The Colonial History of Culture among African Peoples in Louisiana - Book Report/Review Example

Prof’s # The Colonial History of Culture Among African Peoples in Louisiana Louisiana was in many ways a unique colony. It had a completely different cultural makeup from any of the other European colonies in North or South America, and changed hands between European powers more often and more frequently than any other. In less than 100 years, Louisiana was in the hands of the French, Spanish and Americans, and these quick transfers of power had an important part of making it a colony that was markedly different from all of the other ones in culture, both among African and European colonists. This cultural uniqueness continues to the modern day, with Louisiana, and New Orleans in particular, being famous for its food, culture, embracing of the French language, continued use of the Creole language, and many other things that make Louisiana truly unique. In order to fully understand the culture of Louisiana, one must delve into its colonial history, including its administration by a variety of European colonists but also the origins of the African slaves who were brought over, and what their African and North American culture added to this delightful mix. In the book Africans in Colonial Louisiana: The Development of Afro-Creole Culture in the Eighteenth Century, historian Gwendolyn Midlo Hall demonstrates how the conflux of unique European colonial history, strong indigenous populations, and unique slave populations created a unique African-Creole culture in Louisiana that formed the basis of today’s Louisiana culture. One of the most important aspects of Louisiana’s colonial culture was an amount of inherent fluidity to racial and ethnic boundaries that did not exist in other colonies. This fluidity had several origins. First was probably French policy – the French government saw the maintenance of healthy relationships with indigenous peoples as essential, and, unlike their British counterparts were more interested with trading and exploiting indigenous peoples than simply taking their land (Hall, 27). This created an atmosphere that was relatively accepting of differing practices. The fluid racial, ethnic and cultural space was also augmented by the relative mismanagement of French Louisiana – food shortages were extraordinarily common (Hall, 34), and in many cases of food shortages white settlers or soldiers would be sent to live among indigenous tribes in order to escape starvation (Hall 15). Even when starvation was not completely imminent, there was still a significant amount of interchange between indigenous and colonial peoples because the colonists relied on indigenous traders for almost all of their income (through the fur trade) and also for sustenance: the vast majority of crops grown in early Louisiana were cash crops such as tobacco and indigo that did not succeed in the world market, meaning and most colonists sustained themselves, especially in the early years, by buying excess corn from indigenous people rather than growing crops that that could sustain them (Hall 49). The early make-up of the colonies also helped create an atmosphere of cultural fluidity. The earliest colonists, at least the earliest successful ones, were French Canadians that came to Louisiana down the Mississippi river (Hall 40). These colonists were by far most focused on survival over almost anything else, and were more willing than other colonists (especially those actually from France itself) to engage in cultural syncretism and adapt in whatever way was necessary in order to survive. The early Colonial makeup of French Louisiana, both in terms of management by the French powers-that-were and colonial makeup of the population, led to a society that was more open to cultural mixing and “other” cultures continuing to exist, rather than forced domination of French culture above everything else. This created an environment where cultural creation and syncretism could flourish, something that was not possible in most other colonies. The cultural situation in Louisiana was especially fluid because of the cultural makeup of the settlers and the policies of the French colonists. But the mismanagement of the colony, and relative lack of power of the colonists, also served to created a unique slave culture in Louisiana. In most colonies, the colonial structure was incredibly entrenched with huge swathes of European colonists and a slave culture that pervaded many levels of society. Certainly landed gentry had many, many slaves, but it was also not uncommon for individual home owners or shop keepers to have a slave or two to manage stores. The situation in Louisiana was very different. The slave population vastly outnumbered the European population, sometimes by as much as four to one, from the earliest days of the colony (Hall 23). Furthermore, the slaves were largely held by a small, very select group of French bureaucrats and military elites, and did not pervade all levels of society the way that slavery did in many other colonies. This led to the slave holders not having the social or political capital to truly stamp out, and crack down on slave culture in the way that other colonies were able to (Hall 112). Slaves were less frequently forced to convert, to take on slave names, to learn English to a high degree, and to otherwise comport themselves en European manners, rather, there was implicit acceptance in the differences of slave, and African culture from European culture, and a