encouraged by the Company to learn from what Bienville had written about relations with the Native Americans, and recognizing the need to improve relations to forestall British advancement into the territory, Perier instead broke with Bienville's policy of diplomatic engagement with neighboring tribes. Louisiana's colonial administrators at the time tried balancing the need to maintain good relations with Native Americans with demands from settlers for more and better land; however, Perier did not recognize Native American ownership of their traditional lands. This was in line with French desires to colonize New France, as opposed to earlier efforts to maintain the territory as a resource for trade. While Perier worked to maintain positive relations with France's Choctaw and Quapaw allies, in other instances he sought to dominate tribes unwilling to align with France's colonial ambitions. In Illinois, at the border between France's Canada and Louisiana territories, the Meskwaki (Fox) in 1728 again declared war on France. Perier alongside his counterpart in Canada, the Marquis de Beauharnois, and the local commanders pursued a policy of complete destruction against the Meskwaki, despite the ill will it generated with other Native American tribes in the region. This approach would be seen in Perier's response to the Natchez revolt. Personal ambition on Natchez land The territory of the Natchez, on bluffs above the Mississippi River, had been noted by the Company of the Indies for its agricultural potential as early as 1717, and Fort Rosalie and several tobacco plantations were established there after the First Natchez War in 1716. The Company specifically told Perier to attend to the development of the Natchez settlement, and Perier saw an opportunity to establish his own plantation in the area, too. To oversee Fort Rosalie and the Natchez settlement, Perier appointed the Sieur de Chépart. Chépart was described as "rapacious, haughty, and tyrannical," abusing soldiers, settlers, and the Natchez alike, including throwing Dumont de Montigny, who had overseen the fort under the previous commandant, into chains. With the help of some Illiniwek traders, Dumont escaped to New Orleans and reported on Chépart's actions, and the commandant was called before the Superior Council, which found him guilty of "acts of injustice". Perier, who according to some sources was already in a partnership with Chépart to establish a large plantation at Natchez, overruled the Superior Council, pardoned Chépart, and sent him back to the Natchez territory. Upon his return, Chépart was