Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent (also spelled Saint–Maxent) (1724 – August 8, 1794) was a French merchant and military officer who played a major role in the development of French and

Spanish Louisiana 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 ...

. St. Maxent was born in

Longwy Longwy (; older german: Langich, ; lb, label= Luxemburgish, Lonkech) is a commune in the French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, administrative region of Grand Est, northeastern France. The inhabitants are known as ''Longoviciens'' ...

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

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 ...

. In 1747 he moved to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, the French colonial capital of

Lower Louisiana Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also *Nizhny Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́� ...

. He enlisted in the French Army and in 1749 married the wealthy Elizabeth La Roche (1734–1809), with whom he had nine children, including Maximilien François de St. Maxent, who became a colonial governor 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 ...

, Elizabeth St Maxent, wife of governor

Luis de Unzaga Luis de Unzaga y Amézaga (1717–1793), also known as Louis Unzaga y Amezéga le Conciliateur, Luigi de Unzaga Panizza and Lewis de Onzaga, was governor of Spanish Louisiana from late 1769 to mid-1777, as well as a Captain General of Venezuela ...

, and Felicite de Saint Maxent, wife of governor Bernardo de Galvez.Family tree of Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent and Elizabeth LaRoche
retrieved on 6 June 2017. He used the

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

to open a business on

Conti Street Conti is an Italian surname. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 63.5% of all known bearers of the surname ''Conti'' were residents of Italy (frequency 1:756), 11.8% of the United States (1:24,071), 9.2% of Brazil (1:17,439), 6.3% of Argentina ...

to supply fur traders. In 1753 he was promoted to colonel and commandant of the Louisiana Regiment, by Governor Louis de Billouart Kerlerec. He was to distinguish himself in battles defending Louisiana against incursions by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classif ...

in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

during the

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 ...

Founding of St. Louis

In 1755 Kerlerec gave St. Maxent exclusive rights to deal with Native Americans west 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 ...

. St. Maxent's most ambitious effort was the formation of Maxent, Laclède & Company in which he gave 25 percent ownership to

Pierre Laclède Pierre Laclède Liguest or Pierre Laclède (22 November 1729 – 20 June 1778) was a French fur trader who, with his young assistant and stepson Auguste Chouteau, founded St. Louis in 1764, in what was then Spanish Upper Louisiana, in present-da ...

. In 1763 LaClede selected a site on a

bluff Bluff or The Bluff may refer to: Places Australia * Bluff, Queensland, Australia, a town * The Bluff, Queensland (Ipswich), a rural locality in the city of Ipswich * The Bluff, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a rural locality * Bluff River (New ...

above the west side of the Mississippi River, just south of the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, for a settlement that was to be called Saint Louis. According to legend, work on clearing the site began on

Saint Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thro ...

of 1764. St. Louis was founded before news arrived that in the

Treaty of Paris (1763) The Treaty of Paris, also known as the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763 by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement, after Great Britain and Prussia's victory over France and Spain during the S ...

, which ended the

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 ...

would take over France's possessions on the west of the Mississippi River and that the British were to assume control over French possessions on the east side of the river. After the news arrived, French colonists on the east side of the river moved to the west side, at St. Louis.

Rebellion of 1768

St. Maxent, whose fortune was tied to France, was to have his loyalties severely tested in the transition from French to Spanish control. St. Maxent was one of the first Frenchmen to pledge his allegiance to the new 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 ...

, and Ulloa was named godfather of one of St. Maxent's daughters. St. Maxent entered into contracts to supply Spanish frigates. When the Creole and German settlers around New Orleans resisted Spanish rule in the Rebellion of 1768, they imprisoned St. Maxent at his plantation from October 25 to 29, 1768, releasing him after Ulloa was forced out of the city to return to Spain. In January 1769, St. Maxent thwarted the plotters' efforts to enlist Native Americans in the planned resistance to any

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

attempt to reclaim New Orleans. In May 1769, the partnership with Laclede was dissolved, with Laclede buying the St. Louis facilities for 80,000 livres and the first payment due in June 1771. In August 1769,

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 ...

restored Spanish authority in New Orleans, putting down the rebellion and executing five ringleaders while imprisoning five others. O'Relly abolished the Superior Council, which had governed Louisiana during the French period, replacing it with the Spanish cabildo and replacing the French laws with the Spanish code. O'Reilly gave St. Maxent a new patent for the fur business, for the firm St. Maxent and Ranson. This firm, which rivaled Laclède's, was to contribute to Laclède's declining fortunes in St. Louis. St. Maxent's first daughter, Marie-Elizabeth de St. Maxent, married the next Spanish governor

, in 1775. His second daughter Marie-Félicité de St. Maxent d'Estrehan, a wealthy widow, married Unzaga's successor,

Bernardo de Gálvez Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Count of Gálvez (23 July 1746 – 30 November 1786) was a Spanish military leader and government official who served as colonial governor of Spanish Louisiana and Cuba, and later as Viceroy of New Sp ...

