Jean-Pierre Chouteau | |
---|---|
Born |
New Orleans, Louisiana (New France) |
10 October 1758
Died | 10 July 1849 St. Louis County, Missouri, USA |
(aged 90)
Jean-Pierre Chouteau (10 October 1758 – 10 July 1849) was a French Creole fur trader, merchant, politician, and slaveholder. An early settler of St. Louis from New Orleans, he became one its most prominent citizens.
Jean-Pierre and his half-brother Auguste Chouteau, known as the "river barons," adjusted to the many political changes which came about as the town changed from Spanish rule to becoming part of the United States. They continued to create political alliances with numerous parties. For a long time, they held monopoly rights on the lucrative fur trade with the Osage, and they expanded their St. Louis businesses to many parts of the emerging economy.
As US Indian agent, Chouteau negotiated the Osage Treaty of 1808 on behalf of the United States government, by which the Osage agreed to sell large portions of their lands in present-day Missouri and Arkansas in exchange for Federal annuities.
Jean Pierre Chouteau, known as Pierre, was the son of Marie-Therese Bourgeois Chouteau and Pierre de Laclède de Liguest, the latter originally of Bedous in far southwestern France. Pierre was born in New Orleans, then under the authority of New France. He had three younger sisters.