Pierre de Rigaud
Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil de Cavagnial (born November 22, 1698 in Québec , † August 4, 1778 in Paris , Rue des Tournelles ), Margrave of Vaudreuil and naval officer, was the last Governor General of New France .
Life
Of all the French governors of New France, Pierre de Rigaud was the only one born in New France. His former dominions lay west of the city of Montréal and included the villages of Vaudreuil-Dorion , Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac , L'Île-Cadieux , Saint-Lazare and Hudson .
After New France was lost to France in the Seven Years War , de Rigaud lived until his death at Colliers Castle in Muides-sur-Loire (later Loir-et-Cher ). Two battle paintings from the former Louisiana colony are on display in the entrance area of the castle .
Governor of Trois-Rivières
When the death of the governor of Montréal Jean Bouillet de la Chassaigne was foreseeable in 1731 , Rigaud met with the naval minister Maurepas to recommend himself for the post that would soon become vacant. Instead, he was made governor of Trois-Rivières , an office he held until 1742.
Louisiana
On July 1, 1742, Rigaud was promoted by Maurepas to governor of the Louisiana colony, replacing his predecessor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville . Rigaud did not arrive in New Orleans until May 10, 1743 . There he proved to be an energetic administrator and ordered clearing and reclamation . The external circumstances were not favorable, because the colony was only sparsely populated and the few inhabitants concentrated on the city of New Orleans, on a narrow band of farms along the Mississippi and a few trading posts for fur . Because of its inner-continental location, the province was encircled by the two other colonial powers England and Spain and by some Indian tribes. In addition, communication with the mother country was slow and supplying the colony made high demands on the logistics. For the military protection of Louisiana, Rigaud received 1850 soldiers in 1750.
He knew that he had to bind the Indians to the French cause and detach them from the English in order to guarantee peace in the colony. So he tried by various means to limit the English influence on the interior of the continent.
Rigaud developed the trade in colonial products with the relatively close Spanish colonies of Cuba and Mexico. He encouraged, with a view to export, the manufacture of hides, tobacco, rice and indigo . In 1753 he was succeeded by Louis Billouart de Kerlerec .
The surrender
In 1755 Rigaud became Governor General of New France. He headed the colony during the Seven Years' War in North America (1754–1763). The French colonies in North America were one of the theaters of this war between France and England, which was also fought for supremacy in North America and India .
After the battle on the Plains of Abraham during the siege of Québec , in which Louis-Joseph de Montcalm died (he and Rigaud often argued), Rigaud considered the most favorable course of action. After speaking with the council of war, he decided that the troops should withdraw to the Rivière Jacques-Cartier , although Vaudreuil and Intendant François Bigot were in favor of continuing the fighting.
Riogaud transferred the command of the Quebec garrison to Jean Baptiste Nicolas Roch de Ramezay and gave him orders to hold out as long as possible. But he also authorized him to surrender if the situation (especially for the population) was no longer tenable. Quebec capitulated on September 18, 1759. Rigaud and the government of New France withdrew to Montréal. In view of the impending British attack on the city and the hopeless situation, he wanted to spare the last soldiers defending the city. So he ordered François-Gaston de Lévis and his 2,400 soldiers to surrender. Rigaud signed the surrender that led to the surrender of Montreal to British troops on September 8, 1760, on the eve of a siege of the city.
The Canada Affair
On his return to France, Rigaud was brought before a tribunal - they were looking for a scapegoat . He was convicted, along with other administrators of New France, including the François Bigot and Louis-Joseph de Montcalm (who was already dead). The defense of the colony and the Seven Years' War had incurred high costs, which France had financed through borrowing.
Rigaud was locked up in the Bastille on March 30, 1762 ; on May 18, he was provisionally released; acquitted on December 10, 1763 - after a long process in which he was able to show that he was not to blame. In compensation, the king offered him compensation in the form of a pension of 6,000 livres.
Awards, miscellaneous
In Quebec there is a plaque on a stone in front of the church "Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil-Dorion". The Rivière Rigaud in Canada is named after him.
In 1730 he received the Ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis (also known as Croix de Saint-Louis ). After the Canada Affair, King Louis XV. him the Grand Cross of this order.
swell
- ↑ a b c W. J. Eccles: Rigaud de Vaudreuil de Cavagnial, Pierre de, Marquis de Vaudreuil . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
- ↑ Colliers Castle
literature
- WJ Eccles: Rigaud de Vaudreuil de Cavagnial, Pierre de, Marquis de Vaudreuil . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
- Bill Barron: The Vaudreuil Papers: A Calendar and Index of the Personal and Private Records of Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, Royal Governor of the French Province of Louisiana, 1743–1753. Polyanthos, New Orleans 1975.
- Guy Frégault : Le Grand marquis: Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil et la Louisiane , Montréal: Fides, 1952.
- Guy Frégault: La Guerre de la Conquête. Montréal: Fides, 1955.
- Pierre-Georges Roy : La Famille de Rigaud de Vaudreuil , Lévis, 1938. ( en ligne )
- Louis Le Jeune : Pierre de Cavagnal, marquis de Vaudreuil. In: Dictionnaire général de biographie, histoire, littérature, agriculture, commerce, industrie et des arts, sciences, mœurs, coutumes, institutions politiques et religieuses du Canada. volume II, Université d'Ottawa 1931, pp. 764–767 ( en ligne )
- Henri-Raymond Casgrain : Lettres du marquis de Vaudreuil au chevalier de Lévis. 1895. ( en ligne )
- Henri-Raymond Casgrain: Extraits des archives des Ministères de la marine et de la guerre à Paris: Canada, Correspondance générale, MM. Duquesne et Vaudreuil, Gouverneurs-generaux, 1755–1760. LJ Demers, Québec 1890. ( en ligne )
- Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil: Mémoire pour le marquis de Vaudreuil, grand-croix de l'Ordre royale & militaire de Saint-Louis, ci-devant governor & lieutenant général de la Nouvelle France. Imprimerie de Moreau, 1763.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Rigaud, Pierre de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Rigaud de Vaudreuil de Cavagnial, Pierre de |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French Governor General |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 22, 1698 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Quebec |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 4, 1778 |
| Place of death | Paris , rue des Tournelles |