ABOUT THIS BOOK

“Higginbotham has given to American historiography a microcosmic view of one of the earliest and most important outposts in the colonial new world. The Latin South can henceforth not be ignored.” —Alabama Historical Quarterly

“The definitive account . . . superbly recounted.” —Journal of Southern History

“Meticulously documented. . . . Recommended for libraries interested in the colonial period.” —Choice

“Mind-boggling . . . a stupendous job of research. It is amazing that Higginbotham can recreate in such detail the lives of these people. All history books should be written like this.” —BirminghamMagazine

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Jay Higginbotham is Director of the Mobile Municipal Archives. Author of thirteen books, he has received five literary awards, including the Gilbert Chinard Prize and the Alabama Library Association Award.

REVIEWS

“The importance of Old Mobile to students of Gulf Coast history can hardly be overstated. There is nothing by an American author that comes close to rivaling it, nor apt to be for several long lifetimes. The scholarship is awesome and exemplary, the detail and accuracy of the narrative unmatched; the writing is good for such a solid piece of scholarship. It is one of the important books in Alabama history.” – Robert R. Rea, Auburn University

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“A landmark in Gulf Coast historiography.” – Florida Historical Quaterly

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“The best book ever written about a French settlement in the United States. . . . It is so good and so significant it presents a major challenge to American historians.” – Journal of the Illinois Historical Society

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Introduction

Preface

Abbreviations

Prologue

I
Confrontment at Pensacola

II
Transfer to Massacre Island

III
Beginning the Establishment

IV
Tonti and the Pax Gallica

V
Iberville at Fort Louis

VI
Early Dissensions

VII
Perfidy and Reprisal

VIII
Recruitment in Paris

IX
Robinau de Bécancour

X
The Voyage of the Pélican

XI
Summer Scourge

XII
Continuing Crises

XIII
Bienville and La Salle

XIV
Gravier and La Vente

XV
The Aigle Arrives

XVI
Embroilments Old and New

XVII
Dartaguiette d'Iron

XVIII
Threats from Within and Without

XIX
The Colony on Its Own

XX
La Vente and La Salle: Last Days

XXI
The Spanish Grow Cold

XXII
Moving Downstream

Illustrations

Appendixes

Bibliography

Index