Louis Cazot La Grenade

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Louis Cazot LaGrenade
Louis Cazot LaGrenade cropped image.jpg
Depiction of LaGrenade dating between 1790 and 1808
BornAround 1733
Martinique or Guadeloupe
Died1st September 1808
Morne Jaloux, Grenada
Resting place Morne Jaloux
CitizenshipFrench (1733-1765) British (1765-1808) Naturalised British subject
OccupationsCaptain in the St George’s coloured militia, businessman and landowner
Years active1765-1808
Employer British Army (1790-1808)
Known forFounding the LaGrenade family and company, and creating the coloured militia.
TitleCaptain
PredecessorPosition established
SuccessorLouis LaGrenade II (his son)
SpouseMarie Franceois Clozier (together C. 1797-1808)
PartnerMarie-Marthe (Marie-Matty) (together 1770-)
Children9 (Most notable being his son Louis LaGrenade Jr.)
FatherPerhaps Jean-François Cazaud de Breuil
RelativesPerhaps Alexandre Cazeau de Roumillac (Half-brother)

Louis LaGrenade Jr. (Son)

LaGrenade family including Cecile La Grenade
FamilyLaGrenade

Louis Cazot La-Grenade also known as Louis Cazot de La Grenade and Louis LaGrenade I (1733 - 1 September 1808) was a landowner, business man, military leader, slave owner and politician in Grenada. Louis Cazot was born in either Martinique or Guadeloupe and was perhaps the Paternal half-brother of Alexandre Cazeau de Roumillac. [1]

Contents

Biography

Uniform of a British coloured soldier (similar to Cazot's troops) Private of the 5th West India Regiment, 1812.jpg
Uniform of a British coloured soldier (similar to Cazot’s troops)

Louis Cazot appeared as a figure around 1763-1765 in Grenada when he was noted as having converted to Protestantism and had sworn allegiance to the English crown. Cazot began a trading company around this time and in 1773 founded a Liqueur company with a recipe that was said to have been given to him by a Dutch trader who wanted a free trip to the island of Grenada, in return the Dutchman gave Cazot the recipe to his family’s liqueur. [2] [3] [4] He founded the St George’s coloured militia in the early 1790s using freedmen and slaves as the troops. [3] [4] In 1791 Cazot was one of the four men who wrote a letter to George Washington and congress, requesting asylum due to the treatment of mulattos on the island of Grenada, however the letter was ignored. [5] In 1792 Louis Cazot among other Mulattos of the colony reconfirmed their allegiance to the British crown. [6]

During the 1795-1796 revolt in Grenada, Louis Cazot La Grenade fought against Julien Fedon on the side of the British. He led the St George’s Coloured militia [7] and defended the city against the assault by Fedon. On 8 April 1795 the coloured militia (which numbered around 200) led by Cazot attacked the rebel camp, however that attacked proved unsuccessful. [8] For his contributions in the militia (before and during the revolt), Louis Cazot was made Captain in the British army.

He died in 1808 and was buried in Morne Jaloux in Grenada. [9] His land holdings went to his son Louis La Grenade II (February 1776 - 23 September 1850).

His direct descendant Sybil La-Grenade founded the De La Grenade industries which sells the liqueur supposedly given to Louis Cazot LaGrenade in 1773, among other products. [10] [11]

Relatives

Louis Cazot married/was in a relationship with a woman called Marie-Marthe (Marie-Matty). Together they had seven children who were;

Louis Cazot also appears to have had two children with a woman by the name of Marie Franceois Clozier (The daughter of landowner Narcis Clozier who was the brother of René Maxime Clozier, owner of Mount Cenis estate) [13] [14] These children were;

Louis LaGrenade II was also a captain in the St. George’s Coloured Militia, succeeding his father after his death. He formally resigned in 1828.

Multiple famous Grenadians including Maurice Bishop, Cecile La Grenade, Marise La Grenade-Lashley (author of Mwen Ka Alé), Lewis Hamilton and perhaps Dickon Mitchell and Keith Mitchell are descended from Louis Cazot La Grenade. [15]

References

  1. ↑ "Summary of Individual | Legacies of British Slavery". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  2. ↑ "Uncommon Caribbean - La Grenade Liqueur: 200-Year-Old Spicy Grenada Family Secret". Uncommon Caribbean. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 "La Grenade Liqueur". www.diffordsguide.com. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Two-hundred-year-old spirit resides in bottle of mysterious liqueur - caribbean-sun.com - Caribbean direct from the Caribbean". www.caribbean-sun.com. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  5. ↑ "Founders Online: Louis Lagrenade et al. to George Washington, 24 January 1791". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "Stanford Edu. Grenada and Caribbean historical documents". searchworks.stanford.edu. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  7. ↑ "de la Grenade from Grenada - Green-Isles Website". www.green-isle.de. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  8. ↑ Grenada, N. O. W. (3 March 2024). "This Day in History: Fédon's Rebellion began 3 March 1795 | NOW Grenada" . Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  9. ↑ "Overview of Grenada's Cultural Heritage" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2013.
  10. ↑ "ABOUT". De La Grenade. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  11. ↑ "Captain Louis La Grenade Liqueur - Lot 165824 - Buy/Sell Liqueurs Online". whisky.auction. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  12. ↑ "Summary of Individual | Legacies of British Slavery". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  13. ↑ "Sign up". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  14. ↑ "Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade". enslaved.org. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  15. ↑ Today, The New (1 August 2025). "Blood ties remain: The case of Kirani James, Lewis Hamilton and Maurice Bishop". The New Today. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  16. ↑ "Founders Online: Louis Lagrenade et al. to George Washington, 24 January 1791". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
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