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[CHAPTER 1]
[Page 1]
CONCESSIONS AND FORCED WHITE LABOR IN EARLY LOUISIANA
In September 1712, there were not more than 20 Negroes in the colony when Louis XIV of France granted to Antoine Crozat the exclusive right to trade in the territory of Louisiana.1 Crozat’s grant gave him the privilege of trading for hides and furs, and the extent of his concession stretched from the Illinois Territory to the Gulf of Mexico.2 Among the duties prescribed by the charter and accepted by Crozat were those of transporting two shiploads of white settlers to Louisiana each year, and the payment of all the expenses of the colony after a period of nine years. Payment for the services of the officers and garrisons was also included in this amount.3 Although his charter gave him the privilege of sending annually to the coast of Guinea for Negro slaves to be used as laborers, he made no attempt to take advantage of these provisions. Crozat had planned to trade his merchandise in return for hides and furs, but the plan failed when the settlers discovered that they could trade elsewhere to better advantage. Very soon other difficulties arose in the colony, and in 1717 Crozat appealed to the Crown to relieve him of his obligation. The French King gladly acceded to Crozat’s appeal because John Law, who had risen high in French financial circles, now set about to create a powerful company for the exploitation of the natural resources of Louisiana.
Law, who was held in great favor at the French Court, was granted the charter formerly held by Crozat. Posing as a master of finance, he was allowed to open a bank at Paris with a capital stock of 6,000,000 livres. The stock was divided into shares of
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