Pierre de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial

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Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial

Marquis de Vaudreuil.jpg

Portrait of Vaudreuil by Donat Nonnotte
Governor General of New France
In office
1755–1760
Monarch Louis XV
Preceded by Marquis Du Quesne
Succeeded by Province of Quebec
Governor of Louisiana
In office
1743–1753
Monarch Louis XV
Preceded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne
Succeeded by Louis Billouart
Governor of Trois-Rivières
In office
1733–1742
Monarch Louis XV
Preceded by Josué Dubois Berthelot de Beaucours
Succeeded by Claude-Michel Bégon de la Cour
Personal details
Born22 November 1698 (1698-11-22)
Quebec, New France
Died 4 August 1778(1778-08-04) (aged 79)
Paris, France
Nationality French

Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil de Cavagnial, Marquis de Vaudreuil (22 November 1698 4 August 1778 [1] ) was a Canadian-born colonial governor of Canada (New France) in North America. He was governor of French Louisiana (1743–1753) and in 1755 became the last Governor-General of New France. In 1759 and 1760 the British conquered the colony in the Seven Years' War (known in the United States as the French and Indian War).

Canada (New France) former French colony in New France between the years of 1534 and 1763

Canada was a French colony within New France first claimed in the name of the King of France in 1535 during the second voyage of Jacques Cartier. The word "Canada" at this point referred to the territory along the Saint Lawrence River, then known as the Canada river, from Grosse Island in the east to a point between Quebec and Trois-Rivières, although this territory had greatly expanded by 1600. French explorations continued "unto the Countreys of Canada, Hochelaga, and Saguenay" before any permanent settlements were established. Even though a permanent trading post and habitation was established at Tadoussac in 1600, at the confluence of the Saguenay and Saint Lawrence rivers, it was under a trade monopoly and thus not constituted as an official French colonial settlement.

French Louisiana Wikimedia disambiguation page

The term French Louisiana refers to two distinct regions:

Kingdom of Great Britain constitutional monarchy in Western Europe between 1707–1801

The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially called simply Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. The state came into being following the Treaty of Union in 1706, ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the kingdoms of England and Scotland to form a single kingdom encompassing the whole island of Great Britain and its outlying islands, with the exception of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. The former kingdoms had been in personal union since James VI of Scotland became King of England and King of Ireland in 1603 following the death of Elizabeth I, bringing about the "Union of the Crowns". After the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the kingdom was in a personal union with the Electorate of Hanover.

Contents

Life and work

He was born to the Governor-General of New France, Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil and his wife Louise-Élisabeth, daughter of Pierre de Joybert de Soulanges et de Marson, in Quebec. He was the uncle of Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil.

New France Area colonized by France in North America

New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 under the Treaty of Paris (1763).

Louise Élisabeth de Joybert was a French marchioness, married to marquis Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil, governor of New France 1703-1725. She is reported to have had great influence during the tenure of her spouse, and to have used her influence to promote her friends and hinder the careers of her enemies.

Vaudreuil-Cavagnial rose quickly through the New France military and civil service, in part owing to his father's patronage but also due to his own innate ability.[ citation needed ] Commissioned an officer of the French army while still a youth, in 1733 he was appointed governor of Trois-Rivières, and in 1742 of French Louisiana, serving there from to May 10, 1743 to February 9, 1753 and proving himself a skilled officer and capable administrator. He moved to France in 1753 before being appointed by King Louis XV as governor of New France in 1755.

Louis XV of France Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre 1715–1774

Louis XV, known as Louis the Beloved, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity on 15 February 1723, the kingdom was ruled by Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, as Regent of France. Cardinal Fleury was his chief minister from 1726 until the Cardinal's death in 1743, at which time the young king took sole control of the kingdom.

A governor is, in most cases, a public official with the power to govern the executive branch of a non-sovereign or sub-national level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, governor may be the title of a politician who governs a constituent state and may be either appointed or elected. The power of the individual governor can vary dramatically between political systems, with some governors having only nominal or largely ceremonial power, while others having a complete control over the entire government.

