Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz
Encyclopedia
Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz (1695?-1775) was an ethnographer, historian
, and naturalist
who is best known for his Histoire de la Louisiane. It was first published in installments from 1751-1753 in the Journal Economique, then completely in three volumes in Paris
in 1758. After their victory in the Seven Years' War
, the English published it in translation in 1763. The memoir was based on Le Page's years in Louisiana from 1718 to 1734, when he learned the Natchez
language and befriended native leaders. It included an account by Moncacht-apé, a Yazoo
explorer who had completed travel to the Pacific Coast
and back, a century before the Lewis and Clark Expedition
. He had learned of oral traditions of a land bridge to Asia, by which the Native Americans
had come to North America.
or France
, and was raised in the latter country. Serving with Louis XIV’s dragoons in the French Army
, he saw service in Germany
in 1713 during the War of the Spanish Succession
.
On May 25, 1718, he left La Rochelle, France, with 800 men on one of three ships bound for Louisiana. He arrived on August 25, 1718. Le Page lived in Louisiana
from 1718 to 1734, and from 1720 to 1728 at Natchez, Mississippi
. His companion was a Chitimacha
woman (and likely had children with her), learned the Natchez
language, and befriended local native leaders.
When he finally wrote his memoir, Le Page directly used the words of many of his Native informants, rather than describing the "manners and customs of the Indians" in the detached fashion of so many colonial authors. Because of his own interest in the origins of Native Americas, Le Page was especially attentive to the account by the Yazoo
explorer Moncacht-apé. He had traveled to the Pacific coast and back, a century before the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Le Page devoted three entire chapters to the Yazoo man's account of his travels. Moncacht-apé was curious about the origins of his people and traveled to learn more. When he reached the Pacific Coast, Moncacht-apé heard Native accounts with references to an ancient land bridge
from Asia
.
Le Page lived at Natchez from 1720 to 1728 under the colonization scheme organized by John Law
and the Company of the West. His familiarity with the local Natchez, and knowledge of their language and customs, is the basis for some of the unique aspects of his writings. Because he returned to New Orleans to take an appointment as manager of the Company's plantation
, he avoided being killed in the so-called Natchez Rebellion or Natchez Massacre of 1729. Tensions and retaliatory attacks had escalated as settlers encroached on Indian territory.
During the uprising by the Natchez, Chickasaw
and Yazoo
, which Le Page described in detail, the Natives destroyed the Fort Rosalie
and killed nearly all of the male French colonists there. The Native Americans did not kill enslaved Africans or French women. After the massacre, the French king ended the concession of the Company of the West and seized control of the plantation which Le Page was managing. French troops put down the Natchez Rebellion by 1731. They sold several hundred captive Indians into slavery and transported them to Saint-Domingue
in the Caribbean
.
before he wrote and published his memoir of Louisiana. The Memoire sur la Louisiane was published by installments between September 1751 and February 1753 in the Journal Oeconomique (Economic Journal), a Paris periodical devoted to scientific and commercial topics, . In 1758 the three octavo volumes of the Histoire de la Louisiane were published. Part of the book was devoted to ethnographic descriptions of the Native peoples of Louisiana, particularly the Natchez. Other sections described the history of the colony, from the Spanish
and French
explorers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries through establishment of the French settlements along the Mississippi
.
In 1763 after the British had defeated France in the Seven Years' War
, an English translation of part of Le Page du Pratz's work was published in London
. The publishers changed the title, releasing it as The History of Louisiana, or of the Western Parts of Virginia and Carolina. This effectively put the former French colony under its English
neighbors to the east. The preface asserted that the English "nation may now reap some advantages from those countries...by learning from the experience of others, what they do or are likely to produce, that may turn to account." The Lewis and Clark Expedition
believed Le Page's work important enough to include among the guides which they took on their long journey.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, and naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
who is best known for his Histoire de la Louisiane. It was first published in installments from 1751-1753 in the Journal Economique, then completely in three volumes in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1758. After their victory in the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, the English published it in translation in 1763. The memoir was based on Le Page's years in Louisiana from 1718 to 1734, when he learned the Natchez
Natchez
Natchez may refer to:* Natchez people, a Native American nation* Natchez language, the language of that Native American tribe* Natchez, Mississippi, United States* Natchez, Louisiana, United States* Natchez, Indiana, United States...
language and befriended native leaders. It included an account by Moncacht-apé, a Yazoo
Yazoo tribe
The Yazoo were a tribe of the Native American Tunica people historically located on the lower course of Yazoo River, Mississippi. It was closely connected to other Tunica peoples, especially the Tunica, Koroa, and possibly the Tioux....
explorer who had completed travel to the Pacific Coast
Pacific Coast
A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
and back, a century before the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
. He had learned of oral traditions of a land bridge to Asia, by which the Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
had come to North America.
