Conseil Municipal records

Collection

Identifier: CA-AB-ConseilMunicipal

Staff Only

Conseil Municipal, 436

Scope and Contents

The records are printed proclamations (many with woodcuts of Laussat's official seal or other figures) and decrees issued and signed by Laussat, along with manuscript letters and other documents transmitted by him to the Council. Included are Laussat's proclamations of possession of the province, of the establishment of the municipal government, and of the appointment of numerous provincial officials. The image to the right is of Decree No.436 by Lausset establishing a municipal government for French New Orleans.

Also included in this collection are documents relative to issues that came before the Prefect for disposition. These range from the December 17, 1803 decree for the superintendence and discipline of enslaved people in Louisiana, to a January 20, 1804 letter concerning an investigation of the former treasurer, Juan de Castanedo. Of special interest is an inventory, dated December 10, 1803, of the archives of the Spanish Cabildo turned over to the municipal government on Laussat's order.

Researchers should view the combined inventory of the letters, petitions, and decrees from the Cabildo, Conseil Muncipal, and Conseil de Ville (1770-1835) for more information about about these volumes.

Dates

Creation: 1803-1804

Creator

New Orleans (La.) City Council (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Available on microfilm to registered researchers by appointment. Request by call number. Originals are closed for research.

Requesting Materials

Materials Request Guidelines

Conditions Governing Use

Reproduction or use of materials is prohibited without the permission of the City Archives & Special Collections. Please review the Archives' Permission to Publish note.

Biographical / Historical

On August 20, 1802, Napoleon appointed Pierre-Clement de Laussat to the position of Colonial Prefect of Louisiana, making him the highest ranking French civilian in the province. Following the Louisiana Purchase, though, his office was changed to that of official commissioner of the French government for the retrocession of Louisiana from Spain to France, and later from France to the United States. Laussat took formal possession of Louisiana for France on November 30, 1803 and on that date also established a municipal government for the city of New Orleans, composed of a Mayor, a Municipal Council of twelve members, and a Recorder-Secretary. The city was governed by these officers until March 11, 1805, when the new Mayor and Conseil de Ville were installed, as provided for in the 1805 city charter. Laussat, meanwhile, completed his responsibilities in New Orleans in April, 1804, and left for his new post in Martinique during that month.

Extent

1 Volumes (available on 1 roll of mf)

Language of Materials

French

English

Additional Description

Related Materials

The New Orleans City Council has undergone many reorganizations since the creation of the first council governing body, the Spanish Cabildo, in 1769. Each councils' records are processed separately. More information on the many iterations of City Councils in New Orleans and their accompanying records is available on our website.

Processing Information

The individual documents received by the Council from Laussat were numbered sequentially, in a continuation of the numerical series begun for the Letters, Petitions, and Decrees of the Cabildo, 1770-1803. They were later bound into a single volume. That volume has since been disbound and the individual documents filed in folders and boxed. The documents were individually listed in an 1845 inventory of the archives collection.