Transcript Ch. 6 Spanish Louisiana

Ch. 6 Spanish Louisiana
The Big Secret….
 The people of Louisiana did not learn of the transfer to Spain
until a year later!
 Treaty of Fontainebleau
 They were furious!!
Name Change
 French called it
Louisiane
 Spanish called it Luisiana
 People of the colony
accepted a combination of
the two and called it
“Louisiana”
French Still in Charge
 Even though Spain technically owned Louisiana the French
were still running it.
 Spain had little money & was involved in European affairs.
Antonio de Ulloa &
The New Spanish Government
 Ulloa is the 1st Spanish governor
 His personality conflicted with the vibrant life of the colony &
the French living in the colony really didn’t like him.
The Transfer of Power
 The Spanish knew that the French were unhappy.
 The Spanish told Ulloa to:
 No drastic changes
 No ceremonies
 Sneak Spanish soldiers in
Ulloa’s Mistakes
 He never held a formal ceremony to make Louisiana Spanish
 He allowed the French flag to fly over the colony for a long
period of time and didn’t hold a formal ceremony when he
raised the Spanish flag.
 He allowed the French government to still run the colony
(The Superior Council)
 Ulloa appeared weak to colonists.
Unrest in the Colony
 Ulloa married someone from Peru,
who was a mestizo.
 The French believed she was African
& Ulloa was breaking the Code Noir.
 Because of inflation Ulloa set prices
for items
 Only allowed the Creoles to trade
with Spanish.
 The Superior Council hated Ulloa
and did not listen to him.
The Creole
Revolution
 October 28, 1768
 Mobs disabled the cannons
protecting New Orleans
 The next day 400 Creoles stormed
the city and ordered Ulloa to leave.
 5 days later Ulloa left for Cuba and
without war the Creoles had forced
the Spanish out.
 The Creoles wrote a letter to King
Louis but he didn’t respond.
The Spanish Return to Louisiana
 1 year later
 24 ships with 2000 sailors arrive in
New Orleans and they are
commanded by General Don
Alejandro O’Reilly.
 He marched into the city and took
control raising the Spanish flag.
 Aubry (head of Superior Council)
handed power over to him.
“Bloody O’Reilly”
 O’Reilly arrested 13 men who
planned the Creole
Revolution. 12 were found
guilty of treason.
 Some were killed by a firing
squad & some put in prison.
 Aubry gave up the names of
those involved.
 After this no one would
challenge Spanish authority in
the colony.
Spanish Government in the Colony
 Spanish used:
 Checks & Balances
 King appointed the governor
 Divided Louisiana into 12 districts with a leader for each district
 Created 12 parishes or geographical divisions of the Catholic
Church with a priest leading each parish
 Intendant was in charge of ALL economic affairs
 Cabildo – city council replaced the Superior Council
 Governor was in charge
 Made laws, created taxes, advised the governor, etc.
 O’Reilly Code enforced Spanish law.
The Cabildo (Jackson Square)
Changes to the
Code Noir
 Spanish Code Noir gave slaves more
rights.
 Examples include:
 Testify in court
 30 minute lunch breaks / 2 hour dinner breaks
 Slaves could be freed at will without government approval
 Slaves could buy their own freedom
 Skilled slaves could work for a wage if they shared it with their owner and then
save to buy freedom.
 Arbitrators were used when the slave master & slave could not agree on a price.
 1000’s became free people of color & had to carry manumission
papers that proved they were free.
French Culture Survives Spanish
Control of Louisiana
 The Creoles began to accept Spanish rule and O’Reilly
allowed French culture to survive.
 Creoles kept French language & customs
 O’Reilly set the Spanish government firmly in place
Luis de Unzaga
 Replaced O’Reilly as governor
 Creoles liked Unzaga & he
married a local women
 The colony prospered
 Established the 1st public school
 Allowed trade with the English
(this was illegal)
 Floating Warehouses
Unzaga Allows
Illegal Trade with England
Unzaga & The American Revolution
 1776 – Declaration of Independence
 Unzaga allowed English trade but did not like them and
secretly supported the American colonists
 Oliver Pollock and helped the colonists. Unzaga sold gun
powder to the Americans through Pollock.
Bernardo de Gálvez
 Very popular governor
 Worked with Pollock to get supplies to
the American Colonists
 Medicine, clothing, weapons, etc.
 Eventually Spain & France officially side
with the Americans against England
Gálvez Fights the English
 The English had forts near New
Orleans, Mobile and Baton Rouge.
 Galvez leads an expedition of 1500
Creoles, Spanish, slaves and Indians to
attack the English forts
 American Revolution ends and treaties
forces England to give independence to
the American colonists and Florida and
all of the Gulf Coast to Spain.
North American in 1783
Esteban Rodríguez Miró
 Became governor after Galvez
 Also very popular & married a
Louisiana women
 More people (settlers) came to
Louisiana under Miró than any
other governor.
 From 7500 to 50,000
 Offered Land Grants
 Tools, rooster, 2 hens, 2 pigs and
supplies for a year
 Kaintocks
 Kentucky frontiersmen
The Isleños “Islanders”
 Came over from the Canary Islands because life was very
difficult.
 Settled in St. Bernard, Ascension & Plaquemines
 Hunters & trappers
 Delacroix ("The Island"), Woods Lake, Reggio,Yscloskey, Shell
Beach, and Hopedale.
Isleños Settle in Louisiana