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prevent smuggling) by two commissioners appointed by the French government, who should reside in New Orleans. On the 12th of February, 1777, the two French commissioners, Villars and Favre d'Aunoy, arrived in Louisiana. It was through them that all the French vessels which should come to the colony were to get their cargoes. The appointment of Galvez was the signal of a considerable change in the commerce of the province. The English had enjoyed the monopoly of it under Unzaga's administration, but it now passed into the hands of the French. The commissioners of that nation soon obtained from Galvez the grant of more privileges than were conceded in the treaty, and the French vessels were authorized to load not only at New Orleans, but also at any point on the river, provided they brought to the governor a declaration from the planters specifying the articles which they had shipped. Another encouragement was given to the commerce of the province by reducing to one-half the duty of four per cent., which used to be collected on the exportation of its produce. The French paid for the articles they bought, either in specie, bills of exchange, or Guinea negroes; the introduction of those that were born in the colonies, or had remained long in them, having been prohibited. Vessels from Louisiana were permitted to bring European produce or goods from the island of Cuba, or from Campeachy. On the 30th of March, 1777, the French commissioners, Villars and Favre d'Aunoy, wrote to their government: "The facilities granted by M. de Galvez to the trade between Louisiana and the French islands, and also the liberal interpretation given by him to the clauses of the treaty, have revived the industry and activity of the merchants and planters, and opened a brilliant prospect to the colony." On the 26th of April, the same commissioners informed their govern

ENCOURAGEMENT TO COMMERCE AND AGRICULTURE. 107

ment that Galvez had seized eleven English vessels, richly laden, which were trafficking with the planters on the banks of the Mississippi, and said that, if the governor persisted in the rigor with which he acted against the English, the French commerce in Louisiana would soon acquire a much greater extension.

The Spanish government sought also to give encouragement to agriculture, and informed the colonists that the king would, for the present, purchase tobacco to the amount of eight hundred thousand dollars, if they could raise so much of it, and that, for the future, he would buy their whole crop, however large it might be. A meeting of the planters was convened by the Governor, and they were invited to deliberate on the price at which they could afford to sell their tobacco. It was ultimately agreed to be seven livres a pound for leaf tobacco, and ten livres for tobacco in carots. The Spanish government had two objects in view, in thus fostering the cultivation of tobacco: 1°,-it was to draw from Louisiana, at a low price, all the tobacco necessary to the supply of its Mexican provinces, and thereby to raise its revenue, through the duty which it imposed on this article in those provinces; 2°,-it aimed at driving the English and the Dutch out of the French market, which they monopolized as to the tobacco trade.

"Enjoying a better climate than Maryland and Virginia," said Villars and d'Aunoy, in one of their des patches, "Louisiana, on account of its extent and fertility, could furnish the universe with tobacco. But its population, if not augmented, will not even permit the accomplishment of the wish entertained by his Catholic Majesty, to supply with its produce the wants of the Mexican market. It is calculated that, in a territory measuring 1500 miles in length, there are hardly 8000 negroes, and that the whites muster from 6000 to 7000

108 JOINT DESPATCH OF VILLARS AND D'AUNOY.

souls only. The lands of Lower Louisiana, where is the great bulk of the population, are favorable to the lumber and timber trade, to the cultivation of rice, corn and indigo, but they are not adapted to tobacco. These considerations have not escaped the attention of the Spanish ministry. They have granted an annual sum of $40,000, to facilitate the establishment of the new colonists who may come to Louisiana, and it is ordered that concessions be made to them, in those parts where it may suit them to settle. But, as Spain herself is wanting in population, and as those of her subjects who come to America show that they have very little disposition to devote themselves to agriculture, her project is to draw here, either from France or from the French colonies, all the population which may be necessary to the execution of her views. The Spanish government acts in conformity with this plan, and requests our coasters to make the inhabitants of St. Domingo and the Windward islands acquainted with the advantages which await them in Louisiana. Considering that the tendency of this scheme, should it succeed, is to deprive France of a useful portion of her subjects engaged in the pursuit of agriculture, we hasten to inform you of it, in order that you may, should you think it advisable, put a stop to an emigration which cannot but be injurious to the interests of France. If it be Frenchmen who are to be relied upon for the cultivation of Louisiana, it seems to us more natural that his most Christian Majesty should resume the possession of this colony. France alone can raise it to that degree of prosperity to which it is entitled." Fully alive to the policy of giving more extension to the agriculture of Louisiana, the Court of Madrid issued a decree permitting the introduction of negroes into that province by French vessels, from whatever ports they might come.

GEORGE MORGAN'S LETTER TO GALVEZ.

109

In the mean time, the struggle which was going on between England and her American colonies was watched with intense interest by the Governor of Louisiana, and by the Spanish court, which sent several orders to afford secret assistance to the insurgents. In consequence of the favorable dispositions of Spain, which were conveyed to some of the leaders of the Americans in the West, several large boats had come this year, 1777, from Fort Pitt to New Orleans, where munitions had been collected by Oliver Pollock, with the occult aid of Galvez, for the use of the thirteen United States. "Captain Willing, of Philadelphia, who came in one of those boats," says Judge Martin in his History of Louisiana, "visited the British settlements on the Mississippi, and some of his companions crossed the lakes to Mobile, with the view to induce the inhabitants to raise the striped banner, and join their countrymen in the struggle for freedom. The people of both the Floridas, however, remained steadfast in their attachment to the royal cause. Perhaps those on the Mississippi and in Mobile, who remembered the fate of Lafrénière and his companions at New Orleans, were deterred from rising by the recollection of this late tragedy. The thin and sparse population of both the Floridas, their distance from the provinces engaged in the war, and the consequent difficulty of receiving any assistance from them, had also its influence on the conduct of the inhabitants."

Galvez kept up an active correspondence with Colonel George Morgan, who was in command of Fort Pitt, and who, in a letter of the 22d of April, gave the Spanish Governor a very able and lucid history of all the events which had occurred since the beginning of the Revolution. "Should we be able," said the colonel, "to procure transports in New Orleans, I think that we could easily surprise Mobile and Pensacola, destroy their for

110

GEORGE MORGAN'S LETTER TO GALVEZ.

If

tifications, and possess ourselves of all their munitions, unless these ports be better fortified and defended than we imagine. I would pay liberally to have a plan of the fortifications, and correct information as to the garrisons and naval forces which protect these places. one thousand men were sufficient for the contemplated expedition, and if we could, in New Orleans, purchase or charter vessels, and procure artillery, on as short notice as possible, we could strike the most successful blow in a quarter where it is least expected. But we shall never proceed to any action on the subject, before having previously obtained the permission and co-operation of your excellency, and before having secured all the transports, provisions, &c., of which we may stand in need. If we cannot, however, expect so much at your hands, we flatter ourselves that you will at least permit us to trade freely with New Orleans, and I beg your excellency to inform me by an express messenger of decision, and this, of course, at my expense.

your

But Galvez had no idea, for obvious reasons, of permitting the Americans to set their foot, in military array, on the soil of Louisiana, and eluded to give any positive answer to Morgan's proposed plan of attack against the British possessions. He wrote to his government that, considering the turn which the war was taking, he feared the inconveniences which might result from the passage of the belligerents through the neutral territory of Louisiana, and he informed the court of Madrid that, in order to endeavor to protect the Spanish interests on the river, he had caused to be built four boats, carrying, each, one 24 or 18 pounder. "These gunboats," said he, in a despatch of the 2d of June, "will be more useful in the river than two frigates, because, as they will be propelled by wind and oar, they will be more than a match for any vessel of war that may enter the passes of the