WI: Huguenot Louisiana

[Mister Mister]

Ok, so what if, Louis XIV decided, instead of abolishing Edict of Nantes, allow Huguenot settlement of Louisiana colony? So, they can go there and have religious tolerance, but not in France and other colonies.

 

[holycookie]

Ok, so what if, Louis XIV decided, instead of abolishing Edict of Nantes, allow Huguenot settlement of Louisiana colony? So, they can go there and have religious tolerance, but not in France and other colonies.

Well the colony will explode in population. In the period France had 800 thousand Protestants and in the OTL 200 thousand left the country. I tend to think that at least 40 to 50 thousand Protestants would go to Louisiana. Making the colony much more solid, probably expanding on its own. As a whole, we would have a Francophone country in North America, because the USA and England will not be able to conquer the region.

 

[Mister Mister]

Well the colony will explode in population. In the period France had 800 thousand Protestants and in the OTL 200 thousand left the country. I tend to think that at least 40 to 50 thousand Protestants would go to Louisiana. Making the colony much more solid, probably expanding on its own. As a whole, we would have a Francophone country in North America, because the USA and England will not be able to conquer the region.

I think that 40-50 000 are a minimum, because- if they had 800 000 Huguenots at the time ( and I suppose at least 200 000 of crypto-Huguenots ), and if 200 000 of them left France ( to Germany, Netherlands, England etc. ) in spite of ban on leaving France- then I think with permission to leave France at least 200 000 of them would go to Louisianne. Of course, not all at once, so I presume that Louis XIV would give them some deadline, say 10-15 years, to go to Louisianne- while leaving for other countries would be prohibited IMHO. And I think that 20% of them deciding to go into a wilderness across the ocean instead of suffering repression in France- isn't too big number.

It would be a big problem for French shipping at the time, and maybe not all of them would be transported. Then again, they might rent ships from England, Netherlands etc. to transport them there.

Once there, I think that at least half of them will die within next 10-15 years, mostly because of topical diseases.- malaria, yellow fever etc. But, say that half of them survives. Also, I think that some part of the remaining French Huguenots ( 80% ) that initially decided to remain in France and become Catholics, might change it's mind and decide to go to Louisiane in next few decades, allowing for steady immigration.

Being mostly merchants and craftsmen, they would need someone to till the fields in Louisianne, if not right away, then later when they settle. So, I think that slaves from Africa will start to arrive pretty shortly. With also some French peasants, to grow food. They will grow mostly cash crops, sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, indigo? With also some substence agriculture too. Also, I presume, that they will go inland relativly soon, mostly by using rivers like Mississippi, Arkansas, Sabine, Alabama etc.
Some of them, will probably, end up north in Illinois and Canada, Pays Haut too- illegaly yes, but I think that they will mostly be tolerated, either out of need for white/French settlers, either because of lack of law enforcement.

Considering that they will mostly take their wifes with them, they will mostly marry in between themselves, with number of inter-racial marriages ( either with Indians or Africans ) low. Some marriages with Catholic French, mostly in the north- probably will happen. That will mean that they will probably feel pretty insular, with maybe siege-mentality, especially with number of black slaves growing.

 

[PGSBHurricane]

Tbh I’m not sure this idea would work. I mean Huguenot emigration to the New World had been banned for nearly 6 decades by 1685. With the rulers of France being increasingly anti-Huguenot up to that point, I’m not sure what would allow for France to allow Huguenot migration to Louisiana considering the French, IIRC, had emphasized making their North American colonies (outside the Caribbean) very purely Catholic.

 

[Mister Mister]

Tbh I’m not sure this idea would work. I mean Huguenot emigration to the New World had been banned for nearly 6 decades by 1685. With the rulers of France being increasingly anti-Huguenot up to that point, I’m not sure what would allow for France to allow Huguenot migration to Louisiana considering the French, IIRC, had emphasized making their North American colonies (outside the Caribbean) very purely Catholic.

Yes, I know that. But, considering that this is alternate history, I think that Louis XIV has done even more weird things in his life, so this isn't out of realm of possibility.

 

[unprincipled peter]

Accepting a hand wavium, presto magic, it is done (ignoring all the reasons why it wouldn't be allowed)...

