Ulloa's banishment; a strong force under General O'Reilly took possession of the city, put to death and imprisoned about twelve of the principal citizens concerned in the movement, and so the matter ended. Cable, in his Creoles of Louisiana (p. 70), thus states the

circumstances:

At length the project of forming a republic was revived and was given definite shape and advocacy. But priceless time had been thrown away, the opportune moment had passed, an overwhelming Spanish army and fleet was approaching, and the spirit of the people was paralyzed. The revolt against the injustice and oppression of two royal powers at once by the first European colony that entertained the idea of proclaiming her independence was virtually at an end.

THE PRIESTS' QUARREL.

Shortly after the colony had become quiet again under the rule of the Spanish governor, Unzaga, a religious quarrel arose, founded upon national differences. The Capuchins were the spiritual caste to whom religion in the colony had been committed from the earliest times. When Spanish Capuchins came into the field quite a lively priests' quarrel ensued, in which we find the Spanish governor doing all he could to help the French monks in a spirit every way commendable. From the documents in this case we obtain quite instructive glimpses of the condition of the populace during this period:

The people here will remain quiet as long as they are gently treated, but the use of the rod would produce confusion and ruin. Their dispositions are the result of the happy state of liberty to which they have been accustomed from the cradle and in which they ought to be maintained so far as is consistent with the laws of the Kingdom. *

*

*

The people here are neither vicious nor addicted to debauchery nor opposed to our habits, although in many respects those habits disagree with their taste. They have some of their own, as other people have, to which they are much attached, and this is very natural. Those habits are not in conflict with the primordial obligations of society; they are not to be eradicated at once, but must be removed gradually and almost imperceptibly. *

*

*

*

*

*

What they [i. e., the French Capuchins] may do in their cells and what their secret sins may be I can not tell, but I know that they give no bad examples, and that they inculcate no unsound doctrine. And how many times does it not happen that the preacher's sermons and his acts are at variance! How comes the prelate to be acquainted with the existence of crimes which, monstrous as they are represented to be, I have not been able to detect, although I am on the spot? An enlightened prudence and a good deal of toleration are necessary here, for although this is a Spanish province, and although Count O'Reilly endeavored to make its inhabitants forget the former domination under which they had lived so long, still I can not flatter His Majesty so much as to say that the people have ceased to be French at heart, and that in them is not to be found that spirit of independence which causes resistance to oppressive laws. But I will affirm that they are susceptible of being submissive and loyal subjects, that they entertain great veneration for their ancient laws, and that the state of felicity which they now enjoy is a guaranty to me that they are not to be suspected of being disposed to fail in their duties toward the Crown. Therefore do I endeavor to keep them in the colony and to secure their love and services to the King, without caring in

the least for what I deem to be fooleries. After the blow which the colonists drew upon themselves by their late revolution. the infliction of another wound would be tantamount to utter destruction.*

The quarrel was peacefully arranged. For us its importance is in the glimpse we have of the people and the clergy at that period.

GLEAMS OF PROSPERITY.

The prosperity of the colony had been no greater under the Spanish administration during its earlier portion than under the old régime. In 1768 the population of New Orleans counted only 3,500 whites. Governor Galvez, who succeeded Unzaga in 1777, was in a position to see greater growth. In the preceding year a treaty had been made with France allowing trade with the French Windward Islands, and commissioners of that nationality had been appointed to regulate this trade in New Orleans. Unzaga had been winking at British violations of the laws regulating commerce; Galvez fostered this trade through a French medium. For the first time the Spanish Government exhibited an inclination to foster the colony. The King undertook to buy $800,000 worth of tobacco yearly, or more if a larger crop should be raised. The sum of $40,000 annually was devoted to bringing in new colonists, whom they tried to draw from France or the French colonies in the Indies. In 1779 Galvez reported the accession of 499 colonists from the Canary Islands who had been sent at the King's expense. Some of the emigrant families, besides the lands, cattle, rations, and other aid given them, received the splendid donation of from $3,000 to $4,000.

