St. Louis Rising: The French Regime of Louis St. Ange de Bellerive

by Carl J. Ekberg, Sharon K. Person

The standard story of St. Louis's founding tells of fur traders Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau hacking a city out of wilderness. St. Louis Rising overturns such gauzy myths with the contrarian thesis that French government officials and institutions shaped and structured early city society. Of the former, none did more than Louis St. Ange de Bellerive. His commitment to the Bourbon monarchy and to civil tranquility made him the prime mover as St. Louis emerged during the tumult following the French and Indian War.
 
Drawing on new source materials, the authors delve into the complexities of politics, Indian affairs, slavery, and material culture that defined the city's founding period. Their alternative version of the oft-told tale uncovers the imperial realities--as personified by St. Ange--that truly governed in the Illinois Country of the time, and provide a trove of new information on everything from the fur trade to the arrival of the British and Spanish after the Seven Years' War.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

360 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2014

Reviews

[Bob Laclede · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read most of the books on the founding of St. Louis and the Laclede family history, I found that this book takes a new and interesting angle looking at the period of the 1700’s from the “Illinois view.” It centers on Louis St. Ange de Bellerive who was the French Officer charged with running their Illinois (Upper Louisiana) territory which included St. Louis. The book gives a lot of the credit for the success of St. Louis to St. Ange and others who were instrumental in this important period in the founding and early growth of St. Louis. St. Ange lives his last seventeen months and dies in the house of Madame Chouteau and Pierre Laclede.

It is very heavily researched and heavily footnoted. It also lists the results of the 1770 census of St. Louis which includes all the St. Louis residents including the Laclede and Chouteau family plus a list and discussion of the black and Indian slaves that the family owned which I’ve never seen documented before.

And for the art buffs - many George Catlin paintings of the period are included!

[Molly Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love learning about the history of cities before they were really cities. This book has a great balance of information and storytelling. Of all the local history themed books I tend to collect, this is one of the only that I finished rather quickly!