Pierre de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial
(1698-1778)
Pierre de Rigaud was born in Québec the 22 of November 1698. The fourth son of soon-to-be governor-general Philippe de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil, and Acadian noble wife, Elisabeth de Joybert, Pierre followed the established aristocratic tradition of military service as early as 1706, when he served as an ensign in the French colonial army in Canada. He was made lieutenant in 1711, and soon after left for France carrying dispatches as a midshipman. With the help of his mother, who had been appointed under-governess to the children of the duc de Bourgogne, a grandson of Louis XIV, Pierre attained the grade of captain in 1715 and major general by 1726.
The young Pierre de Rigaud made a return voyage to Canada to settle his late father's estate in 1726. He probably accompanied his mother from Québec to France in 1728, where he was decorated with the highly coveted royal and military order of Saint-Louis the following year. His first administrative position in French North America was that of governor of the town of Trois-Rivières, situated between Québec and Montréal, a post granted to him in 1733. The death of his mother in Paris called for a return to France in 1740. Again he was awarded a new colonial position: the governorship of Louisiana. He arrived in New Orleans in 1743, and would serve in this capacity until 1753. Well-liked, the marquis and his wife were known for throwing elaborate parties and balls, including what might have been the first pre-Lenten carnival festivities in New Orleans. Pierre de Rigaud also helped stimulate the economy of French colonial Louisiana, introducing indigo production and encouraging the cultivation of rice and tobacco. He also turned a blind eye to Franco-Spanish smuggling, thus helping the colony stay alive economically.
Pierre de Rigaud received word that he would be replaced as governor of Louisiana in 1753. He returned to Paris with his wife, and the couple lived in the capital until 1755 when he was finally named governor-general of New France. This most prestigious of colonial administrative positions granted him authority over all of France's North American empire, at least on paper.
Jeffery Amherst, 1758 (1698-1778)
Pierre de Rigaud was born in Québec the 22 of November 1698. The fourth son of soon-to-be governor-general Philippe de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil, and Acadian noble wife, Elisabeth de Joybert, Pierre followed the established aristocratic tradition of military service as early as 1706, when he served as an ensign in the French colonial army in Canada. He was made lieutenant in 1711, and soon after left for France carrying dispatches as a midshipman. With the help of his mother, who had been appointed under-governess to the children of the duc de Bourgogne, a grandson of Louis XIV, Pierre attained the grade of captain in 1715 and major general by 1726.
The young Pierre de Rigaud made a return voyage to Canada to settle his late father's estate in 1726. He probably accompanied his mother from Québec to France in 1728, where he was decorated with the highly coveted royal and military order of Saint-Louis the following year. His first administrative position in French North America was that of governor of the town of Trois-Rivières, situated between Québec and Montréal, a post granted to him in 1733. The death of his mother in Paris called for a return to France in 1740. Again he was awarded a new colonial position: the governorship of Louisiana. He arrived in New Orleans in 1743, and would serve in this capacity until 1753. Well-liked, the marquis and his wife were known for throwing elaborate parties and balls, including what might have been the first pre-Lenten carnival festivities in New Orleans. Pierre de Rigaud also helped stimulate the economy of French colonial Louisiana, introducing indigo production and encouraging the cultivation of rice and tobacco. He also turned a blind eye to Franco-Spanish smuggling, thus helping the colony stay alive economically.
Pierre de Rigaud received word that he would be replaced as governor of Louisiana in 1753. He returned to Paris with his wife, and the couple lived in the capital until 1755 when he was finally named governor-general of New France. This most prestigious of colonial administrative positions granted him authority over all of France's North American empire, at least on paper.
The first and only governor-general to be born in New France, he was also the last. He assumed office only a year before the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, an international conflict that would end in the loss of Canada to the British. Upon his arrival in Québec in 1755, British and Anglo-colonial forces had already made attacks and incursions on settlements and territories claimed by France. Vaudreuil and the marquis de Montcalm, the commander of the French forces deployed to save New France, did not see eye to eye. This disagreement did not serve either party well, with Vaudreuil preferring guerrilla combat and Montcalm expecting European-style warfare. Although French victories marked the early years of the War, British forces under James Wolfe took the fortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia in 1758; this key maritime center was all the stood between them and the opening of the Saint Lawrence River. Within a few days, they would be at the gates of Québec, which fell in September of 1759. Montcalm was killed during the siege; Vaudreuil had left to take charge of Montréal.
Vaudreuil surrended Montréal to the British under Jeffery Amherst in 1760. He returned to France, where he was blamed for these major territorial losses. Imprisoned in the Bastille for a few months in 1762, he was soon freed and exonerated of all charges. Louis XV would cede almost all of France's North American possessions to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Pierre de Rigaud and his wife lived in what is now the Marais district in Paris. Their urban townhouse stood in the rue de Tournelles, a few blocks from the Bastille in the parish of Saint-Paul. The widowed marquis de Vaudreuil lived on a pension of several thousand livres from the king, tended to by a daughter of the marquis de Montcalm.
Vaudreuil surrended Montréal to the British under Jeffery Amherst in 1760. He returned to France, where he was blamed for these major territorial losses. Imprisoned in the Bastille for a few months in 1762, he was soon freed and exonerated of all charges. Louis XV would cede almost all of France's North American possessions to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Pierre de Rigaud and his wife lived in what is now the Marais district in Paris. Their urban townhouse stood in the rue de Tournelles, a few blocks from the Bastille in the parish of Saint-Paul. The widowed marquis de Vaudreuil lived on a pension of several thousand livres from the king, tended to by a daughter of the marquis de Montcalm.