Étienne Périer (governor)

Étienne Périer was the fifth governor of the Louisiana colony. He became governor in 1727. His governorship was marked by the arrival of the first Ursuline nuns in New Orleans in 1727 to establish the first convent within the limits of what was to become the United States as well as a war against the Natchez Indians due to bad relations with Chepart, the commander at Fort Rosalie. After agitating the Indians by demanding that they give up either their village or their land, the Indians launched an attack on November 29, 1729, and killed nearly three hundred persons at Fort Rosalie. The French retaliated and by 1731 had killed or captured most of the Indians. The captured Indians were sent as slaves to Santo Domingo, and the few remaining free moved further westward and joined the Chickasaw Indians. This marked the end of the Natchez Indian nation. In the same year, the Company of the Indies petitioned the King of France to take back their charter, thus ending their control of the colony. Périer remained governor for two years after Louisiana was returned to the Crown but became frustrated with deteriorating relations with the Chickasaws and lost interest in the colony. He resigned, and Jean-Baptiste le Moyne de Bienville was chosen to yet again serve as governor of the colony.

References

• Davis, Edwin Adams. Louisiana the Pelican State. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1961. LCCN 59:9088.