Article

François de Beauharnois de La Chaussaye, Baron de Beauville

Published Online January 13, 2008

Last Edited December 15, 2013

François de Beauharnois de La Chaussaye, Baron de Beauville, INTENDANT of New France 1702-05 (bap 19 Sept 1665 near Orléans, France; d there 9 Sept 1746). Beauharnois, a protégé of the minister of marine, faced a difficult situation on his arrival in New France.

Beauharnois de La Chaussaye, François de, Baron de Beauville

François de Beauharnois de La Chaussaye, Baron de Beauville, INTENDANT of New France 1702-05 (bap 19 Sept 1665 near Orléans, France; d there 9 Sept 1746). Beauharnois, a protégé of the minister of marine, faced a difficult situation on his arrival in New France. The fur trade was in decline, following a price slump in Europe, and war had broken out between England and France.

He tried, with subsidies to the Compagnie de la Colonie, to save the fur trade and also to develop agriculture, but his brief stay gave him no opportunity for significant achievements. His 3 years as intendant were undoubtedly an apprenticeship that put him in line for promotions in France, culminating in his appointment as intendant of the marine at Rochefort. His brother Charles, the marquis de BEAUHARNOIS, served as governor of New France.