Isaac de Razilly (1587–1635) was a member of the

French nobility The French nobility () was an Aristocracy, aristocratic social class in France from the France in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First French Empire, ...

appointed a knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem at the age of 18. He was born at the Château d'Oiseaumelle in the Province of Touraine,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. A member of the

French navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

, he served for many years during which he played an important role in the French colony of

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

. He was the son of François de Razilly and Catherine de Villiers, brother of Claude de Razilly and François de Razilly.

Brazil

Isaac de Razily explored the coast of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in 1612-15 near the island of

Marajó Marajó () is a large coastal island in the state of Pará, Brazil. It is the main and largest of the islands in the Marajó Archipelago. Marajó Island is separated from the mainland by Marajó Bay, Pará River, smaller rivers (especially M ...

, in the attempts to establish France Equinoxiale, with his brother and leader of the expedition François de Razilly.

Morocco (1619–1624)

Issac de Razilly already sailed to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

in 1619, under the orders of Louis XIII who was considering a colonial venture in Morocco. He was able to reconnoiter the coast as far as

Mogador Essaouira ( ; ), known until the 1960s as Mogador (, or ), is a port city in the western Morocco, Moroccan region of Marrakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It has 77,966 inhabitants as of 2014. The foundation of the city of Essao ...

. In 1624, he was put in charge of an embassy to the pirate harbour of Salé in Morocco, in order to solve the affair of the

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

of Mulay Zidan. He was imprisoned and put under chains before being released, although he had to leave many Christian captives behind. The mission of Razilly was accompanied by the first Capuchins to establish themselves in Morocco.

Blockade of La Rochelle (1625)

Razilly took part in the Blockade of La Rochelle during the suppression of the Huguenot rebellion, where he commanded the blockade fleet, and lost an eye there. Soon after, in 1626, he wrote pamphlets advocating commercial expansion overseas, either in Africa, Asia or America, such as his ''Articles pour persuader un chacun de risquer sur mer et trouver fonds pour la navigation''. He submitted the memorandum to

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

Morocco (1629)

As Richelieu and Père Joseph were attempting to establish a colonial policy, Razilly suggested them to occupy

(Essaouira) in

in 1626. The objective was to create a base against the Sultan of

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

, and asphyxiate the harbour of Safi. He departed for Salé on 20 July 1629 with a fleet composed of the ships ''Licorne'', ''Saint-Louis'', ''Griffon'', ''Catherine'', ''Hambourg'', ''Sainte-Anne'', ''Saint-Jean''. He bombarded the city the Salé and destroyed 3 corsair ships, and then sent the ''Griffon'' under reilleboi to Mogador. The men of Razilly saw the fortress of Castelo Real in Mogador, and landed 100 men with wood and supplies on Mogador island, with the agreement of Richelieu. After a few days however, the ''Griffon'' reimbarked the colonists, and departed to rejoin the fleet in Salé. In 1630, Razilly was able to negotiate the purchase of French slaves from the Moroccans. He visited Morocco again in 1631, and participated to the negotiation of the Franco-Moroccan Treaty of 1632, with the help of descendants of Samuel Pallache (see Pallache family).

Acadia (1632)

In 1632, Razilly became involved, at the request of

, in the colonization of

. Razilly landed at La Hève, now LaHave, Nova Scotia, with 300 men and 3 monks and built Fort Sainte Marie de Grace. He took possession of Port Royal to establish a French colony and offered the Scottish settlers to buy back their lands and give them a safe trip back to Scotland. To deal with a shortage of funds, a company was set up by Razilly and some of his friends which became known as the Razilly-Condonnier company. Together with the Compagnie de la Nouvelle France, an expedition was outfitted to sail to Acadia. The King gave Razilly the official title of lieutenant-general for New France. One of his able lieutenants in Acadia was Charles de Menou d'Aulnay who was instrumental in maintaining the shipping to and from France. As well, he took on military tasks such as ordering the taking of control of Fort Pentagouet at Majabigwaduce on the

Penobscot Bay Penobscot Bay () is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine and Atlantic Ocean in south central Maine, a stretch known as Midcoast Maine, in a broader Atlantic region known as Down East. The bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River, ...

, which had been given to France in an earlier Treaty, and to inform the English they were to vacate all lands North of Pemaquid. This was accomplished shortly before Razilly's death and resulted in all the French interests in Acadia being restored.

Death

Razilly died suddenly at LaHave, Nova Scotia in December 1635.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Razily, Isaac 1587 births 1635 deaths 17th-century French politicians 17th-century French diplomats Acadian history Governors of Acadia Knights Hospitaller