View source for Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville

{{short description|French soldier (1661–1706)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
| birth_date    = {{birth date|df=yes|1661|07|16}}
| death_date    = {{death date and age|df=yes|1706|07|9|1661|07|15}}
| birth_place   = [[Ville-Marie, Montreal|Ville-Marie]], [[New France]]
| death_place   = [[Havana]], [[Captaincy General of Cuba|Spanish Cuba]]
| image         = Portrait, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, Montréal Archives.jpg
| caption       = [[National Library and Archives of Quebec]]
| nickname      = 
| allegiance    = {{flag|Kingdom of France}}
| serviceyears  = 1686–1706
| rank          = 
| branch        = [[French Navy]]
| commands      = 
| unit          = 
| battles       = '''[[King William's War]]'''
* [[Hudson Bay expedition (1686)|Hudson Bay Campaign]]
* [[Battle of Fort Albany]]
* [[Schenectady massacre|Raid on Schenectady]]
* [[Capture of York Factory]]
* [[Action of 14 July 1696]]
* [[Siege of Pemaquid (1696)|Siege of Pemaquid]]
* [[Avalon Peninsula Campaign]]
* [[Battle of Hudson's Bay]]
'''[[War of the Spanish Succession]]'''
* [[Nevis|Capture of Nevis]]
| awards        = [[Order of Saint Louis]]
| signature     = Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville Signature.svg
}}
'''Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville'''{{efn|name="pron"|The name ''Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville'' is pronounced {{IPAc-en|p|i|ˈ|ɛər|_|l|ə|_|ˈ|m|w|ɑː|n|_|ˌ|d|iː|b|ɛər|ˈ|v|iː|l|,_|-|ˈ|v|ɪ|l}} {{respell|pee|AIR|_|lə|_|MWAHN|_|DEE|bair|VEEL|,_-|VIL}}, {{IPA|fr|pjɛʁ lə mwan dibɛʁvil|lang}}.  The title ''Sieur'' is pronounced {{IPAc-en|s|j|ɜr}} {{respell|SYUR}}, {{IPA|fr|sjœʁ|lang}}. However, residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast pronounce the city of [[D'Iberville, Mississippi|D'Iberville]] as {{IPAc-en|d|i|ˈ|aɪ|b|ər|v|ɪ|l}} {{respell|dee|EYE|bər|vil}}.}} (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706)<ref name="CathPLM">{{cite CE1913 |wstitle=Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville |first=Alcée |last=Fortier |author-link=Alcée Fortier |volume=7}}</ref><ref name="DCB">{{cite DCB |title=Le Moyne d'Iberville at d'Ardillières, Pierre |first=Bernard |last=Pothier |volume=2 |url=https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/le_moyne_d_iberville_et_d_ardillieres_pierre_2E.html}}</ref> or '''Sieur d'Iberville'''{{efn|name="pron"}} was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]] in [[New France]]. He was born in Montreal to French colonist parents.

==Early life==
Pierre Le Moyne was born in July 1661 at [[Fort Ville-Marie]] (now [[Montreal]]), in the French colony of [[Canada (New France)|Canada]], the third son<ref name=CathPLM/> of [[Charles le Moyne de Longueuil et de Châteauguay]], a native of [[Dieppe, France|Dieppe]] or of Longueuil near Dieppe, [[Normandy]] in [[France]] and lord of [[Longueuil]] in Canada, and of {{interlanguage link|Catherine Thierry|fr}} (called Catherine Primot in some sources) from [[Rouen]].<ref name=CathPLM/><ref>She was baptized at Saint-Denis-la-Petite parish church (now destroyed)</ref> He is also known as ''Sieur d'Iberville'' (''et d'Ardillières'').<ref name=CathPLM/><ref name=DCB/>

He had eleven brothers, most of whom became soldiers. One, [[Jacques Le Moyne de Sainte-Hélène]], led French and Indian forces in the [[Schenectady massacre]] in present-day New York's Mohawk Valley. [[Charles le Moyne de Longueuil, Baron de Longueuil]], was governor of Montreal. Another, [[Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville|Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne Bienville]], founded [[New Orleans]]. Jacques and Paul LeMoyne were with him on [[James Bay]], and Joseph LeMoyne was with him in [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]].

