Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac
Antoine de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac | |
---|---|
Louis XV | |
Preceded by | Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville |
Succeeded by | Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville |
Personal details | |
Born | Antoine Laumet March 5, 1658 Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave, France |
Died | October 16, 1730 Castelsarrasin, France | (aged 72)
Resting place | Church of the Carmelite Fathers of Castelsarrasin |
Spouse | Marie-Thérèse Guyon |
Occupation | Governor, explorer, adventurer |
Known for | Founder of Detroit |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Kingdom of France |
Branch/service | French Navy |
Years of service | 1675–1718 |
Awards | Order of Saint Louis Chevalier |
Antoine de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac (
His knowledge of the coasts of
Upon his arrival in America, La Mothe adopted his title after the town of
He was widely hailed as a hero until the 1950s and the rise of liberal scholarship,[3] but more recent writers have criticized him. One, W. J. Eccles, claims that "he most definitely was not one of the 'great early heroes' and probably deserves to be ranked with the 'worst scoundrels ever to set foot in New France'."[4]
Early life
Cadillac was born Antoine Laumet on March 5, 1658, in the small town of
In a record of service he filled out in 1675, he said that he had enlisted in the military as a cadet at the age of 17 in the Dampierre regiment, in Charleroi, nowadays Belgium. Two years later in personal letters, however, he reported that he had been an officer in the Clérambault regiment in Thionville, and in 1682 he had joined the Albret regiment, in Thionville.[6]
At the age of 25, Antoine Laumet fled from France for North America. His father lost a lawsuit against a lawyer in Castelsarrasin that caused him financial difficulties. In addition, he had lost financial support following the death of Cardinal Mazarin and suffered the current intolerance against Protestants. Laumet may have immigrated illegally, as historians have not found his name on any passenger list of ships departing from a French port.
New France
In 1683, Antoine Laumet arrived at
The marriage certificate is the first document that records his new identity. He identified as "Antoine de Lamothe, écuyer, sieur de Cadillac", and signed as "De Lamothe Launay". Like many immigrants, he took advantage of emigrating to the New World to create a new identity, perhaps to conceal the reasons that drove him from France. This new identity "ne sort pas de son sac" ("I did not create this identity out of nowhere"), as he wrote later. Antoine Laumet likely remembered Sylvestre d'Esparbes de Lussan de Gout, baron of
The sons likely encountered each other during their studies. Second son in his family, Laumet identified with the second son of the baron. He used the phonic similarity between his own name and that of Launay, creating the name: Antoine de Lamothe-Launay. He took the title of écuyer (squire), the rank held by a family's second son, followed by the title sieur (sire) of Cadillac. This accorded with the Gascon custom whereby the junior family member succeeds the elder son upon the latter's death. Laumet created a new name, identity and noble origin, while protecting himself from possible recognition by persons who knew him in France.
In addition, he presented his own titles of nobility, as illustrated by armorial bearings that he created by associating the shield with the three « merlettes » (birds with no legs or bill) of the baron de Lamothe-Bardigues and that of the Virès family (of France's Languedoc region).[8]
The marriage proved to be a fertile one. The Lamothe-Cadillac couple had six daughters and seven sons: Judith (1689), Magdeleine (1690), Marie Anne (1701), ? (1702), Marie-Thérèse (1704), Marie-Agathe (December 1707) and Joseph (1690), Antoine (1692), Jacques (1695), Pierre-Denis (1699–1700), Jean-Antoine (January 1707 – 1709), François (1709), René-Louis (1710–1714).
Les Douacques
In 1688, the governor
In 1690, Cadillac was in Paris. He became part of the circle of the Secretary of State for the Navy, the marquis de
Cadillac was promoted to lieutenant in 1692. He was sent with the cartographer
Michilimackinac (1694–1696)
Cadillac was appointed commander of all the stations of the Pays d'En-Haut (the upper countries). He left France at the peak of his career to take up his command of Fort de Buade or
In 1695, Cadillac traveled to explore the area of the
In 1696, to mitigate the difficulties of fur trading, the king ordered the closing of all trading posts, including Michilimackinac. Cadillac returned to
Le Détroit (1701–1710)
On July 24, 1701, Antoine de La Mothe-Cadillac founded
A fire devastated
In 1709, the troops stationed on the straits were given the order to return to Montreal. In 1710, the king named Cadillac governor of
- Louisiana (1710–1716)
Cadillac did not obey. He drew up a general inventory of the straits, and then, in 1711, boarded a ship, with his family, bound for France. In Paris, in 1712, he convinced the Toulouse-born financier
In June 1713, the Cadillac family arrived at Fort Louis, Louisiana (now Mobile, Alabama), after a tiring crossing. In 1714, Crozat recommended the construction of forts along the Mississippi River, whereas Cadillac wished to strengthen defenses at the mouth of the River and to develop trade with nearby Spanish colonies.[6]
In 1715, Cadillac and his son Joseph prospected in the Illinois Country (Upper Louisiana), where they claimed to have discovered a copper mine, although there is no copper ore in that area. They established a farm and founded the settlement of St. Philippe on the east side of the Mississippi River. Cadillac directed the first mining of lead in present-day Missouri at what is now called Mine La Motte on the west side of the river. The French brought in slaves to work at the mine; they were the first people of African descent in the future state of Missouri. The production of lead was important for ammunition in the colonies. The Southeast Missouri Lead District is still a major source of that metal.[3]
After many arguments, Crozat withdrew any authority Cadillac had in the company. The following year, he ordered Cadillac removed from colonial office.
