Joseph-Antoine le Fèbvre, sieur de La Barre (or Antoine Lefebvre, Antoine Lefèvre; 1622–1688) was a French lawyer and administrator best known for his disastrous three years as governor of the colony of New France (Quebec). As a young man he served in the administration in France. He then became governor of Cayenne (French Guiana) in 1664 after it was recovered from the Dutch. After handing Cayenne over to his brother, he served briefly as lieutenant-general of the French West Indies colonies, then for many years was a naval captain. In two engagements he was accused of cowardice, but in others he served with distinction. At the age of 60 he was appointed Governor of New France, holding office from 1682 to 1685. He spent much of his energy in trading ventures, using his position as governor to attack his great rival René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle. He began a war with the Iroquois, the main power in the region, and led a poorly equipped expedition against them that ran into difficulty. He was forced to agree to a disadvantageous peace treaty that was condemned by France's Indian allies, the colonists and the French court. He was recalled as a result and spent his last few years as a wealthy man in Paris. Life Early years (1622–64) Antoine Lefebvre, Sieur de la Barre, was born in Paris in 1622. His parents were Antoine Le Febvre de La Barre and Madeleine Belin. His father was a counsellor in the Parlement (court of appeal) of Paris and the prévôt des marchands(fr). Around 1643 La Barre married Marie Gascon. They had one daughter, Marie (). On 10 September 1645 La Barre married Marie Mandat. Their children included Robert (born ), François Antoine, Seigneur de La Barre (1650–1727), Marguerite (1651–1725) and Jeanne Françoise (1654–1735). In 1646 La Barre was made a counsellor of the Parlement. He was appointed a maître des requêtes (master of requests) in 1653. He was intendant in Paris during the Fronde civil war. He was then in turn intendant of Grenoble (Dauphiné), Moulins (Bourbonnais) and Auvergne. In 1659 Jean-Baptiste Colbert complained to Cardinal Mazarin that the people of Dauphiné hated La Barre. Mazarin replied that he should be allowed to resign. He was appointed intendant of Bourbonnais in 1663. Cayenne (French Guiana) (1664–65) In 1663 the French decided to regain control of their former colony of Cayenne (French Guiana) from the