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1704 France, a time of gorgeous aristocrats in silks and satins as
barbarous as naked woodland savages. Once again the European continent
groans under the calamities of a world war now in its third year. The King of
Spain has died without issue, and Louis XIV, seated on the Catholic throne
of France for the past 61 years, wants to secure the Catholic throne of Spain
for his grandson. King Louie, beside being a model Christian in public, is
privately just another fallen sinner - a lothario and con man who loves three
things, money, women and New France (and power too, without which he
could not keep any one of the three.) In his ardor for these worldly tokens,
he devises a nefarious scheme. When a Spanish treasure ship is taken, the
gold ingots are displayed in Paris shop windows. Hirelings spread the rumor
that rich gold deposits have been found in New France, and New France will
yield as much gold as New Spain (Mexico, Central and South America.) Of
course, Louie is technically right! Canada has plenty of gold, only no one
knows that in the Eighteenth Century. Louie’s finance minister creates a
stock company to exploit the newly found riches of New France, and the
government works tirelessly to pump up the stock price. Gilding the lily
even further, Louie asks the women of France to patriotically volunteer to go
to New France and marry the lonely gold miners. (People are not
immigrating to frigid Canada and disease ridden Louisiana unless Louie
sends them in chains or pays dearly for them to go. To Louie’s
consternation, Europeans are flocking in ever increasing numbers to the
English Colonies - even Frenchmen. He is now implying that everyone in
New France will soon be fabulously wealthy.) The women of France rise to
the occasion, and in 1704, after a long, harrowing sea journey, the first boat
load of French women sails into Mobile harbor. The women rush ashore to
discover there are no millionaire gold miners, only a motley group of
derelicts living in abject poverty. But Louisiana is a Venus flytrap, once
inside, victims are immured. No one can leave without express permission
from Versailles. When word about the phantom gold mines eventually drifts
back to France, the bubble bursts and all the stockholders are ruined. Louie
and his mistresses laugh all the way to the bank.
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