Castelsarrasin (1717–1730)
The Cadillac family returned to France and, in 1717, settled in La Rochelle. Cadillac went to Paris with his son Joseph. They were arrested immediately and imprisoned in the Bastille for five months. They were released in 1718, and Cadillac was decorated with the Order of Saint Louis to reward his 30 years of loyal services. He settled in the paternal home, where he dealt with his parents' estate.[10]
He also made many trips to Paris to have his rights to the concession on the straits recognized. He prolonged his stay in Paris in 1721, giving another general power of attorney to his wife to sign documents in his absence. He was finally vindicated in 1722. He sold his estate on the straits to Jacques Baudry de Lamarche, a Canadian. The French government appointed Cadillac as governor and mayor of Castelsarrasin, close to his birthplace.[10]
Antoine de Lamothe-Cadillac died on October 16, 1730, in Castelsarrasin (Occitanie), "around the midnight hour", at the age of 72. He was buried in a vault of the Carmelite Fathers' church.
Legacy
Some of Antoine de Lamothe-Cadillac's far-reaching visions were developed after he had left New France. For instance, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville founded the city of New Orleans, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, in 1718, and it became a major port and city of New France.[9]
The straits became a strategic location.
The car brand Cadillac was named after him, and its headquarters was in Detroit, where Cadillac himself explored.
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac was honored with a 3-cent stamp on July 24, 1951, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of his landing at Detroit in 1701. The stamp's background design depicts Detroit's skyline as it appeared in 1951 and the foreground shows Cadillac's landing at Detroit in 1701.[11]
On April 20, 2016, the public French high school in Windsor, Ontario, was renamed in Cadillac's honour.[12]
During the first decade of the 20th century, a street in the Guybourg area in Longue-Pointe (now Mercier) on the island of Montreal was named in honour of Cadillac. In 1976, Cadillac station on the green line of the Montreal Metro was opened at this street.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Brasseaux, 2000
- ISBN 978-0814408698.
- ^ a b c d e Eccles, 1959
- ^ Yves F. Zoltvany. "Laumet, dit de Lamothe Cadillac, Antoine," Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, vol 2
- ^ Base Mérimée: Maison natale du Chevalier de Lamothe-Cadillac, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- ^ a b c d e f Brasseaux, 2000)
- ^ Karen Elizabeth Bush, First Lady of Detroit: The Story of Marie-Therese Guyon, MME Cadillac (Wayne State University Press, 2001)
- ^ "Origins of Cadillac Crest". Archived from the original on July 26, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ a b c Zoltvany. "Laumet, dit de Lamothe Cadillac, Antoine,"
- ^ a b c Laut, 1931
- ^ Lovell, Jeffrie H.,"Landing of Cadillac Issue", Arago: people, postage & the post, National Postal Museum. Viewed March 22, 2014.
- ^ Conseil scolaire Viamonde, (in French)[permanent dead link]
Further reading
- Brasseaux, Carl A. "Lamothe Cadillac, Antoine Laumet de"; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000
- Bush, Karen Elizabeth. First Lady of Detroit: The Story of Marie-Therese Guyon, MME Cadillac (Wayne State University Press, 2001)
- Eccles, William J. Frontenac, the Courtier Governor (1959)
- Knudsen, Anders. Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac: French Settlements at Detroit and Louisiana (Crabtree Publishing Company, 2006)
- Laut, Agnes Christina. Cadillac, knight errant of the wilderness: founder of Detroit, governor of Louisiana from the Great lakes to the Gulf (1931)
- Yves F. Zoltvany. "Laumet, dit de Lamothe Cadillac, Antoine," Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online vol 2
In French
- René Toujas, Le Destin extraordinaire du Gascon Lamothe-Cadillac de Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave fondateur de Detroit, 1974
- Robert Pico, Cadillac, l'homme qui fonda Detroit, Editions Denoël, 1995, ISBN 978-2-207-24288-9
- Annick Hivert-Carthew, Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac Le fondateur de Detroit, XYZ éditeur, 1996, ISBN 978-2-89261-178-6
- Jean Boutonnet, LAMOTHE-CADILLAC Le gascon qui fonda Détroit (1658 / 1730), Edition Guénégaud, 2001, ISBN 978-2-85023-108-7
- Jean Maumy, Moi, Cadillac, gascon et fondateur de Détroit, Editions Privat, 2002, ISBN 978-2-7089-5806-7