| 1743 |
Born in Spain |
| 1799 July 18 |
The death of Governor Gayoso begins an era of frustration for the Cabildo which contends with the duplicious Vidal and sickly Salcedo as governors. |
| 1799 July 18 |
Nicolas Maria Vidal becomes acting civil governor of Louisiana until the arrival of Manuel Juan de Salcedo on July 15, 1801. Vidal had been the colony's judge advocate and lieutenant governor. His background in Columbia and the corruption of the reign of Carlos IV and his first secretary Godoy, as well as the factionalism in the Cabildo contribute to the decline of Louisiana at the end of the Spanish era. |
| 1799 October 24 |
Juan Manuel de Salcedo is appointed to the office of Governor of Louisiana but will not arrive for over a year. Vidal and Governor-General Salcedo refuse to enforce the list of rules giving the intendant sole power to grant land drawn up by Juan Ventura Morales. |
| 1801 June |
Manuel Juan de Salcedo, a 58 year old colonel, arrives in New Orleans but does not yet assume the office of governor of Louisiana. |
| 1801 July 13 |
A month later Salcedo sends word to Spain that he had taken steps to arm and equip the militia of the Natchitoches district in the event they can capture the bandit Philip Nolan, who had begun to terrorize the province of New Spain (Mexico) with a band of 36 armed men. Salcedo soon becomes displeased with the spirit prevailing in the colony and sends frequent complaints to the crown that the colonists had too many liberties. |
| 1801 July 15 |
Nicolas Maria Vidal has been acting civil governor of Louisiana while the Marques de Casa-Calvo has been acting civil governor of the colony. Salcedo will be the last Spanish governor of Louisiana, serving until the transfer of the territory to France on November 30, 1803. His administration is actually run by a small clique consisting of his older son Domingo, Vidal and Lopez de Armesto. This clique continues Vidal’s attitude of confrontation with the Cabildo. |
| 1801 |
The Cabildo recovers money from the estate of Gayoso. After his death it discovers that he had been using money from a royal endowment meant to build a granary. Governor Salcedo urges the council to loan the funds to the royal treasury because deliveries from Spain have been delayed. Spain had already conceded Louisiana to France by treaty, but has kept it from the colony. The granary is never built. |
| 1801 Summer |
Rum bottled in bond is the only liquor that remains untaxed so the colony’s merchants import only bonded rum. A weakened Cabildo tries to stop this latest circumvention of taxes, but governor Salcedo does nothing. |
| 1802 January |
Salcedo follows Vidal’s advice and sends the entire theater box controversy to his superiors in Havana, while the Cabildo appeals to the Council of the Indies. What began as a petty squabble contributes to the decline in morale and power of the Cabildo. |
| 1802 February 12 |
Another smallpox epidemic strikes New Orleans, the worst medical crisis during the Spanish era. The Cabildo meets on this date to decide a course of action and soon clashes with the governor over how to treat the disease. Governor Salcedo is uninformed and, after consulting clerics, decides to oppose innoculation by variolation, which the Cabildo has ordered. Treatment is further delayed when the Cabildo discusses cowpox vacination and attempts to develop a serum. Governor Salcedo creates a permanant board of health. |
| 1802 March 2 |
Salcedo sends a letter to his superiors with a protest against the action of the cabildo in appointing Jose Martinez de la Pedrera to the office of assessor. |
| 1802 March 22 |
More than thirty people have contracted smallpox and innoculations are needed immediately but the test serum fails. Salcedo offers no resistance at this time. . An expedition to vaccinate persons with cowpox visits many Spanish colonies in 1802, Unfortunately it does not reach New Orleans in the Spanish era. |
| 1802 |
During the 1802 smallpox epidemic the Cabildo charges Dr. Luis Giovellina, chief surgeon at Charity Hospital, with criminal neglect in the vaccination and isolation of a slave child belonging to a Monsieur Otrayen. They claim that he wants the disease to spread and they ask governor Salcedo to punish him. Salcedo tells Almonester’s widow Liusa de La Ronde, who is administrator of Charity Hospital, to name a new chief surgeon. His incarceration is brief and he returns to the hospital. The action is more an attack on Almonester’s hold on charity Hospital than ignorance of Giovellina’s attempts to understand the disease. |
| 1802 July 16 |
Castañedo, mayordomo de propios, registers a formal protest with the Cabildo, saying his suspension by Dr. Jaen come without authority. Dr. Jaen is in Louisiana to conduct the residencia of Miro. Jaen also charges Forstall, de la Barre and La Roche with malfeasance and suspends them from office. Salcedo then jails the four men. After this incident the Cabildo’s duties are minimal and routine. |
| 1802 July |
Gov. Salcedo gives permission to Carlos (Charles) Smith of Maryland to settle in Rapide (Alexandria) with his slaves after he has taken an oath of loyalty. Acting Intendant Morales orders Commandant Martin Duralde to seize Smith's slaves. Salcedo counters the order, but warns that no slaves that had been participants in Virginia mutinies would be allowed to settle. |
| 1802 |
Governor Salcedo imposes the only two vetoes over the Cabildo during the Spanish era. The weakened Cabildo realizes it could not obtain good advice from government council Vidal, so it hires Jose Martinez as its own licenciado. Governor Salcedo arrests and deports the lawyer for trial. The audiencia in Puerto Principe acquits Martinez and orders him to be paid. His other veto is against payment for another lawyer to represent Martinez in Puerta Principe. The money had been sent previous to his veto and the audiencia decides in favor of the Cabildo again. |
| 1803 May 18 |
Salcedo and Casa-Calvo issue a joint proclamation informing the inhabitants of Louisiana about the retrocession. Eight days later they send a copy of the royal order authorizing the transfer to the Cabildo. The formal transfer awaits the arrival of French general Claude Perrin Victor, but he never arrives because the war has resumed in Europe. |
| 1803 May 18 |
Salcedo, in conjunction with his colleague, the Marquis de Casa Calvo, issues a proclamation giving the terms and conditions under which the transfer should take place. |
| 1803 |
Sindico Procurador General Provost declares the available flour supply was small, old and wormy. The reason being the suspension of right of deposit for the Americans by intendant Morales and Salcedo's order to end importation from the United States. The Cabildo manages to convince Morales to exempt foodstuffs. |
| 1803 |
Spanish troops in New Madrid capture Samuel Mason and his band of river pirates and send them to New Orleans. Governor Salcedo sends them back upriver to Natchez to be tried in the Mississippi Territory since they are mostly Americans, who had committed crimes on American soil. |
| 1803 Nov. 30 |
The administration of Salcedo ends with the transfer of the colony to Laussat. |
| 1804 January |
Claiborne reports to Madison that he has lost respect for Salcedo who sold many offices and even in his capacity as a judge the decisions went to the highest bidder. Salcedo's eldest son maintains ruinous influence over his aged father. He will takes possession of governors house which Salcedo left on the first day of the new year. |
| 1809 |
Governor Claiborne meets with Governor Salcedo of Texas and draws up an arrangement providing the return of runaway slaves to their owners. |