Antoine Crozat
Encyclopedia
Antoine Crozat, marquis du Châtel (ca. 1655 – June 7, 1738), French
founder of an immense fortune, was the first private proprietary owner of French Louisiana
from 1712 to 1717.
Born in Toulouse
, France
the sons of peasants, he and his brother Pierre
rose from obscurity to become two of the wealthiest merchants of France. By lending money to the government Antoine was ennobled as the marquis du Châtel, a noble title that he transmitted to his elder son Louis-François. He became a financial counsellor to Louis XIV
. He invested in the Guinea Company and the Asiento
Company, two lucrative overseas franchises. The king eventually offered him a 15‑year trade monopoly in the new colony of Louisiana. On arrival there he entrusted Cadillac
with prospecting for the precious metals that persistent rumors attributed to the territory; after the enterprise proved fruitless, he surrendered his monopoly, returned to France in 1738, and died in Paris
.
He married Marguerite Legendre. They had four children:
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
founder of an immense fortune, was the first private proprietary owner of French Louisiana
Louisiana (New France)
Louisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...
from 1712 to 1717.
Born in Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
the sons of peasants, he and his brother Pierre
Pierre Crozat
thumb|265px|[[Rembrandt]]'s painting [[Danaë |Danae]] from Crozat's collection.Pierre Crozat was a French art collector at the center of a broad circle of cognoscenti; he was the brother of Antoine Crozat....
rose from obscurity to become two of the wealthiest merchants of France. By lending money to the government Antoine was ennobled as the marquis du Châtel, a noble title that he transmitted to his elder son Louis-François. He became a financial counsellor to Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
. He invested in the Guinea Company and the Asiento
Asiento
The Asiento in the history of slavery refers to the permission given by the Spanish government to other countries to sell people as slaves to the Spanish colonies, between the years 1543 and 1834...
Company, two lucrative overseas franchises. The king eventually offered him a 15‑year trade monopoly in the new colony of Louisiana. On arrival there he entrusted Cadillac
Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac
Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac was a French explorer and adventurer in New France, now an area of North America stretching from Eastern Canada in the north to Louisiana in the south. Rising from a modest beginning in Acadia in 1683 as an explorer, trapper, and a trader of alcohol...
with prospecting for the precious metals that persistent rumors attributed to the territory; after the enterprise proved fruitless, he surrendered his monopoly, returned to France in 1738, and died in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
He married Marguerite Legendre. They had four children:
- Marie Anne married the comte d'Evreux, Louis Henri de La Tour d'AuvergneLouis Henri de La Tour d'AuvergneLouis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne was a French nobleman and member of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne. Given the title comte d'Évreux at birth, he later became a lieutenant of the King's armies. He is sometimes called Henri Louis...
, son of Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'AuvergneGodefroy Maurice de La Tour d'AuvergneGodefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne was a French nobleman and member of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne, one of the most important families in France at the time...
and Marie Anne ManciniMarie Anne ManciniMarie Anne Mancini, duchesse de Bouillon , was the youngest of the five famous Mancini sisters, who along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, were known at the court of King Louis XIV of France as the Mazarinettes because their uncle was the king's chief minister, Cardinal...
. - Louis François, marquis du ChâtelChâtelChâtel is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is situated in the northern French Alps on the French/Swiss border and is a popular ski resort...
- Joseph Antoine, marquis de Thugny
- Louis Antoine, baron de ThiersThiersThiers is a French surname. Notable persons with the surname include:*Adolphe Thiers , French statesman and historian*Louisa Thiers , American supercentenarian*Harry D...
, whose gallery of paintings inherited from his uncle Pierre CrozatPierre Crozatthumb|265px|[[Rembrandt]]'s painting [[Danaë |Danae]] from Crozat's collection.Pierre Crozat was a French art collector at the center of a broad circle of cognoscenti; he was the brother of Antoine Crozat....
, (called "Crozat le Pauvre" to distinguish him from his even richer brother Antoine), was purchased after his death for the collection of Catherine II of RussiaCatherine II of RussiaCatherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
, through Denis DiderotDenis DiderotDenis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....
; the Crozat paintings now hang in the Hermitage MuseumHermitage MuseumThe State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
,.