. Galvez was to succeed his father later as Viceroy of New Spain. During this period it is believed that St. Maxent was the richest man in the entire territory. He built a series of lavish homes. In the Great New Orleans Fire of 1788 which destroyed most of the city's buildings, St. Maxent was officially commended by the Spanish for opening his home to many refugees and for selling supplies to the Spanish at the same price as before the fire.

American Revolution

During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Spain sided with the French and United States against the British and St. Maxent was placed in charge of the militia (but not Spanish regulars), which saw action in the

Gulf Coast campaign The Gulf Coast campaign or the Spanish conquest of West Florida in the American Revolutionary War, was a series of military operations primarily directed by the governor of Spanish Louisiana, Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez, Bernar ...

, including the

Capture of Fort Bute The Capture of Fort Bute signalled the opening of Spanish intervention in the American Revolutionary War on the side of France and the United States. Mustering an ad hoc army of Spanish regulars, Acadian militia, and native levies under Gilbert ...

, the Battle of Baton Rouge (which resulted in the capture of both

Fort New Richmond Fort New Richmond was built by the British in 1779 on the east bank of the Mississippi River in what was later to become Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Spanish took control of the fort in 1779 and renamed it Fort San Carlos. Revolutionary War The ...

and

Fort Panmure Fort Rosalie was built by the French in 1716 within the territory of the Natchez Native Americans and it was part of the French colonial empire in the present-day city of Natchez, Mississippi. Early history As part of the peace terms that ...

(future Natchez, Mississippi), the Battle of Fort Charlotte (1780), and ultimately the

Siege of Pensacola The siege of Pensacola was a siege fought in 1781, the culmination of Spain's conquest of the British province of West Florida during the Gulf Coast campaign. Background When Spain entered the War in 1779, Bernardo de Gálvez, the energeti ...

(1781). For his actions, he was named Commandant of the Militia of Louisiana, Lt. Governor of the Provinces of Louisiana and West Florida, Captain-General of the new Bureau of Indian Affairs of Louisiana and West Florida. In 1782, he traveled to Spain to get concessions from

King Carlos III it, Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Elisabeth Farnese , birth_date = 20 January 1716 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain , death_d ...

, including permission to import slaves without paying duty. As part of the negotiation, he agreed not to export

specie Specie may refer to: * Coins or other metal money in mass circulation * Bullion coins * Hard money (policy) * Commodity money Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects ...

(gold bars). While returning to Louisiana in 1782, his two ships and crew were captured by British naval forces and sent to Kingston, Jamaica, where St. Maxent was held under house arrest and his men put in prison. They obtained lenient treatment through bribes. The revolutionary war ended with 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 ...

, and St. Maxent's fortunes quickly soured. One of his British benefactors was arrested 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.

, St. Maxent was implicated in smuggling specie (''gold''), and the Spanish revoked his titles and embargoed his property. Adding to his woes, his New Orleans warehouse was destroyed in the Great New Orleans Fire of 1788, and in 1789 he was again arrested by Governor

Esteban Rodríguez Miró Esteban Rodríguez Miró y Sabater, KOS (1744 – June 4, 1795), also known as Esteban Miro and Estevan Miro, was a Spanish army officer and governor of the Spanish American provinces of Louisiana and Florida. Miró was one of the most popular ...

. St. Maxent eventually cleared himself of the charges, but the process tied him up for the rest of his life. The next Spanish governor,

Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondelet Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondelet y Bosoist, 5th Baron of Carondelet, (born 1748, Noyelles-sur-Selle, Flanders – died 1807 Quito, Ecuador) was a Spanish administrator of partial Burgundian descent in the employ of the Spanish Empire. He ...

, called him back to military duty to help build Fort San Felipe. Carondelet recommended that he be promoted to

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, but he died in 1794.

References

Bibliography

*''Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent: The Spanish-Frenchman of New Orleans'' by James J. Coleman, Jr., 2001. *''El gobernador Luis de Unzaga (1717-1793) Precursor en el nacimiento de los EE.UU. y en el liberalismo.'' by Cazorla, Frank (Coord.) Coautores: Cazorla-Granados, F. J. : Fundación Málaga, Málaga, 2020. pp. 49, 54, 63-65, 70, 150, 207.

External links

St. Maxent in the ''Dictionary of Louisiana Biography''
of the

Louisiana Historical Association The Louisiana Historical Association is an organization established in 1889 in 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 20 ...

(Scroll down.)
Family tree of Gilbert Antoine de Saint–Maxent and Elizabeth LaRoche
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Maxent, Gilbert 1724 births 1794 deaths French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Spanish military personnel of the American Revolutionary War People of Louisiana (New France) People of New Spain French people of the French and Indian War People of Louisiana in the American Revolution