Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 30, 2014

The Natchez revolt was an attack by the Natchez people on French colonists near present-day Natchez, Mississippi, on November 29, 1729. The Natchez and French had lived alongside each other in Louisiana for more than a decade. After a period of deteriorating relations, the Natchez were provoked to revolt when the French colonial commandant, Sieur de Chépart, demanded land from a tribal village near Fort Rosalie (pictured). They plotted an attack over several days and concealed their plans from most of the French. In an armed massacre on the fort and homesteads by the Mississippi River, they killed 230 of the 250 French colonists and burned the fort and homes to the ground. Upon hearing news of the revolt, French leaders in New Orleans feared a broader Native American uprising and ordered an attack on the Chaouacha people, who were not involved in the revolt. Over the next few weeks, French leaders sent two expeditions to besiege the Natchez and recover hostages. Most of the Natchez attackers escaped and sought refuge with other tribes, but their revolt had been a significant setback to the Louisiana colony, and the French retaliation led to the end of the Natchez as an independent people. (Full article...)

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