LOUISIANA IN THE REVOLUTION—GALVEZ.

On the 8th of May, 1779, Spain declared war against Great Britain and Louisiana was put in a state of defense. Galvez was not content with mere inaction, but marched first on the English at Manchac, taking the fort and a few prisoners. On the 21st of September, Baton Rouge, strong as its fortifications were, was captured, and a force of nearly 400 men surrendered. The result of the entire campaign was flattering to the Spanish arms. Eight vessels had been captured and three forts, all with little loss to the Spaniards. Of the behavior of the native troops of Louisiana, Gayarré (Vol. III, p. 131) says, on the basis of information taken from the contemporary newspapers in Madrid:

The Louisiana militia behaved with extraordinary discipline and fortitude. It was difficult to restrain their ardor, particularly that of the Acadians, who, at the sight of the British troops, being inflamed with rage at the recollection of their old injuries, were eager to rush on those who had desecrated their hearths, burned

*Gayarré III, p. 91 et seq., citing from a letter of Governor Unzaga to the Bishop of Havana.

their paternal roofs to the ground, and driven them into exile like miserable outlaws and outcasts.

The further achievements of Galvez were the capture of Mobile and of Pensacola, and in all these operations he was assisted by Louisiana troops. So great was his success that he was rewarded with the governorship of Mexico when still a young man of about 25 years of age. His wife was a native of Louisiana and had been educated in the Ursulines' convent.

PROSPERITY REALIZED.

This period was certainly the heyday of prosperity for a colony that had rooted itself so slowly. At the close of Galvez's administration the population of the colony, black and white, had reached the number of 31,433, but it must be always kept in mind that the limits of the colony were as widely separated as the Gulf of Mexico and the upper Missouri one way and the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains in another, and while what is now Louisiana contained the bulk of the population, the settlements were, however, very widely separated. About 12,000 of the inhabitants were gathered within New Orleans. In the year 1787 the import and export duties from this port reached the sum of $72,000. On March 21 of the following year almost the entire city was consumed by a fire, the losses from which were set down by Governor Mirò, in his report to the Spanish Government, at over $2,500,000.

THE SPANISH SCHOOL.

Reports of the same governor shed light on the condition of the schools in the colony at this time:

It seems that in 1772 there came from Spain Don Andreas Lopez de Armesto as director of the school which was ordered to be established at New Orleans, Don Pedro Aragon as teacher of grammar, Don Manuel Diaz de Lara as professor of the rudiments of the Latin language, and Don Francisco de la Celena as teacher of reading and writing. But the governor, Don Luis de Unzaga, found himself greatly embarrassed as to the establishment of those schools, because he knew that the parents would not send their children to them unless they were driven to it by fear of some penalty. Considering, however, that it was not proper to resort to violence, he confined himself to making the public acquainted with the benefits which they would derive from the education which the magnanimous heart of His Majesty thus put within their reach. Nevertheless, no pupil ever presented himself for the Latin class. A few came to be taught reading and writing only. These never exceeded 30, and frequently dwindled down to 6. For this reason the three teachers taught nothing beyond the rudiments.*

The schoolhouse employed by these Spanish teachers was destroyed by the fire, and a citizen of New Orleans, Don Andres Almonaster, offered a room 12 by 13 for the temporary use of the school. The number of pupils had been reduced from 23 to 12 by the fire, for many families had retired to their country homes. The governor proposed the construction of a more suitable building for the school, at a cost of $6,000.*

*Gayarré, III, pp. 204-205.

THE FRENCH SCHOOLS.

In the same report mention is made of the private schools that were frequented by the children of French descent:

The introduction of the Spanish language in this colony is an object of difficult attainment, which it will require much time to accomplish, as the like with regard to any language has always happened in every country passing under the domination of another nation. All that has been obtained so far is that all the proceedings of the courts of justice in the town be conducted in Spanish. But we have not succeeded so well in the other posts and dependencies, where French alone continues to be spoken. Even in this town the books of the merchants, except of those Spanish born, are kept in that language. For this reason, as those who have no fortune to leave to their sons aspire to give them no other career than a mercantile one, for which they think that reading and writing is sufficient, they prefer that this be taught them in French, and thus there were, before the fire, eight schools of that description, which were frequented by 400 children of both sexes.