Would there be many takers on the offer? They will be, realistically speaking, the initial settlers in tropical wilderness. The only incentive is that they get to remain under a French flag. On the flip side, they can migrate to other destinations and remain in civilization.

There's a limit to how many can suddenly migrate. There's virtually no infrastructure, and large numbers dumped on shore is a recipe for disaster, exacerbating the natural effects of tropical living. After the first wave, tales of the rapidly filling cemeteries will reach home, and the second wave will go elsewhere. A century later, France tried shoving 10,000 settlers into Guiana, and failed miserably.

I see one of two things happening: most likely, a trickle which could steadily increase, or the aforementioned disaster of trying to push too many, too fast. Either way, expect a trickle.

It is going to be a tough go of it, but France will gain a toehold. They likely spread northward into Arkansas, and west into Texas. If they can survive native american predation, (edit) clashes with native americans, Texas is going to be a prime destination. Spain will object, but for the next couple decades, France is at war with Spain (or Spain is under contention in WoSS). If we assume this POD doesn't alter the course of European history, which is plausible, French Louisiana will have enough of a population to push west during the War of Quadruple alliance. OTL, France pushed west, but didn't have the manpower to hold it. Here, France may be able to take the rest of Texas, and perhaps New Mexico, and (an outside chance) the gold fields of northern Mexico. By the time of the French and Indian/7YW, there's a viable colony, and it becomes a theater of the war. Does this spread Britain out too thinly, affecting the outcome of the war?

In the meantime, would a growing Huguenot population cause anxiety in France, and thus affect their migration policies? At a minimum, France is going to encourage Catholic migration to Louisiana so that true Frenchmen will be in control. That might carry over north into the Canadian half of New France. This, in turn, affects the outcome of any conflict with Britain over control of North America.

Overall, I think there is a bigger French presence, but no grand Huguenot colony, at least not for a century, or two. The more successful the colony gets, the more France will look to promote Catholic migration and/or pump the brakes on Huguenot success.

 

[dcharles]

If they can survive native american predation,

I appreciate your analysis in general, but the quoted sentence is alarming.

Native tribes are *preying* on European robbers?

In the immortal words of the Virgin Mary, "come again?"

 

[unprincipled peter]

I appreciate your analysis in general, but the quoted sentence is alarming.

Native tribes are *preying* on European robbers?

In the immortal words of the Virgin Mary, "come again?"

I'd rather not go down this road again. Certainly, Europeans were often interlopers. Often, they made treaties with the natives, and overstepped their bounds. Often, it was natives who broke treaties. There was a clash of cultures. The natives had a code of gain of territory by conquest, just as the Europeans did. This has all been discussed before here.

If my use of the word 'predation' offends you, I apologize. Perhaps it is better phrased "survive clashes with native americans", and leave all assignment of blame aside. For purposes of this OP (Louisiana as a Huguenot settler colony), it is a given that there will be loss of territory by the natives, and resultant clashes.

I have edited my post.

 

[Mister Mister]

What I wonder the most is, how will society develop in this Louisiana? With at least majority of French settlers Huguenots? Yes, there will be some number of Catholics as well, how many, who knows, considering hey didn't leave France so much IOTL.

 

[Comte de Geneve]

Unless the 'migration' was compulsory I do not see it working if allowed or even encouraged by Louis XIV. Why go to a tropical wilderness when there are more congenial destinations close by such as the Protestant West German states, the United Provinces, and England. I know some Huguenots ended up in frontier areas such as South Africa or British America (like my ancestors) but they were settling in colonies ruled by co-religionists and with comfortable climates.

 

[Mister Mister]

Unless the 'migration' was compulsory I do not see it working if allowed or even encouraged by Louis XIV. Why go to a tropical wilderness when there are more congenial destinations close by such as the Protestant West German states, the United Provinces, and England. I know some Huguenots ended up in frontier areas such as South Africa or British America (like my ancestors) but they were settling in colonies ruled by co-religionists and with comfortable climates.

Well, it would be pretty compulsory, with migration to other countries banned as in OTL, with options between Louisiana and dragonades...

 

[PGSBHurricane]

Well, it would be pretty compulsory, with migration to other countries banned as in OTL, with options between Louisiana and dragonades...

