La Barre was to replace Louis de Buade de Frontenac. At this time the Iroquois were ripped and had defeated the other tribes in the region and were threatening the French. The English were active in Hudson Bay to the north and in New York to the south. La Barre reached Quebec City at the end of September 1682, a month after half the town had been burned down. He was accompanied by his wife Marie, his daughter Anne-Marie, his son-in-law Rémy Guillouet d'Orvilliers, captain of the guards, and the intendant Jacques de Meulles. Jacques de Meulles was related to the minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert by marriage. La Barre was personally instructed by Louis XIV that he must focus on restoring order and good government and must do everything to avoid internal disputes between the colonists, which had done great damage under Frontenac. He was told that he should allow no more expeditions against the Sioux and the Mississippi, since the king thought his subjects would be better employed in cultivating the land. La Salle, however, could continue his explorations if they seemed useful. De Meules was given the same instructions by the Minister of the Marine. La Barre wrote letters to the king and the Navy minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert de Seignelay in which he said that unlike his predecessors he did not intend to engage in trade for his personal benefit. He was sure he could overcome the Iroquois, who would have heard of his victories in the West Indies. La Barre thought the Iroquois wanted to destroy New France so they could control the fur trade, perhaps more a reflection of his own outlook than that of the Iroquois. On 10 October 1682 La Barre met with the military and religious leaders of New France to discuss the general situations and the threat from the Iroquois confederation, particularly the Tsonnontouans (Senecas) . La Barre and de Meulles managed to persuade the king to send money and 200 soldiers the next year. The king instructed La Barre to try for a diplomatic settlement with the Iroquois, and only to attack if he was sure of a rapid victory. La Barre had a list of land grants drawn up in 1862. He supported the independence of the clergy from the civil administration, and in 1684 increased the parish priests' pay. Charles Le Moyne de Longueuil managed to bring 13 Seneca Iroquois