Le Plus Beau Pais Du Monde: Completing the Picture of Proprietary Louisiana, 1699-1722

Louisiana, the land between the twenty-eighth and forty-fifth parallels, presented France both a scientific experiment and impressive trophy with which to challenge the supremacy of other superpowers during the course of the European wars and a chance to revitalize the French economy. In addition, religious fervor complemented secular and political interests. Not since St. Patrick went to Ireland in the fifth century did the dream of evangelizing an entire country seem so feasible. The courageous could populate the land, the adventurous could exploit its riches, the zealous could convert the souls of those living there. The project needed not merely citizen approval, though, but investors and even colonists themselves. Where could these potential investors and colonists find information about the new land? The early eighteenth century offered no Internet, no television, not even a reference work. The only recourse was eyewitness accounts. But whose accounts could be trusted? How would