Jacques Dyel du Parquet (1606-January 3, 1658) was a French military man who was one of the first governors of Martinique. He was the nephew of Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc.
He was born in Cailleville in Normandy in 1606. With his uncle and his brother they embarked on the adventure of conquering territories in America on behalf of France. In order to achieve its goals and to organize the acquisition of new territories, France founded the Compagnie des Îles d'Amérique. The latter decided to appoint Du Parquet as Governor of Martinique. This appointment was confirmed in 1637.
He first settled in Saint-Pierre and built a military camp further south in the present Fort-de-France, overlooking the Bay of Fort-de-France.
He concluded a truce with the Carib Indians who populated the island at the arrival of the French and decided on a division of the island where the French occupied the Caribbean coast and the Caribs kept the rest of the island, but this did not solve the problems. Tensions rose between the two parties when Du Parquet arrested the Caribbean chief, Kayerman, who died from a snake bite. Relations gradually improved, with the Caribs visiting the French to trade and accepting small gifts.
Du Parquet frequently visited the Caribs wearing their clothes but always remained armed. He gained a reputation as a fair and generous governor but also as a courageous leader of the militia. He was recognized as competent and popular. In 1639, the colony of Martinique had 700 men and grew to 300 more by 1640.
Thereafter, a series of treaties and betrayals will cost Du Parquet dearly. In 1638, Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy was appointed Lieutenant General of the French islands and he was full of praise for Du Parquet. But on the recommendation of the French regent Anne of Austria, Noël Patrocle de Thoisy is chosen to replace De Poincy on February 20, 1645, a decision that De Poincy does not accept. De Thoisy leaves Le Havre on September 2, 1645 but is not authorized to enter the port of Saint-Christophe and must take refuge in Guadeloupe.
Du Parquet goes to meet the latter in Guadeloupe and on his advice he takes the two nephews of Poincy as hostages in order to blackmail De Poincy and bring him to leave his role. Du Parquet was betrayed and taken prisoner by de Poincy. At the end of January 1647, De Thoisy is handed over to Poincy who forces him to return to France in the direction of Saint-Malo.
Du Parquet secretly married Marie Bonnard. The latter, who leads a group in Martinique, demands the exchange of Poincy's captured nephews for the release of her husband. He was freed and returned to Martinique where his marriage to Marie Bonnard was formalized in Martinique at the chapel of Saint Jacques in 1647. Together they will have five children.
Although captured, Jacques Dyel du Parquet remained Governor and would serve until his death in 1658.
On March 17, 1649, Du Parquet left with 203 men to conquer Grenada, an island south of the Caribbean arc. He disembarked at the port of Saint-Georges in Grenada and built a fortified colony that he called Fort Announciation. A treaty was quickly signed with the native chief Kairouane to divide the island peacefully between the French and the Caribs who lived there. Du Parquet did not stay on the island of Grenada and returned to Martinique, but left his cousin Jean Le Comte to govern the island.
Upon his departure, a war broke out between the French of Grenada and the Caribbean in November 1649. The fighting lasted 5 years until the previous inhabitants of the island were crushed by the French. Du Parquet did not take part in the conquest of St. Lucia led by an officer, De Rousselan. The capture of St. Lucia was easy and facilitated by the fact that the English who had attempted to take the island had met with strong resistance from the Caribbean and had left the island by 1640.
In 1646, the colonists revolted against the Compagnie des Îles d'Amériques in charge of colonizing the American islands. The directors decided to liquidate the company and proposed that Du Parquet buy Martinique, Saint Lucia, Grenada and the Grenadines.
On May 18, 1650, a power of attorney was signed before the Royal Notary notifying the purchase of Martinique, Grenada, Saint Lucia and the Grenadines by Du Parquet. He became the sole owner of these islands for the sum of 41,500 livres.
On all the islands he instituted a citizen militia charged with protecting the different islands from potential invasions by Indians or Spaniards. He directed the different islands from Martinique. He tried to improve agriculture. At the time, tobacco was the main crop, but prices were collapsing on the European markets. Several attempts were made to install the cultivation of sugar cane but the inhabitants, whether the colonists or the Caribs who were still present, did not know the techniques of sugar extraction.
He issued an order for slave owners to give their slaves at least "two pounds of meat per head at the end of the season, and three when the ships arrive."
On May 13, 1651, he appointed his eldest son Dyel d'Esnambuc, Lieutenant General although he was still a minor. He will be supervised by the Sieur de Saint-Aubin until he is old enough to exercise his duties. Du Parquet then left for France where his purchase of the islands was ratified by the King in August 1651. On October 22, the King appointed Du Parquer as Governor and Lieutenant General of all the islands he had purchased.
He returned to France in 1652 for health reasons.
After Du Parquet's departure to France, several islands (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Antigua) were attacked by the Caribbean. In 1654, Martinique was invaded by Caribs from other islands. They were joined by those living in Martinique who revolted against the French settlers. The situation worsened on the island when at the same time the slaves revolted against their masters.
The fort founded by Du Parquet was under siege and about to fall into the hands of the rebels when it was rescued by Dutch ships from Brazil. A squadron of 300 armed men disembarked and eradicated all opponents of the colonists. On the ships were also Jews driven from Brazil who knew the techniques of sugar making, along with experienced slaves and equipment.
Du Parquet bought their equipment and slaves and offered them land to set up sugar refineries on the island. This will be a total revolution for the island with the beginning of the sugar economy.
Du Parquet was opposed by the Catholics, who did not like the arrival of Jews in a territory they wanted to be entirely Catholic, but the economic stakes were too high to refuse these new arrivals. The Jesuit leader forced the Public Prosecutor to expel them from the island. They left to settle in Guadeloupe where they imported sugar cane manufacturing techniques.
In 1655, du Parquet sold the island of Grenada to Jean Faudoas, the Count of Sérillac for the sum of 1,890 pounds.
In 1656, Martinique was hit by a violent earthquake. Later that year, the slaves revolted again with the support of the Caribbean. After a long war, Du Parquet managed to conclude a peace with the Caribs on October 18, 1657.
Du Parquet died on January 3, 1658 at the age of 52. Upon his death, his wife took over the island as regent for their eldest son. On September 15, the King appointed Du Parquet's son as Governor and Lieutenant General of Martinique and Saint Lucia, but the regent became his brother, Adrien Dyel de Vaudroques. Following the death of the uncle, another member of the family, Jean Dyel de Clermont, was appointed.
On April 14, 1664, the King revoked the rights of the Du Parquet family over the islands and they became the exclusive property of the Compagnie des Indes Occidentales by royal decree on May 28, 1664. The heirs of Du Parquet were forced to sell Martinique and St. Lucia to the new company on August 14, 1665.