On August 18, 1769, the French flag was lowered in the Place d'Armes in the city of New Orleans. In its place was raised the banner of the Spanish monarch. It was then that Lieutenant General Don Alejandro O'Reilly was appointed as the second Spanish governor of Louisiana. When O'Reilly came to Louisiana to establish Spanish authority, one of his chief assignments was to seek out and punish the leaders of the insurrection. His zeal in this regard led to the arrest and execution or imprisonment of several of the most important men in the colony. Over the last 200 years, O'Reilly's actions in these events have been the source of both popular and scholarly attacks. This brief monograph purports to reconstruct the background of the rebellion, and to analyze O'Reilly's actions from the time of his arrival in Louisiana until the culmination of the trial and sentencing of the defendants. Special emphasis has been placed on the trial proceedings. The author hopes that this study will enable the reader to judge for himself Alejandro O'Reilly's role in this most controversial episode in Spanish colonial Louisiana, and to assess the fairness of the trial and its judgements.

CONTENTS

Part I
The Cession of Louisiana to Spain

Part II
O'Reilly Arrives in Louisiana

Part III
The Trial of the Rebels

Part IV
Bibliographical Essay

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