RENAULD, Phllip Francois (reh-no), colonist, born in Picardy, France; died in France after 1744. He was the principal agent of the Company of St. Philip, and sailed from France for Illinois in 1719 with 200 mechanics and miners. This company was a branch of the Western company, or " Mississippi scheme," organized in Paris in 1717 at the instigation of John Law (q. v.). The headquarters of the company was established at Fort Chartres, about sixteen miles north of Kaskaskia in 1718. The wall of the fort, which contained four acres, was made of hewn stone, and, notwithstanding a large portion of it has been destroyed by encroachments of the Mississippi rivet', the remnant that is left is a magnificent ruin. Renault's company was organized in Paris for the express purpose of mining. In the West Indies he bought 500 negro slaves for miners, who were the ancestors of the slaves in Illinois and Missouri. He obtained large grants of land for mining purposes, and established the first smelting-furnaces for lead in the Mississippi valley. He returned to France in 1744.