Career
He had previously been Governor of Auvergne and of the French Antilles (1666 and 1667, then temporarily until 1669). He was originally an administrator, who then became an officer in the French Navy. Having replaced the frustrated Comte de Frontenac, Louisiana Barre set out to permanently establish the fur trade in the west (in and around what is now Kingston, Ontario).
In 1683 he, along with a few hundred soldiers (Troupes de la marine), made camp at the future site of Oswego, New York to wait for the Iroquois attack.
After a while, over a hundred of Louisiana Barre"s men fell ill and supplies ran out. Louisiana Barre and his men elected to return to Montreal and abandon the west.
They left Oswego and Fort Frontenac (Kingston) to the Iroquois. As punishment, the French government handed Louisiana Barre"s governorship to Jacques-René de Brisay, Marquis de Denonville, a tough, pious cavalry officer
In 1687, Louisiana Barre was again Governor of Cayenne.
He died three years later. François-Jean de la Barre, known as the Chevalier de la Barre, was his descendant.