France in 1720 was gripped by an economic obsession. Pierre Mayeux unexpectedly got caught up in the mania. The 14th Colony is based on a true story about the father of a surname in the Louisiana Colony. Pierre suddenly finds himself, literally and figuratively, on a passenger list of the La Profond, a tall sailing ship, headed to the Louisiana Colony. The story begins in northern France. Everyone in France wanted to buy shares of the Company of the Indies, later nicknamed the Mississippi Company. The numerous wars by King Louis XIV had left a financial strain on France that could only be relieved by one man, John Law, so the Crown thought. After the death of the Sun King on September 1, 1715 and because of the minority of King Louis XV, the crown was placed in the hands of a regent, Philippi II, Duke of Orleans. John Law, a Scottish aristocrat trained in commerce and economics, managed to gain the ear of the regent and they triggered a speculative frenzy which ended in the Mississippi