The Heterogeneity of Early French Forts and Settlements. A Comparison with Fort St. Pierre (1719-1729) in French Colonial Louisiane

Summary

Fort St. Pierre (1719-1729), located near present-day Vicksburg, Mississippi, was a short-lived and lightly manned frontier fort. Unlike other French forts this post never developed an accompanying settlement since local concessions failed and the workers moved away. The absence of an established mission with a resident missionary, and incursions by English traders into the region compounded the shocks awaiting the soldiers recruited from France. Archaeological evidence reveals that adaptation to their new setting involved the soldiers’ interactions with neighboring Native groups. Political, social, and economic factors affected these soldiers differently than those at other early settlements. Using correspondence analysis these differences, and any similarities, will be discussed in this presentation through a comparison of Fort St. Pierre to other early French and Native settlements along the Mississippi River corridor.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• More than Ramparts and Redoubts: Forts and Families of New France

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-21,07