The Natchez revolt was an attack by the Natchez people onFrench colonists near presentday 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 Chpart, 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.