony he had worked so hard to build. He tried to stop France from giving the colony to Spain, but he was not successful. Bienville died in Paris in 1767.
Legacy and Recognition
A monument was built in New Orleans to honor Bienville for founding the city. It was created in 1955 by Angela Gregory. The monument shows Bienville standing on a pedestal. On one side, there is a Native American figure. On another side, there is a priest. The Le Moyne family coat of arms is also included on the monument.
Bienville is often called the Father of Louisiana because of his important role in its early history.
See also
In Spanish: Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville para niños
