Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville

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Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
National Library and Archives of Quebec
Born(1661-07-16)16 July 1661
Ville-Marie, New France
Died9 July 1706(1706-07-09) (aged 44)
Havana, Spanish Cuba
Allegiance Kingdom of France
Years of service1686–1706
Battles/warsKing William's War

War of the Spanish Succession

AwardsOrder of Saint Louis
Signature

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville[a] (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706)[1][2] or Sieur d'Iberville[a] was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of Louisiana in New France. He was born in Montreal to French colonist parents.

Early life

Pierre Le Moyne was born in July 1661 at

Dieppe or of Longueuil near Dieppe, Normandy in France and lord of Longueuil in Canada, and of Catherine Thierry [fr] (called Catherine Primot in some sources) from Rouen.[1][3] He is also known as Sieur d'Iberville (et d'Ardillières).[1][2]

He had eleven brothers, most of whom became soldiers. One,

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne Bienville, founded New Orleans. Jacques and Paul LeMoyne were with him on James Bay, and Joseph LeMoyne was with him in Louisiana
.

Le Moyne d'Iberville was raised

Sulpician seminary.[5]

Destined for the priesthood, he chose the military vocation. At the age of 12, he became a cabin boy on his uncle's ship trading to Port Royal, Acadia. A few years later he was in the fur trade at Sault Ste. Marie in Canada, where he would have learned something of canoe travel in the wilderness. He later became quartermaster on one of his father's ships.

Hudson Bay expeditions

Main article:
Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay

The

Governor General Denonville
decided to drive out the English even though the two countries were at peace.

French forces led by d'Iberville, managed to defeat an English squadron, and capture York Factory during the Battle of Hudson's Bay.
Moose Fort (later known as Moose Factory), was called Fort St-Louis after its capture by the French in 1696; it was recaptured by the British in 1696

Under the command of

Fort-Rupert, he captured the sloop Craven and killed at least one unarmed sailor. As a result, the French seized all three English posts on James Bay, leaving the English only York Factory which was far to the northwest and inaccessible by land. De Troyes left in August 1686, leaving d'Iberville in charge with 40 men. The following summer, when no supplies arrived, d'Iberville left 12 men at the forts and went first south to Quebec and then to France. In France, he lobbied for the Compagnie and obtained command of Soleil D'Afrique and returned to James Bay in the summer of 1688. There he captured
three HBC ships that were trying to re-establish their position on James Bay.

Returning to Quebec, he was caught up in

Fort Severn. In 1692 and 1693, he again planned to attack York Factory, but both times the needed ships were diverted. It was 1694 before he could effect the capture of York Factory. His work was undone when the English recaptured Fort Albany in 1693 and York Factory in 1695. 1695 and 1696 were spent in coastal raiding. In 1697 he captured York Factory a second time after winning his most heroic battle
. It was too late in the season to capture Fort Albany, so he left Hudson Bay, never to return. York Factory remained French until 1713.

King William's War

Newfoundland
sacked by French forces.

In 1690, he was second in command to his brother Jacques in a raid south to New York that culminated in the

Treaty of Ryswick
in September 1697.

Exploring Louisiana

In 1682,

English on the Atlantic coast. This presented diplomatic problems; the Gulf coast was claimed, though not occupied, by Spain
.

Pensacola. In March 1699, he entered the Birdfoot Delta. It was only after meeting some Indians who remembered La Salle that he was sure that this was the Mississippi. Having achieved his first aim and finding no good sites in the delta, he built a temporary fort Fort Maurepas at Ocean Springs, Mississippi, left a garrison of 81 men, and returned to France
.

Cavelier de La Salle
exploring Louisiana.

On his second voyage, he reached Biloxi in January 1700. He built a second "Fort Maurepas" 40 miles up the Mississippi River. On his return journey, he is said to have stopped at

coureurs des bois had given him, in preference to hauling them back to Montreal. (This story illustrates the benefits of the future New Orleans area as a port, the size of the French presence on the Mississippi at this early date, and d'Iberville's questionable business practices.) On his third voyage in February 1701, he built a fort at Mobile. Here, Henri de Tonti aided him in establishing good relations with the Indians. He left Louisiana for the last time in April 1702. His brother Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville
founded New Orleans in 1718.

Queen Anne's War and his death

In 1702, England and France were again at war (

an expedition against Charles Town, Carolina (an English colonial settlement), when he died suddenly, perhaps of yellow fever, in July, 1706. D'Iberville was buried at Church of San Cristóbal (Havana Cathedral); the burial records identify him under his French name, and as El General Dom Pedro Berbila.[7][8]

After his death, his estate became involved in an inquiry that dragged on for more than thirty years. D'Iberville had acquired a large fortune by uncertain means. The accounts of the West Indian expedition were hopelessly disorganized; there were accusations of embezzlement. His widow, Marie Thérèse Pollet (1672–1740) was forced to pay back a large part of her inheritance.

D'Iberville was perhaps the first great soldier born in Canada. Students of the art of war may see his career as an example of the importance of following up after a victory, for he won all his battles but never was able to consolidate what he had won.

Honours

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville was a knight of the

Order of Saint-Louis.[2]

Legacy

Statues of d'Iberville at Quebec's Parliament Building in Quebec City (left), and at Valiants Memorial in Ottawa.

The following works and sites are named for d'Iberville:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b The name Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville is pronounced /piˈɛər lə ˈmwɑːn ˌdiːbɛərˈviːl, -ˈvɪl/ pee-AIR lə MWAHN DEE-bair-VEEL, -⁠VIL, French: [pjɛʁ lə mwan dibɛʁvil]. The title Sieur is pronounced /sjɜːr/ SYUR, French: [sjœʁ]. However, residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast pronounce the city of D'Iberville as /diˈaɪbərvɪl/ dee-EYE-bər-vil.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Fortier, Alcée (1910). "Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. ^ a b c Pothier, Bernard (1979) [1969]. "Le Moyne d'Iberville at d'Ardillières, Pierre". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. II (1701–1740) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  3. ^ She was baptized at Saint-Denis-la-Petite parish church (now destroyed)
  4. ISBN 978-0-8071-2700-1
    .
  5. ^ Crouse (2001), p. 9
  6. ISBN 1891519050
    , pp. 113–120.
  7. ^ "Pierre le Moyne d'Iberville 1686–1702 | Virtual Museum of New France".
  8. ^ Un héros québécois à La Havane, Pierre Lahoud, 2015
  9. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 164.
  10. ^ "Ibervillea Greene | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 15 May 2021.

Bibliography

  • Frégault, Guy. Iberville le conquérant. (Montréal, 1944).

External links

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