The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 27, July 1923 - April, 1924 Page: 195
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St. Denis's Second Expedition to the Rio Grande 195
nearly a year after its establishment-persistent reports that the
English were settled on the Gulf having led them astray. The
expedition under Arriola which did discover the post made no
attempt to dislodge the French, only a formal protest to this in-
vasion of Spanish territory being made to the French commandant,
who treated the Spaniards most hospitably. The viceroy of New
Spain was powerless to repel the invasion, and the death of Carlos
II and the accession of the Bourbon, Philip V, to the Spanish
throne, marked the beginning of a series of diplomatic negotiations
which ended, perforce, in the tacit consent to the French occu-
pation. The latter, indeed, persuaded the Spaniards that this set-
tlement would be of great benefit in helping to exclude the English
from the region. In view of this, relations grew more friendly,
and the needy and neglected garrison at Pensacola frequently
called upon the French at Mobile for aid in food, ammunition,
and ships. Upon one occasion, when an English attack was feared,
Bienville expressed willingness to send men as well as supplies,
but was unable to do so because of his own forces being depleted.
Aid also was furnished by the Spaniards to the French upon occa-
sion, and so frequent did these interchanges become, that a com-
missary was employed to adjust the accounts. However, the fear
that this activity might develop into commerce was expressed by
Spanish officials before 1712; when Crozat secured his grant the
danger became real. Louisiana could become profitable to him
only if trade was developed with its Spanish neighbors. An am-
bitious attempt to transport goods by water to Spanish gulf ports
failed because the latter were absolutely closed to foreign trade,
with the exception of the English under the terms of the Asiento
treaty.4 On the other hand, the trade with Pensacola, though
small, was very prosperous, and Cadillac decided to try out an
overland enterprise. At this juncture, he received a communica-
tion from a most unexpected source, which fitted in excellently
with his plans."
4This was an agreement between England and Spain whereby England
was given the right for thirty years to import negro slaves into Spanish
America and also to send an annual merchant vessel of five hundred tons
burden to trade with Spanish America. See, Bolton and Marshall, op.
cit., 273 and 289.
5The facts concerning the relations between the Spaniards at Pensacola
and the Fren'ch in Louisiana are taken from an unpublished manuscript
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 27, July 1923 - April, 1924, periodical, 1924; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101086/m1/201/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.