Étienne Perier or Étienne de Perier (16861766), also known as Perier the Elder (), was a French naval officer and governor of French Louisiana from 1726 to 1733. His time as governor included some notable achievements, including the construction of the first levee along the Mississippi River in 1727. In response to the Natchez Revolt, he attempted to completely destroy the Natchez people, which increased Native American hostility toward the French in the territory. Because he failed to secure the safety of the colony, Perier was recalled as governor in March 1733. He later distinguished himself as a naval officer and privateer, including during the capture of HMS Northumberland in 1744. Early life Étienne Perier was born on February 27, 1686, in Brest in France. He was the son of and Marie de Launay. His father was a non-noble shipowner and merchant in Le Havre. By 1691 the family moved to Dunkirk, where Perier's father served as captain of the Port of Dunkirk. In 1695, when he was eight, Perier joined a privateer crew alongside a son of Jean Bart, a friend of his father's. He saw his first action before he turned nine. In the French navy (1702–1714) When he was 15, Perier began a military career at sea. French naval power at the time was invested primarily in a fleet of coursairs, and Perier served on several ships escorting convoys in the English Channel and the North Sea until August 1704, when he joined a company of gardes-marine. During the War of Spanish Succession, he participated in the capture of several British ships while serving under René Duguay-Trouin and Claude de Forbin, including sailing to Scotland as part of the failed French invasion of Britain. In 1711, Perier was captured and held as a prisoner of war, but he was later released on the condition he no longer serve at sea. To comply with the terms of his parole, he served on land in the Marine Artillery Corps in Valenciennes, France. In June 1712, during the Holy Roman Empire's siege of Le Quesnoy, Perier took part in the city's defense. A falling parapet brick injured him during the siege, and he was captured again when the Austrians overran the city. In service of the Compagnies (1714–1726) After the Wars of the Spanish Succession wound down in 1714, Perier returned to sea to combat pirates off the coast of