1686 - French Arkansas
Established by the French in the late 17th century, Arkansas Post became the first European settlement in the lower Mississippi Valley and played a valuable role in the long struggle between Spain, France, and the United States—three nations seeking domination of the lucrative fur trade and control of America’s interior. In southeastern Arkansas on the north bank of the Arkansas River, Arkansas Post National Memorial commemorates America’s Spanish and French heritage and preserves the history of a historic post that now lies half underwater. From a trading post and military stronghold to an American town, Arkansas Post was a critical player in the early history of Arkansas and the development of the United States.
Hoping to establish a trading post with the American Indians in the lower Mississippi Valley, Frenchman Henri de Tonti built the first European settlement along the Arkansas River in 1686. The French settlement began to trade with the Quapaw tribe of Osotouy. The trading post proved unsuccessful, and the French, unable to compete with the British fur trade, abandoned the settlement in 1699. The French reinstated the post as a military garrison in 1720, after King Louis XIV granted land along the river to Scotsman John Law and a group of German settlers. The new inhabitants of the trading post were unable to survive, and John Law’s plans to develop an agricultural colony ultimately failed.
Although settlers sporadically took over the post as time passed, the French did not officially establish another post in the Mississippi Valley until the late 1740s, when the French-Chickasaw war and constant flooding encouraged the settlers to move the post to a better location. In 1751, French Commandant Pelletier de La Houssaye built the new post further up the river near the Quapaw village and away from the Chickasaw to avoid further conflict. Realizing the post’s significance for the defense of French claims in the Mississippi Valley during the Seven Years War, Captain Charles Marie de Reggio moved the post further down the Mississippi River to protect French fleets. When the French and Indian War ended in 1763, the defeated French ceded the Western half of Louisiana, including Arkansas Post, to Spain. Although Spanish troops occupied the Post, resident French traders and settlers remained, far outnumbering the Spanish soldiers.
The trade allowed the Spanish to gain valuable military allies, which proved useful during the American Revolution when British Captain James Colbert led an attack against the Spanish fort on April 17, 1783 with 60 British men, a dozen Chickasaw, and a few African Americans. Captain Jacobo Du Breuil had only 30 Spanish soldiers, 4 Quapaw, and a handful of French settlers to defend the Post.
Knowing that the attackers did not fear the Europeans protecting the Post, Du Breuil ordered his men to act like attacking Indians. To give credence to the plan, one of the four Quapaw ran into the midst of the attackers and threateningly planted a tomahawk in the ground. Believing the deception, Colbert’s forces fled. Ultimately a Spanish victory, Colbert’s Raid is significant as one of the last engagements of the Revolutionary War. Following this British invasion, the Spanish post never faced another attack or engaged in battle. In the early 1800s, Spain returned Louisiana to France.
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