Louis Cazot La Grenade

Louis Cazot LaGrenade
Depiction of LaGrenade dating between 1790 and 1808
Born	Around 1733 Martinique or Guadeloupe
Died	1st September 1808 Morne Jaloux, Grenada
Resting place	Morne Jaloux
Citizenship	French (1733-1765) British (1765-1808) Naturalised British subject
Occupations	Captain in the St George’s coloured militia, businessman and landowner
Years active	1765-1808
Employer	British Army (1790-1808)
Known for	Founding the LaGrenade family and company, and creating the coloured militia.
Title	Captain
Predecessor	Position established
Successor	Louis LaGrenade Jr. (his son)
Spouse	Marie Franceois Clozier (together C. 1797-1808)
Partner	Marie-Marthe (Marie-Matty) (together 1770-)
Children	9 (Most notable being his son Louis LaGrenade Jr.)
Father	Perhaps Jean-François Cazaud de Breuil
Relatives	Perhaps Alexandre Cazeau de Roumillac (Half-brother) Louis LaGrenade Jr. (Son) LaGrenade family including Cecile La Grenade
Family	LaGrenade

Louis Cazot La-Grenade (1733 - 1 September 1808) was a prominent 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]

Biography

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] 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. ^[3]

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 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. ^[4] 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. ^[5] His land holdings went to his son Louis La Grenade II (February 1776 - 23 September 1850).

Relatives

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

• Sophia La Grenade ?
• Marie-Marthe (considered the oldest child of Cazot) 1770- ?
• Peggy La Grenade
• Adelaide La Grenade 1772- ?
• Margaret La Grenade
• Louis La Grenade Jr 1776-1850 ^[6]
• Louisa Octrique La Grenade 1778-1847

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) ^{[7] [8]} These children were;

• Julienne La Grenade 1798- ?
• Emile La Grenade

Louis LaGrenade Jr. 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. ^[9]

Gallery

• 
  Allegiance to the English Crown, mentioning Louis Cazot LaGrenade and perhaps his half-brother Cazeau De Roumillac
• 
  Naturalisation of LaGrenade in 1765
• 
  Alexandre Cazeau de Roumillac renouncing his ownership of Louis Cazot LaGrenade’s possessions, perhaps indicating that they jointly owned land.
• 
  Letter from LaGrenade and other planters to the American congress and George Washington in 1791 ^[10]
• 
  LaGrenade’s suggestion of a coloured militia, (written by another person who is writing a letter to someone else regarding the idea).
• 
  Silhouette Depiction of Louis Cazot LaGrenade from LaGrenade Liqueur

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. "Founders Online: Louis Lagrenade et al. to George Washington, 24 January 1791". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
4. Grenada, N. O. W. (3 March 2024). "This Day in History: Fédon's Rebellion began 3 March 1795 | NOW Grenada" . Retrieved 24 September 2025.
5. "Overview of Grenada's Cultural Heritage" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2013.
6. "Summary of Individual | Legacies of British Slavery". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
7. "Sign up". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
8. "Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade". enslaved.org. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
9. 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.
10. "Founders Online: Louis Lagrenade et al. to George Washington, 24 January 1791". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved 11 December 2025.