Before he became Louisiana’s first Spanish governor, Antonio de Ulloa discovered platinum.
According to 64 Parishes, Ulloa made the discovery in 1735 during a scientific expedition to Ecuador. He was 19.
While sailing back to Spain 10 years later, he was captured by the British. As a prisoner, Ulloa “gained the friendship of the men of science, and was made a fellow of the Royal Society of London,” the New Advent states. Soon after, he was released and returned to Spain.

Ulloa became a respected scientist and served on several scientific commissions. He is credited with founding the Museum of Natural History of Madrid.
Appointed as Louisiana’s governor in May 1765, Ulloa did not arrive in the colony until March 5, 1766, according to 64 Parishes. His lack of leadership allowed the French flag to continue flying and the original colonists to maintain control.
He was “alienated from Creole Society,” 64 Parishes states. “Opposition to Spanish rule reached a tipping point when Ulloa issued a set of trade regulations in October 1768 that put restrictions on the customary commercial practices of French Louisiana.”
In other words, he deprived “the colony of its supply of French wine.”
A rebellion, known as the Insurrection of 1768, ensued with the French colonists threatening violence and banishing Ulloa. He left New Orleans on Nov. 1, 1768, and accused “practically the entire Creole oligarchy of treason.”
In response, Spain sent Gen. Alejandro O’Reilly 2,000 men and more than 20 ships. “O’Reilly arrived at New Orleans on Aug. 18, 1769,” 64 Parishes states, “and took possession of the city without bloodshed.”
A few years later, Ulloa led a Spanish unit in the American War of Independence. He retired as an admiral in southern Spain before dying on July 5, 1795.
For more tales from New Orleans history, visit the Back in the Day archives.