Old Mobile Site
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| Old Mobile Site / Fort Louis de La Louisiane | |
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| (U.S. National Register of Historic Places) | |
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| Location: | Mobile County, Alabama |
| Nearest city: | Bay Minette, Alabama |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | 123 acres (50 km2) |
| Built/Founded: | 1702 |
| Added to NRHP: | May 6, 1976 |
The Old Mobile Site was the location of the French settlement La Mobile and the associated Fort Louis de La Louisiane from 1702 until 1712. The site is located approximately fourteen miles (22 km) northwest of Bay Minette, Alabama on the Mobile River. The settlement served as the capital of French Lousiana from 1702 until 1711 when the capital was relocated to the location of present-day Mobile, Alabama. The settlement was founded and originally governed by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville. Upon the death of d'Iberville, the settlement was governed by his younger brother, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. The settlement site and fort were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1976.
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[edit] History
[edit] Factors leading to founding of Mobile
Following the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Spain's power began to wane allowing France to play an increasingly dominant role in Continental Europe while England increasingly controlled the New World. Under Louis XIV and his brilliant ministers, France created an army which intimidated Continental Europe and a navy which was strong enough to support the exploration and settlement of Canada. In 1608, the French flag flew over Quebec.
Zealous Jesuit missionaries spread out to convert the Indians. Two such missionaries, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the Mississippi River. René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle floated down the river in 1682 and claimed the entire Mississippi basin for France in the name of Louis XIV. France soon realized that in order to counter English and Spanish influence in the region and to protect Louisiana and the Mississippi River they needed a fort on the Gulf of Mexico.
After the ascent of William and Mary to the throne of England in 1688, hostilities between England and France grew increasing the urgency for a French settlement on the Gulf Coast. By controlling the Gulf Coast, the Alabama river valleys, the Mississippi River, the Ohio Valley, and Canada, France could surround England and confine them to the Eastern Seaboard. The stakes, vast reaches of land and the lucrative Indian fur trade, were enormous.
[edit] The Le Moyne brothers: d'Iberville and de Bienville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville was born in Montreal to a French emigrant. During the first of the French and Indian Wars, King William's War, he attacked the English in the Canadian area with such ferocity and success that he became a hero in the French court. With his seamanship and leadership, he was a natural choice to lead the proposed French settlement.
The younger brother of d'Iberville was Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, an energetic man with a clear perception of his responsibilities. Consistent with the autocratic nature of the French government, de Bienville ruled with authority when governor of Louisiana. Despite this style of governance, he inspired loyalty from his followers. He supported the Jesuits but was also willing to use them to his advantage. An understanding of Indian culture and Indian languages allowed him to establish friendships and alliances with Indian tribes. While normally kind and gentle, de Bienville could also be cruel causing men to both respect and fear him.
[edit] Exploration and site selection
Shortly after King William's War had ended, d'Iberville sailed from Brest, France with orders to establish a fort at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Accompanying d'Iberville on the voyage were de Bienville, soldiers, and two hundred colonists (including four women and children). The Le Moyne brothers arrived in Pensacola Bay on January 27, 1699 and were surprised to find that Spaniards from Vera Cruz had arrived three months before.
The French sailed on to Mobile Point (located at the western extreme of the peninsula that extends across much of Mobile Bay's mouth) and cast anchor on January 31 at the "mouth of La Mobilla." The group scouted a large island that d'Iberville named Massacre Island because of the large number of bones found there. From the top of an oak tree, d'Iberville could observe brackish water flowing from a river into the bay. He did not, however, detect the harbor on the northeast side of the island. After determining that the bay was too shallow, the party sailed onward.
The sailing party next visited the location of present-day Biloxi, Mississippi. On March 2, d'Iberville discovered the mouth of the Mississippi and sailed up the river looking for a suitable landing site. Based on the low and marshy banks, it was concluded that no suitable location for a settlement was available in the area. After retracing his route to Biloxi, d'Iberville landed and constructed Fort Maurepas, a crude fort of squared logs. This fort would serve as d'Iberville's base for additional exploration of the coastal areas. The accounts of André Pénicaut, a carpenter traveling with d'Iberville, reveal that "illnesses were becoming frequent" in the summer heat at Fort Maurepas necessitating a move to higher ground.
Pénicaut was with a scouting party that discovered a "spot on high ground" near an Indian village approximately twenty miles (32 km) up the Mobile River. The location provided higher ground than Fort Maurepas and provided the additional benefit of allowing closer contact to the Indians and easier observation of the English traders from the Carolinas. The French located the harbor on Massacre Island and named it Port Dauphin. They began moving the settlement from Fort Maurepas in 1702. Since shallow areas caused by silt from the rivers and a treacherous, shifting bar near Mobile Point made navigation by ocean-going vessels extremely dangerous, supplies were offloaded at Port Dauphin and then transported by smaller boats up the Mobile River.