lack of will by the Europeans to try to eliminate that (Hall 160). With the cultural fluidity, colonial make-up and mismanagement of Louisiana, there was an environment that was ripe for the creation and maintenance of strong identities amongst the slaves. But what cultural identities were these? The ethnic makeup of slaves, their African origins, played a large part in the creation of Afro-Creole culture in Louisiana. The vast majority of slaves came from the Senegambian region, which now borders the countries of Senegal and Gambia. The political situation in that area had a significant part in determining which slaves were allowed to be transported to North America (Hall 171). The seat of power, for instance, was Islamic, and would not allow Islamic peoples of any race or ethnicity to be sold into slavery, and only held Islamic slaves that were enslaved for their own crimes (Hall 173). This helped select a particular group of Senegambian people, the Wolof, and especially the Bambara people, who could be sold into slavery because of their inter-tribal warfare, leading to their capture and selling, and anti-Islamic practices, which meant that the powers of northern and western Africa had no interest in protecting them (175). Furthermore, There is evidence that white people considered Bambara to be especially good slaves, willing to work (so long as well fed), intelligent, and not tending to rise up against their slave owners. The Bambara brought to Louisiana, unlike many other slaves in other colonies, were not heavily Europeanized before being brought to the colony. They still retained their native languages and belief systems, which were then augmented from English. In colonial Louisiana most slaves were either forced from Africa in their lifetime or were the children of people forced from Africa. Small, nuclear families were allowed to stay together, leading to a strong cultural feeling and the passing down of beliefs and practices. This means that many aspects of Afro-Creole culture actually originate in Bambara practices. Food, for instance, has a heavily Bambaran flair in Louisiana. All of the crops grown in Louisiana, such as rice, were also grown in Senegambia by Bambara people, which is one of the reasons those people were brought with the rice to Louisiana and why rice remains and important part of Louisiana cuisine to this day (160). Furthermore, their religious practices, such as the practice of magic, belief in the proper cultivation of the earth and so on all helped contribute a great deal to Afro-Creole culture that developed in Louisiana. The conditions and cultures of the African people in Louisiana combined with the open social conditions caused by mismanagement and colonial makeup to create a vital Americanized culture that nonetheless bore many hallmarks of its African origin. The Pointe Coupee Conspiracy was a defining moment in the Afro-Creole culture of Louisiana. There has been much false history written about this moment (Hall 372), but it has such complex origins and results that they are hard to understand even now. One of the central parts of the origins of this rebellion was the French Revolution. When the “conspiracy” fomented, it was the height of the French Revolution, and one of its most radical moments. In a desperate attempt to retain control over the situation, the crown essentially made slavery illegal, trying to bend to the demands of equality that the French populace had formed (Hall 376). People in North America were well aware of the happenings in France, and even slaves would have been kept abreast of the information through a variety of sources. This probably helped stir growing resentment towards slavery, especially now that it was essentially illegal by French law. Even though the Spanish were in control of the colony, they were also at war with the French and had to deal with an incredibly French population, which then saw slavery even more as the hallmarks of an oppressive and foreign regime that should be overthrown, hoping that eventually there would be the possibility of Louisiana returning to French control were enough disturbance made to the Spanish (375). The conspiracy was eventually crushed, and then brutally put down, with many people being hung and their heads posted along the Mississippi (Hall 349). But the aftermath of the Conspiracy was important – firstly, it showed that there was some understanding between black people and some white people about the rights of humanity, and the evils of slavery – there were several white people tried as part of the conspiracy. Secondly, it helped pave the way for the Spanish leaving Louisiana, which became a decreasingly productive and increasingly expensive colony as time went on. The formation of Afro-Creole culture in Louisiana was a long and complicated process, that had as much to do with the structure, political situation and cultures of Africa as it did with the structure, political situation and cultures in the Louisiana colony. An amalgamation of loose ties, fluid cultural identity and strong African culture allowed Africans in Louisiana to develop a culture that was much stronger, and much more based on their African heritage than almost any other culture in slave owning colonies, which leads in part to the amazingly diverse and robust culture of Louisiana today. Works Cited Hall, Gwendolyn Midlo. Africans in Colonial Louisiana: The Development of Afro-Creole Culture in the Eighteenth Century. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1992. Read More