DEVAUDREUIL, PIERREDERIGAUD
Utrecht in 1712, were not only at peace but
also official allies; hence, he was to take no
steps to alienate their new “friends.”
Vaudreuil returned to Canada in 1716,
now acknowledged as indispensable to the
survival of that province. He remained de-
termined to halt British expansion into the
Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi, as well
as to reclaim French domination of the fur
trade there. He trod carefully, as per govern-
mental instructions, but when the British de-
clared war upon the Abenakis in 1722, he se-
cretly supplied them with shipments of arms
and ammunition. He also authorized the
construction of Fort Niagara in western
New York to discourage British expansion in
that region. To the end of his regime, Vau-
dreuil felt that peaceful relations with the
English were impossible, and it was better
to start preparing for the next round in ad-
vance. By 1721, the esteem with which the
government held him culminated in the re-
ceipt of the Grand Cross of St. Louis, one of
France’s highest honors. Vaudreuil died at
Quebec on October 10, 1725, universally
hailed as one of New France’s most effective
rulers. In 1755, his son, Pierre Rigaud de
Vaudreuil, became the last governor of that
forlorn province.
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Rigaud de Vaudreuil: Governor of New France,
1703–1725.Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1974.de Vaudreuil, Pierre de Rigaud
(November 22, 1698–August 4, 1778)
French Colonial Governor
V
audreuil was the lastgovernor of New
France and a stalwart opponent of En-
glish expansion. However, his compe-
tent military strategy was severely compro-
mised by disagreements with, and animosity
toward, his leading general. Historians con-
clude that, given the disparity between French
and English resources, Vaudreuil could delay,
but not stop, the inevitable fall of Canada.
Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil was born in
Quebec on November 22, 1698, into a well-es-
tablished colonial family. His father, Philippe
de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, was then governor-
general of New France and part of a distin-
guished noble lineage from Languedoc,
France. The younger Vaudreuil was well-edu-
cated and entered the troupes de la marine,
or colonial regular soldiers, at the age of 10.