The sieur de Sauvolle (c. 1671 – 1701), known for certainty only by his surname,[a] was the first governor of the French territory of Louisiana. He accompanied the brothers Iberville and Bienville on their first voyage to Louisiana in 1699 and their explorations inland. On May 2, 1699, he was appointed commander of the new Fort Maurepas, and in January 1700 he became the territory's governor.
Sauvolle | |
|---|---|
| 1st French Governor of Louisiana | |
| In office 1699–1701 | |
| Monarch | Louis XIV |
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1671 France |
| Died | August 22, 1701 Fort Maurepas, Louisiana, New France |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  |
| Branch/service | French Navy |
As governor, he worked to develop friendly relations with the Biloxi, Pascagoula, and Mobile indigenous peoples, and oversaw construction of Fort De La Boulaye to guard against attempts by British traders to establish a foothold on the Mississippi River.[4]
His journal is one of the earliest sources for the history of the region. Sauvolle died suddenly, likely from yellow fever, on August 21, 1701.[5]
Despite the survival of his journal entries and the journals of Iberville, almost nothing is known about Sauvolle: neither his ancestry nor the year of his birth, nor even much of his name. Iberville mentions him as "M. de Sauvolle".[2] Statements by various historians that his first name was Antoine or François-Marie, that he was the sieur de la Villantry, or that he was a brother of Iberville and Bienville are assertions not supported by multiple sources.[5]
Notes
edit- ^ Thompson, Maurice (1888). The Story of Louisiana. Boston, Massachusetts: D. Lothrop Co. p. 26.
- ^ a b Iberville, Pierre Le Moyne (1981) [1700]. "Second Voyage to the Mississippi: The Journal of the Renommée". In McWilliams, Richebourg Gaillard (ed.). Iberville's Gulf Journals. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. pp. 106–156. ISBN 978-0-8173-0539-0.
- ^ Iberville, Pierre Le Moyne (1981) [1702]. "Third Voyage to the Mississippi: The Journal of the Renommée". In McWilliams, Richebourg Gaillard (ed.). Iberville's Gulf Journals. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. pp. 157–179. ISBN 978-0-8173-0539-0.
- ^ Higginbotham, Jay (2017-07-11). "Jean de Sauvole". Mississippi Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
- ^ a b Hémard, Ned (2018). "Sauvolle, Man of Mystery" (PDF). New Orleans Nostalgia. p. 4.
External links
edit
- Gayarré, Charles (1854). History of Louisiana: The French Domination. Vol. 1. New York, New York: Redfield. pp. 71–78. (a somewhat romanticized account)
- Galloway, Patricia Kay (1990). "Sieur de Sauvole". In Dawson III, Joseph G. (ed.). The Louisiana Governors: From Iberville to Edwards. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: LSU Press. pp. 4–7. ISBN 978-0-8071-1527-5.
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