Le Moyne d'Iberville was raised [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] under the [[Jesuit]] order. Parish records indicate that he made his First Communion at the age of 12.<ref>{{cite book |first=Nellis Maynard |last=Crouse |title=Lemoyne d'Iberville: Soldier of New France |location=Baton Rouge |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |date=2001 |orig-year=1954 |edition=reprint |page=10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wzh_HaHF5qsC&pg=PA10 |isbn=978-0-8071-2700-1 }}</ref> Like most young men of his background, who received a classical and religious education, d'Iberville was educated in a [[Sulpician]] seminary.<ref>{{harvp|Crouse|2001|p=9}}</ref>

Destined for the priesthood, he chose the military vocation. At the age of 12, he became a cabin boy on his uncle's ship trading to [[Port-Royal (Acadia)|Port Royal]], [[Acadia]]. A few years later he was in the [[fur trade]] at [[Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario|Sault Ste. Marie]] in Canada, where he would have learned something of canoe travel in the wilderness. He later became quartermaster on one of his father's ships.

==Hudson Bay expeditions==
{{main|Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay}}

[[File:Histoire de l'Amerique Septentrionale - divisée en quatre tomes (1753) (14577108988).jpg|thumb|French forces led by d'Iberville, managed to defeat an English squadron, and capture [[York Factory]] during the [[Battle of Hudson's Bay]].]]
[[File:Moose Factory rebaptisé Fort St-Louis après sa capture par les Français en 1686.jpg|thumb|Moose Fort, later known as Moose Factory, was called Fort St-Louis after its capture by the French in 1696. It was recaptured by the British in 1696]]
The [[Hudson's Bay Company]] was founded in 1670. This company diverted furs away from Quebec and threatened further expansion into French territory. In 1682, the ''Compagnie du Nord'' was founded to compete with the English on the Bay. In 1686, the aggressive [[Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville|Governor General Denonville]] decided to drive out the English even though the two countries were at peace. 

Under the command of [[Pierre de Troyes, Chevalier de Troyes]], d'Iberville his brothers Paul and Jacques led the Canadian woodsmen on a 1686 [[Hudson Bay expedition|expedition to Hudson Bay]]. He played a heroic part in the capture of the fort at [[Moose Factory]]. At [[Fort-Rupert]], he captured the [[sloop]] ''Craven'' and killed at least one unarmed sailor. As a result, the French seized all three English posts on James Bay, leaving the English only [[York Factory]] which was far to the northwest and inaccessible by land. 

De Troyes left in August 1686, leaving d'Iberville in charge with 40 men. The following summer, when no supplies arrived, d'Iberville left 12 men at the forts and went first south to Quebec and then to France. In France, he lobbied for the ''Compagnie'' and obtained command of ''Soleil D'Afrique'' and returned to James Bay in the summer of 1688. There [[Battle of Fort Albany|he captured]] three HBC ships that were trying to re-establish their position on James Bay.

Returning to Quebec, he was caught up in [[King William's War]] and sent south to attack the British colonies (see below). In July 1690, he left Quebec with three ships in the hope of capturing York Factory. Finding himself outgunned by a larger English ship, he fled south and captured the new HBC base at [[Severn River (northern Ontario)|Fort Severn]]. In 1692 and 1693, he again planned to attack York Factory, but both times the needed ships were diverted. 

It was 1694 before he could effect the [[capture of York Factory]]. His work was undone when the English recaptured [[Fort Albany (Ontario)|Fort Albany]] in 1693 and York Factory in 1695. 1695 and 1696 were spent in coastal raiding. In 1697 he captured York Factory a second time after winning [[Battle of Hudson's Bay|his most heroic battle]]. It was too late in the season to capture Fort Albany, so he left Hudson Bay, never to return. York Factory remained French until 1713.

==King William's War==
[[File:Les Anglais attaqués par les Français à Terre-Neuve en 1696.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Avalon Peninsula Campaign|Avalon Peninsula campaign]] was a military operation led by d'Iberville, that saw English settlements throughout [[Newfoundland]] sacked by French forces.]]
In 1690, he was second in command to his brother Jacques in a raid south to New York that culminated in the [[Schenectady Massacre]]. In 1692, he convoyed supply ships from France and harassed English coastal settlements, taking three prizes. In 1694, he returned to Hudson Bay and [[Capture of York Factory|captured York Factory]] for the first time. 

In the spring of 1696, he sailed from France with three ships. Sending one to Quebec, he led the other two to the aid of the governor of [[Acadia]], [[Joseph Robineau de Villebon]], whom the English were blockading at the mouth of the [[Saint John River (Bay of Fundy)|Saint John River]]. He captured one enemy ship and drove the other two away. He then went 200 miles west and captured the most northerly settlement in New England, Pemaquid, [[Siege of Pemaquid (1696)]], 14 August. 