REFLECTIONS.

Truly, education had made little progress in three-quarters of a century. Bienville, nearly fifty years before, had asked for the establishment of a college, and even now there was no call for one. To be sure, if there had been no national prejudice in the way there might have been some call for the higher branches in which instruction was offered by the Spanish school. Perhaps, if Bienville's request had been granted, there might have been by this time a high ideal of culture established in the colony. But, after all, leisure and a wealthy community form the indispensable background before any picture of culture can be so much as sketched in, and in this sparse settlement it was the muscle forces that the exigencies of daily life demanded, or such mental employments as brought a distinct monetary return.

THE SPANISH RULE.

A census taken in 1788 gave the colony a population of about 43,000. This was quite an increase over the last number reported, and shows that its growth was steady. The Spanish rule had been growing more and more popular in the country, and marriages were not infrequent between the Spanish officials and the native Creoles. Governor Mirò returned to Spain in 1791. He is thus favorably characterized by Martin, who is not inclined to praise the Spanish administration: "He carried with him the good wishes and regrets of the colonists."

The old French spirit, however, broke out afresh during the administration of his successor, Baron Carondelet. Ripples from the distant whirlpool of the French revolution broke against this quieted land, and the music of the Marseillaise and Ça ira threw the French population back into that love for France which was now become the love of liberty. One hundred and fifty of the citizens were bold enough to openly address a petition to the French Government praying for a reannexation. The governor sent around a counter memorial in

which the signers were to avow their devotion to the Spanish King. He forbade the singing of revolutionary songs in the theaters, and ventured to arrest six of the leading malcontents and send them to Havana, where they were detained for a year.

SUGAR CANE INTRODUCED.

In the year 1794 New Orleans was again almost totally destroyed by fire, with losses greater, if anything, than had been occasioned by the fire of 1788. In 1795, however, a source of new prosperity was opened to the colony by the introduction of the sugar industry, which was, perhaps, an ample compensation for all such losses by fire. From this source came the great wealth of Louisiana in later days. BISHOP PEÑALVERT ON THE SPANISH SCHOOL AND THE URSULINES CONVENT.

From a report of Bishop Peñalvert, recently come over to take charge of the spiritual concerns of the colony, we may get glimpses of the state of education in 1795. Not to include general denunciations of the licentious character of the men and their failure to observe religious duties, like fasts, etc., we find the following more particular statements:

The Spanish school which has been established here at the expense of the Crown is kept as it ought to be; but as there are others which are French and of which one alone is opened by authority and with the regular license, and as I was ignorant of the faith professed by the teachers and of their morality, I have prescribed for them such regulations as are in conformity with the provisions of our legislation. Excellent results are obtained from the convent of the Ursulines, in which a good many girls are educated; but their inclinations are so decidedly French that they have even refused to admit among them Spanish women who wished to become nuns so long as these applicants should remain ignorant of the French idiom; and they have shed many tears on account of their being obliged to read in Spanish books their spiritual exercises and to comply with the other duties of their community in the manner prescribed to them.

This is the nursery of those future matrons who will inculcate on their children the principles which they here imbibe. The education which they receive in this institution is the cause of their being less vicious than the other sex. As to what the boys are taught in the Spanish school, it is soon forgotten. Should their education be continued in a college, they would be confirmed in their religious principles, in the good habits given to them, and in their loyalty as faithful vassals to the Crown. But they leave the school when still very young and retire to the houses of their parents, mostly situated in the country, where they hear neither the name of God nor of the King, but daily witness the corrupt morals of their parents.*

LE MONITEUR DE LA LOUISIANE.

In the year 1794 Governor Carondelet started the first newspaper in the country, "Le Moniteur de la Louisiane."

*Gayarré, III, p. 378 et seq.

1155-No. 1 -2