The first governor of New France to be born in Canada, his leadership was questioned and some of his orders were ignored by officials of the French army such as Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, who judged him to be "too Canadian".[ citation needed ] Although Vaudreuil-Cavagnial held supreme civil authority in Canada and was technically commander-in-chief of all French forces there, he clashed often with Montcalm, the military commander in the field, who resented his oversight role. The two men grew to detest one another, much to the detriment of the French war effort. [2] Vaudreuil-Cavagnal had excellent relations with the Canadian militia and with the Native-Canadian tribes allied with France; Montcalm looked down on both, preferring to rely upon French regular troops and making poor use of irregular Canadian and pro-French Native-Canadian forces.[ citation needed ]

Louis-Joseph de Montcalm French general

Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Grozon, marquis de Montcalm de Saint-Veran was a French soldier best known as the commander of the forces in North America during the Seven Years' War.

Commander-in-chief supreme commanding authority of a military

A commander-in-chief, sometimes also called supreme commander, is the person that exercises supreme command and control over an armed forces or a military branch. As a technical term, it refers to military competencies that reside in a country's executive leadership – a head of state or a head of government.

Militia generally refers to an army or other fighting force that is composed of non-professional fighters

A militia is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a nation, or subjects of a state, who can be called upon for military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of regular, full-time military personnel, or historically, members of a warrior nobility class. Generally unable to hold ground against regular forces, it is common for militias to be used for aiding regular troops by skirmishing, holding fortifications, or irregular warfare, instead of being used in offensive campaigns by themselves. Militia are often limited by local civilian laws to serve only in their home region, and to serve only for a limited time; this further reduces their use in long military campaigns.

After Montcalm lost to the British forces under Maj. Gen. James Wolfe at Quebec City in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, Vaudreuil-Cavagnial tried to rally resistance to the British, but to no avail. He was forced to surrender Montreal on 8 September 1760 to Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Amherst.

James Wolfe British Army officer

James Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms and remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec as a major general. The son of a distinguished general, Edward Wolfe, he received his first commission at a young age and saw extensive service in Europe where he fought during the War of the Austrian Succession. His service in Flanders and in Scotland, where he took part in the suppression of the Jacobite Rebellion, brought him to the attention of his superiors. The advancement of his career was halted by the Peace Treaty of 1748 and he spent much of the next eight years on garrison duty in the Scottish Highlands. Already a brigade major at the age of 18, he was a lieutenant-colonel by 23.

Quebec City Provincial capital city in Quebec, Canada

Quebec City, officially Québec, is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. The city had a population estimate of 531,902 in July 2016, and the metropolitan area had a population of 800,296 in July 2016, making it the second largest city in Quebec after Montreal, and the seventh largest metropolitan area and eleventh largest city in the country.

Battle of the Plains of Abraham 1759 battle between British and French near Quebec City, Canada

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War. The battle, which began on 13 September 1759, was fought on a plateau by the British Army and Navy against the French Army, just outside the walls of Quebec City on land that was originally owned by a farmer named Abraham Martin, hence the name of the battle. The battle involved fewer than 10,000 troops between both sides, but proved to be a deciding moment in the conflict between France and Britain over the fate of New France, influencing the later creation of Canada.

One of several scapegoats for France's losses in the New World, Vaudreuil was imprisoned in the Bastille on March 30, 1762 but released on May 18, 1762. He was joined by Bigot, Cadet, Pean, Breard, Varin, Le Mercier, Penisseault, Maurin and Copron amongst others. Of the 21 men brought to trial, 10 were condemned, six were acquitted, three received an admonition and two were dismissed for want of evidence. Absent were 34, of whom seven were sentenced in default, and judgement was reserved in the case of the rest. [2] Exonerated in a military tribunal held in December 1763, he was awarded a pension and military decoration.