He then sailed east to [[Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador|Placentia]], the French capital of Newfoundland, and began the [[Avalon Peninsula Campaign]] on 1 November.  On this expedition he captured St. John's and ruined most of the English fishing villages. During four months of raids, Iberville was responsible for the destruction of 36 settlements. 

The Newfoundland campaign was one of the cruelest and most destructive of Iberville's career. Before he could consolidate his hold on Newfoundland, he was diverted north to [[Battle of Hudson's Bay|capture York Factory]] for a second time during the summer of 1697. Soon after his departure, the English arrived in Newfoundland with 2,000 troops and restored their position. Hostilities ended with the [[Treaty of Ryswick]] in September 1697.

==Exploring Louisiana==
In 1682, [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle]] was the first European to travel from the [[Great Lakes]] down the [[Mississippi River]] to the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. The French began dreaming of building a great empire by linking the [[St. Lawrence River|Saint Lawrence]] and Mississippi [[drainage basin|basins]], thereby bottling up the [[English colonization of the Americas|English]] on the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] [[coast]]. This presented diplomatic problems; the [[Gulf of Mexico|Gulf]] [[coast]] was claimed, though not occupied, by [[New Spain|Spain]].

[[Louis Phélypeaux (1643-1727)|Pontchartrain]], the minister for naval affairs and colonies, gave d'Iberville the task of locating the [[river mouth|mouth]] of the [[Mississippi River]], which La Salle had failed to find on his [[French colonization of Texas|last expedition]], and building a fort which would block the river to other nations. D'Iberville left [[Brest, France|Brest]] with four ships in October 1698. He sailed along the [[Spanish Florida|Florida]] coast, past the base the [[New Spain|Spanish]] were building at [[Pensacola]]. 

In March 1699, he entered the [[Mississippi River Delta|Birdfoot Delta]]. It was only after meeting some [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]] who remembered La Salle that he was sure that this was the Mississippi. Having achieved his first aim and finding no good sites in the delta, he built a temporary fort [[Fort Maurepas]] at [[Ocean Springs, Mississippi]], left a [[garrison]] of 81 men, and returned to [[Kingdom of France|France]].

[[File:Exploration du cour du Mississippi et fondation de la Louisiane en 1682-1699.jpg|thumb|A depiction of d'Iberville and [[Cavelier de La Salle]] exploring Louisiana.]]
On his second voyage, he reached Biloxi in January 1700. He built a second "Fort Maurepas" 40 miles up the Mississippi River. On his return journey, he is said to have stopped at [[Province of New York|New York City]] and sold 9,000 furs that [[coureurs des bois]] had given him, in preference to hauling them back to [[Montreal]]. This story illustrates the benefits of the future [[New Orleans]] area as a [[port]], the size of the French presence on the Mississippi at this early date, and d'Iberville's questionable business practices. On his third voyage in February 1701, he built [[Old Mobile Site|a fort]] at [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]]. Here, [[Henri de Tonti]] aided him in establishing good relations with the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]]. He left [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]] for the last time in April 1702. His brother [[Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville]] founded New Orleans in 1718.

==Queen Anne's War and his death==
In 1702, England and France were again at war ([[War of the Spanish Succession]], 1701–1714, the North American theater of which was [[Queen Anne's War]]).  D'Iberville had contracted [[malaria]] on the Gulf coast, and both his health and judgment seem to have deteriorated.  Early in 1706, he left France in command of twelve vessels. A squadron under [[Henri-Louis de Chavagnac]] devastated Saint Kitts. From 1 to 22 April, d'Iberville and Chavagnac devastated the island of [[Nevis]] and took much of the population prisoner.<ref>Hubbard, Vincent K. (2002). ''Swords, Ships & Sugar: History of Nevis''. Corvallis, Oregon: Premiere, {{ISBN|1891519050}}, pp. 113–120.</ref> 

He went to [[Havana]], where he was involved in planning [[Charles Town expedition|an expedition]] against [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charles Town, Carolina]] (an [[Kingdom of England|English]] colonial settlement), when he died suddenly, perhaps of [[yellow fever]], in July, 1706. D'Iberville was buried at Church of San Cristóbal ([[Havana Cathedral]]); the burial records identify him under his French name, and as '''El General Dom Pedro Berbila'''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historymuseum.ca/virtual-museum-of-new-france/the-explorers/pierre-le-moyne-diberville-1686-1702/|title=Pierre le Moyne d'Iberville 1686–1702 &#124; Virtual Museum of New France}}</ref><ref>[https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/78276ac Un héros québécois à La Havane, Pierre Lahoud, 2015]</ref>

After his death, his estate became involved in an inquiry that dragged on for more than thirty years.  D'Iberville had acquired a large fortune by uncertain means.  The accounts of the West Indian expedition were hopelessly disorganized; there were accusations of embezzlement.  His widow, Marie Thérèse Pollet (1672–1740) was forced to pay back a large part of her inheritance.