Early life
Le Page Du Pratz was born either in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
or France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and was raised in the latter country. Serving with Louis XIV’s dragoons in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
, he saw service in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1713 during the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
.
On May 25, 1718, he left La Rochelle, France, with 800 men on one of three ships bound for Louisiana. He arrived on August 25, 1718. Le Page lived in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
from 1718 to 1734, and from 1720 to 1728 at Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
. His companion was a Chitimacha
Chitimacha
The Chitimacha are a Native American federally recognized tribe that lives in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly in St. Mary Parish. They currently number about 720 people. The Chitimacha language is a language isolate.- History :The Chitimacha's historic home was the southern Louisiana coast...
woman (and likely had children with her), learned the Natchez
Natchez
Natchez may refer to:* Natchez people, a Native American nation* Natchez language, the language of that Native American tribe* Natchez, Mississippi, United States* Natchez, Louisiana, United States* Natchez, Indiana, United States...
language, and befriended local native leaders.
When he finally wrote his memoir, Le Page directly used the words of many of his Native informants, rather than describing the "manners and customs of the Indians" in the detached fashion of so many colonial authors. Because of his own interest in the origins of Native Americas, Le Page was especially attentive to the account by the Yazoo
Yazoo tribe
The Yazoo were a tribe of the Native American Tunica people historically located on the lower course of Yazoo River, Mississippi. It was closely connected to other Tunica peoples, especially the Tunica, Koroa, and possibly the Tioux....
explorer Moncacht-apé. He had traveled to the Pacific coast and back, a century before the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Le Page devoted three entire chapters to the Yazoo man's account of his travels. Moncacht-apé was curious about the origins of his people and traveled to learn more. When he reached the Pacific Coast, Moncacht-apé heard Native accounts with references to an ancient land bridge
Land bridge
A land bridge, in biogeography, is an isthmus or wider land connection between otherwise separate areas, over which animals and plants are able to cross and colonise new lands...
from Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
Le Page lived at Natchez from 1720 to 1728 under the colonization scheme organized by John Law
John Law
John Law may refer to:*John Law *John Law DD was an English mathematician*John Law *John Law , Hong Kong film director...
and the Company of the West. His familiarity with the local Natchez, and knowledge of their language and customs, is the basis for some of the unique aspects of his writings. Because he returned to New Orleans to take an appointment as manager of the Company's plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
, he avoided being killed in the so-called Natchez Rebellion or Natchez Massacre of 1729. Tensions and retaliatory attacks had escalated as settlers encroached on Indian territory.
During the uprising by the Natchez, Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
and Yazoo
Yazoo tribe
The Yazoo were a tribe of the Native American Tunica people historically located on the lower course of Yazoo River, Mississippi. It was closely connected to other Tunica peoples, especially the Tunica, Koroa, and possibly the Tioux....
, which Le Page described in detail, the Natives destroyed the Fort Rosalie
Fort Rosalie
Fort Rosalie was a French fort built in 1716 in the territory of the Natchez Native Americans. The present-day city of Natchez, Mississippi developed at this site. As part of the peace terms that ended the Natchez War of 1716, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville required the Natchez to...
and killed nearly all of the male French colonists there. The Native Americans did not kill enslaved Africans or French women. After the massacre, the French king ended the concession of the Company of the West and seized control of the plantation which Le Page was managing. French troops put down the Natchez Rebellion by 1731. They sold several hundred captive Indians into slavery and transported them to Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
Writings
Le Page du Pratz waited more than fifteen years after his return to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
before he wrote and published his memoir of Louisiana. The Memoire sur la Louisiane was published by installments between September 1751 and February 1753 in the Journal Oeconomique (Economic Journal), a Paris periodical devoted to scientific and commercial topics, . In 1758 the three octavo volumes of the Histoire de la Louisiane were published. Part of the book was devoted to ethnographic descriptions of the Native peoples of Louisiana, particularly the Natchez. Other sections described the history of the colony, from the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
explorers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries through establishment of the French settlements along the Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
.
In 1763 after the British had defeated France in the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, an English translation of part of Le Page du Pratz's work was published in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The publishers changed the title, releasing it as The History of Louisiana, or of the Western Parts of Virginia and Carolina. This effectively put the former French colony under its English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
neighbors to the east. The preface asserted that the English "nation may now reap some advantages from those countries...by learning from the experience of others, what they do or are likely to produce, that may turn to account." The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
believed Le Page's work important enough to include among the guides which they took on their long journey.