Benito Vázquez
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Benito Vasquez, also known as Benito Vázquez (1738 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain – 1810 in St. Louis, Missouri), was a Spanish soldier and later, became an American fur trader who, while living on the western frontier, became a merchant and explorer. He is also the father of fur trader Louis Vasquez.
Early life
Benito was born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, in 1738. He was son of Francisco Vasquez and Maria de La Puente. By that time, the Spanish Army was reorganised on the French model and the old Tercios were transformed into Regiments. At the age of 24, Benito was a soldier in the Infantry Regiment of Leon, Spain. [1] In 1769 he arrived to St.Louis, Spanish Louisiana, with the Spanish army, destined to take over the former French possessions. The Spanish Louisiana was ceded to Spain by France after the British victory in the Seven Years' War, when the British gained Florida in exchange with Spain for French lands west of the Mississippi River.[2] It is likely that Benito came to Spanish Louisiana in the service of the governor Alejandro O'Reilly, who started his tenure in 1769, as well as Cristobal Lisa, father of Manuel Lisa .[2]
Marriage and family
In September 1773, it was given to him a land grant in St.Louis by Spanish Lt. Governor Piernas. One year after that, Benito married a french woman called Marie-Julie Papin (daughter of Pierre Papin dit Baronet & Catherine-Marguerite-Madeline Guichard). They had eleven children together; Felicite, Julia, Benito Jr., Francisco Javier, Antoine, Joseph, Victoria, Marie-Antoinette, Celeste, Catherine-Eulalie & the youngest, a famous fur trader called Louis Vasquez. [3]
When Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau established the city of St. Louis, they dedicated a plot of land west of Laclède's home for the purposes of the Catholic Church. [4] As a catholic, Benito Vasquez provided the first bell for the original St. Louis Cathedral, the first catholic church in St. Louis, transporting it up from New Orleans.[5] Then, after being captain in the St. Louis Militia, resigned from the military in 1772 to enter the fur trade business.
Noted activities
Little is known of the early expeditions of Vasquez as a fur trader, between 1772 and 1790. American and European fur traders quickly moved up the Missouri River following the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark's exploration, but even before that, by 1790, Benito was trading on the Mississippi River. The next recorded mention of him was in 1794 after he had returned from trading with the Osage tribe. [6]
In 1807 the Spanish explorer and fur trader Manuel Lisa began organizing a trade expedition to the upper Missouri River region. [2] The enterprise was led by Lisa himself and Benito Vasquez as his second-in-command. [7] On that expedition, a company of men moved up the Missouri until they reached the mouth of the Yellowstone River. After ascending the Yellowstone more than 150 miles, Benito Vasquez helped Lisa establishing a trading post on November 21 at the mouth of the Bighorn River in present-day Montana.[2] named Fort Raymond. It was the first such outpost in the upper Missouri region.[2] In 1807 Benito was at the Mandan village, on the Missouri with Manuel Lisa, having problems with the Blackfeet.[8]
In 1809 Benito Vásquez joined Lisa's Missouri Fur Company, based in St. Louis. The city was developing rapidly based on revenues from the western fur trade. Manuel Lisa sent his trappers to the upper Missouri River for furs.
An unidentified illness caused Benito Vasquez death at St. Louis on 1810.
References
- ^ Comparative Atlas of Defence in Latin America / 2008 Edition, p.42 (PDF)
- ^ a b c d e Goodwin, 152.
- ^ St Louis Cathedral Records; Vasquez papers file, Missouri Historical Society Library: Pierre Louis Vasquez Bible in possession of Douglas Whitney.
- ^ Conard, p. 529
- ^ St Louis Cathedral Records; Vasquez papers file, Missouri Historical Society Library: Pierre Louis Vasquez Bible in possession of Douglas Whitney.
- ^ E. Unrau, William (1986). The Kansa Indians: A History of the Wind People, 1673-1873. Okahoma: The Oklahoma University.
- ^ A. Saidon, Robert (2003). Explorations Into the World of Lewis and Clark Volume 1/3, Volumen 1. Great Falls: Digital Escaning Inc.
- ^ St Louis Cathedral Records; Vasquez papers file, Missouri Historical Society Library: Pierre Louis Vasquez Bible in possession of Douglas Whitney.
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