D'Iberville was perhaps the first great soldier born in Canada.  Students of the art of war may see his career as an example of the importance of following up after a victory, for he won all his battles but never was able to consolidate what he had won.

==Honours==
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville was a knight of the [[Order of Saint-Louis]].<ref name=DCB/>

===Legacy===
{{multiple image
 | align     = right
 | direction = horizontal
 | image1    = Pierre le Moyne sieur d Iberville.JPG
 | width1    = 176
 |footer= Statues of d'Iberville at Quebec's [[Parliament Building (Quebec)|Parliament Building]] in [[Quebec City]] (left), and at [[Valiants Memorial]] in [[Ottawa]].
 | image2    = Pierre LeMoyne d'Iberville.jpg
 | width2    = 220
}}
The following works and sites are named for d'Iberville:
* ''[[D'Iberville (TV series)|D'Iberville]]'', a 39 episode television series on [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|Radio-Canada]] from 1967 to 1968
* The city of [[Iberville, Quebec]], now a district of [[Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu]]
* A high school in [[Longueuil]], Quebec, on the south shore of Montreal, is named after him. 
* A secondary school in [[Rouyn-Noranda]], Québec, bears the name D'Iberville
* Avenue Iberville, located in [[Shawinigan]], [[Quebec]], Canada
* Rue D'Iberville and the adjacent [[D'Iberville (Montreal Metro)|D'Iberville metro station]] in [[Montreal]], Quebec
* The provincial electoral district of [[Iberville (Quebec provincial electoral district)|Iberville]], Quebec
* [[Mount Caubvick|Mont d'Iberville]], the highest mountain in Quebec
* The city of [[D'Iberville, Mississippi|D'Iberville]], [[Mississippi]]
* [[Iberville Parish, Louisiana]]<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA164 | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | last=Gannett |first=Henry | year=1905 | pages=164}}</ref>
* Iberville Street in [[New Orleans]], Louisiana
* Rue d'Iberville in [[Chicoutimi]], Québec
* Rue Iberville in [[Radisson, Quebec|Radisson]], Québec
* Rue d'Iberville in Alma, Québec
* D'Iberville St. in Carbonear, Newfoundland
* A number of French ships, notably:
** A [[French aviso D'Iberville|torpedo aviso]], one of the first French ships to be designated as a "''contre-torpilleur''" ([[destroyer]])
** A colonial sloop scuttled in Toulon harbor on 27 November 1942
* {{ship|CCGS|D'Iberville}}, [[Canadian Coast Guard]] icebreaker.
* Has a statue in Mobile erected in 2002, a gift from Hand Arendall, L.L.C.
*The cafeteria at Northwestern State University of Louisiana is named for him.
* ''[[Ibervillea]]'', a genus of [[flowering plant]]s belonging to the family [[Cucurbitaceae]], from Central America and Mexico.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Ibervillea'' Greene {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:294632-2 |website=Plants of the World Online |access-date=15 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Canada|North America|History}}
*[[Fort Gaines, Alabama]]
*[[D'Iberville (TV series)]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Frégault, Guy. ''Iberville le conquérant.'' (Montréal, 1944).

==External links==
* {{cite encyclopedia |title=Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville 
|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07614b.htm |encyclopedia=Catholic Encyclopedia |publisher=New Advent}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090315115803/http://www.valiants.ca/English/Iberville.html  ''Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville at the Valiants Memorial'']
* [http://hnoc.minisisinc.com/thnoc/catalog/3/556 Iberville Prospectus] at [https://www.hnoc.org/  The Historic New Orleans Collection] 

{{Explorers of New France}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Moyne D'Iberville, Pierre}}
[[Category:People of New France]]
[[Category:1661 births]]
[[Category:1706 deaths]]
[[Category:French explorers of North America]]
[[Category:French Navy officers]]
[[Category:French naval commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Rouen]]
[[Category:Canadian nobility (French)]]
[[Category:Knights of the Order of Saint Louis]]
[[Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)]]
[[Category:Deaths from yellow fever]]
[[Category:Louisiana (New France)]]
[[Category:Le Moyne family|Pierre]]
[[Category:Military history of Canada]]
[[Category:Naval history of Canada]]
[[Category:Military history of Acadia]]
[[Category:Military history of New England]]
[[Category:Military history of Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:People of King William's War]]