It would essentially require Louis XIV be a completely different person to allow even legal emigration by the Huguenots from France, let alone to Louisiana. It was illegal for Huguenots to leave France so basically the dragonades and converting to Catholicism were, tragically, the only legal option. Not that it stopped illegal emigration out of France IOTL but still.

 

[Mister Mister]

It would essentially require Louis XIV be a completely different person to allow even legal emigration by the Huguenots from France, let alone to Louisiana. It was illegal for Huguenots to leave France so basically the dragonades and converting to Catholicism were, tragically, the only legal option. Not that it stopped illegal emigration out of France IOTL but still.

As I said, this is the alternate history site. And considering what we can read here every day, having Louis XIV change his mind/policy, isn't so implausible.

 

[vgh...]

It would essentially require Louis XIV be a completely different person to allow even legal emigration by the Huguenots from France, let alone to Louisiana. It was illegal for Huguenots to leave France so basically the dragonades and converting to Catholicism were, tragically, the only legal option. Not that it stopped illegal emigration out of France IOTL but still.

Is it possible that Louis XIV could expel some crypto/post-Calvinist peasant converts (not the noble protestants who were a threat to the unity of the French state) after some incident or other like the Spanish expelled the Moriscos? Ones that have already acquiesced to the Dragonnades but might have some gripe with the state, their submission being their ticket to Louisiana? Could the Mississippi Company collapsing earlier help?

 

[Nuraghe]

I also agree that Louis would be foolish to do so ( but saying what if... ) the only reason I see him accepting or supporting this: is if he conquered Holland in one of his previous wars, it is of course to consolidate his control decides to deprive/get rid of a Protestant 5th column in the said territory ( which could ally both with the French Huguenots but especially with the British ) but rest assured he will go out of his way to make life difficult for the colonists ( and he will certainly try to incentivize good French Catholics to go to New France / Louisiana to balance that out )

 

[Tanc49]

Would there be many takers on the offer? They will be, realistically speaking, the initial settlers in tropical wilderness. The only incentive is that they get to remain under a French flag. On the flip side, they can migrate to other destinations and remain in civilization.

There was a nominal French presence up the Mississipi, where the climate is more welcoming of Western European and their farming practices. You might see heavier settlements up North, with trading posts in St Louis, but less population

Well, it would be pretty compulsory, with migration to other countries banned as in OTL, with options between Louisiana and dragonades...

Plus, free and fertile land. Western Europe was quite crowded, not the place to build a new Jerusalem

 

[unprincipled peter]

There was a nominal French presence up the Mississipi, where the climate is more welcoming of Western European and their farming practices. You might see heavier settlements up North, with trading posts in St Louis, but less population

Agreed, but...
New Orleans wasn't founded til 1717ish. Arkansas Post in 1685,Illinois settlements around the turn of the century.
Sailing ships couldn't make it too far up the Mississippi due to too strong a current.
There's no infrastructure. The entire Mississippi River basin is wilderness (from a European perspective. The natives knew it well), only vaguely charted.

It is doable, but for any sizable migration, you need to build roads, ports, make treaties with the natives. All that isn't happening overnight. I think it is what should have been done, whether with Huguenots or Catholics, but there is expense and effort needed. It isn't as simple as yelling "there's free land, get the heck out of France". Along with the hand wavium magic which created this alt Huguenot decree, you need a bit of that magic dust to put Louis XIV off his never ending military quests, and on to a true effort to develop New France.

Free land didn't always apply to the people ending up with the land. Often, if not predominantly, a large tract of land was given to a developer, who then organized the migration, selling plots of land to the immigrants. Otherwise, the gov't is the one bearing the expense of organizing the dispersal of the land. When Spain held the territory, some of the local gov'ts were overwhelmed with bringing in modest numbers of migrants, and keeping them alive til self sufficiency was achieved.

 

[Claudius]

I grew up in Staten Island NY, one of the five boroughs of New York City. One of the areas there is called Hugonot (originally a town.) To this day Hugonot decendants live there and family names like Manee, Seguine and LaForge can still be found. There were others, but those three families happened to be friends of mine. OTL, the Hugonots migrated from Holland as religious refugees, and thrived in the New World. With royal assent from Louis, the migration to Louisiana could well have exceeded several hundred thousand. perhaps if such a colony of Calvinist Protestants did establish itself there the Dutch would have seen them as potential allies, particularly after losing New Amsterdam to the English and support them.