François Bigot was a French government official. He served as the Financial Commissary on Île Royale and as Intendant of New France. He was the last official ever to hold the latter position, losing it on the occasion of the conquest of 1760. He was subsequently accused of corruption and put on trial in France, and upon conviction was thrown into the Bastille for eleven months. Upon his release, Bigot was further sentenced to lifelong banishment. However, shortly after the judgement was made, Bigot escaped to Switzerland where he would live until his dying day.

After selling his Canadian seigneuries at Vaudreuil and Rigaud to his cousin, Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière, he retired to his ancestral estate near Rouen, although the episode ruined his fortunes. He died in Paris on 4 August 1778.

His nephew Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil was the second in command of the French naval units supporting the Americans during the American Revolution. He was present at the defeat of the British fleet by the French at the pivotal Battle of the Chesapeake during the siege of Yorktown in 1781, although he was later defeated by the Royal Navy at the Battle of the Saintes.

See also

Notes

  1. Eccles, W. J. (1979). "Rigaud de Vaudreuil de Cavagnial, Pierre de, Marquis de Vaudreuil". In Halpenny, Francess G. Dictionary of Canadian Biography . IV (1771–1800) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  2. 1 2 Parkman, Francis: "Montcalm and Wolfe"

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Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil was a French politician, who was Governor-General of New France from 1703 to 1725, throughout Queen Anne's War and Father Rale's War.

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Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière, 2nd Marquis de Lotbinière, though to keep political favour with the British he never used the title. He was seigneur of Vaudreuil, Lotbinière and Rigaud. He was the Speaker of the House of Commons in Lower Canada who saw to it that the French language was recognised as equal to English in the Quebec Parliament, where a painting of him giving the speech still hangs above the Speaker's chair.

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Lt.-Colonel The Hon. Robert Unwin Harwood was the last Seigneur of Vaudreuil, commanding officer of the Vaudreuil Militia, and for thirty years a political figure in Lower Canada and Canada East.

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Vaudreuil can refer to:

Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière French military engineer

Michel-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière, 1st Marquis de Lotbinière (1723–1798), Seigneur of Vaudreuil, Lotbinière and Rigaud, Quebec etc. In 1757, on his advice at the Siege of Fort William Henry, the Marquis de Montcalm successfully attacked Fort William Henry. In 1758, Lotbinière again advised Montcalm to await rather than attack the British Army, at Fort Carillon, the fort that Lotbinière had built, which led to the French victory at the Battle of Carillon. In 1784, Louis XVI of France created Lotbinière a Marquis, the only Canadian by family and birth to have attained that rank, and the last such creation made by Louis XVI. He was the last private owner of Château Vaudreuil in Montreal.

Louis-Théandre Chartier de Lotbinière, considered by some sources to have been the 'Father of the Canadian Magistrature', was in fact the disreputable Lieutenant-General of the Provost's Court of New France. In 1667, he gave the first official Ball to be held in Canada, and he was the great-grandfather of the last Governor General of New France, Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal.

René-Louis Chartier de Lotbinière (1641–1709) was a French-Canadian Poet, 1st Seigneur de Lotbinière in New France (1672), Judge of the Provost and Admiralty Courts and Chief Councillor of the Sovereign Council of New France.

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Louis-Eustache Chartier de Lotbinière, Seigneur de Lotbinière; Member of the Sovereign Council of New France; Keeper of the Seals of New France; Vicar-General, Archdeacon and the first Canadian-born Dean of Notre-Dame Basilica-Cathedral, Quebec.

Louis-Philippe de Rigaud, comte de Vaudreuil was a French naval officer.

François-Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil was a soldier, fur trader, seigneur and administrator in New France. He served as governor of Trois-Rivières from 1749 to 1757 and governor of Montreal from 1757 to 1760.

References


Government offices
Preceded by
Jean-Baptiste le Moyne de Bienville
French Governor of Louisiana
17431753
Succeeded by
Louis Billouart, Chevalier de Kerlerec
Preceded by
Ange Duquesne de Menneville, Marquis Duquesne
Governor General of New France
17551760
Succeeded by
Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst

as Governor General of British North America