Antoine Lefèbvre de La Barre

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.