Thomas Bolling Robertson
1816-1820

Born: 1773 in Prince George County, Virginia
Political Affiliation: National Republican
Religious Affiliation: Episcopalian
Education: William and Mary College
Career Prior to Term: Secretary of the Terrotory of Orleans; First U.S. Representative from the new State of Louisiana
How He Became Governor: Won the election of 1820
Career after Term: Resigned to become United States Judge from the District of Louisiana
Died: October 5, 1828 in White Sulphur Springs, Virginia

Jacques Philippe Villere, elected Governor in 1816, was the first native-born governor of Louisiana. He presided over a tremendous increase in population and in the strength of its economy.

Now free of the British fleet at the mouth of the river and the Spanish control of the Florida parishes, Louisiana could enjoy unhampered trade down the Mississippi. Prosperity brought conflict between the Anglo-Americans and the Creoles whose families had been in Louisiana for generations. Villere had to mediate those disputes while administering state government.

The legislature attempted to bridge the two cultures by publishing laws in both languages. The Creole-Anglo conflict dominated state politics until more "partisan" battles became the focal point after the rise of the Whig Party in 1834.

Following his term, Villere retired to his plantation in St. Bernard Parish where he died in 1830.

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