Louisiana Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Culture== {{Main|Culture of Louisiana|Literature of Louisiana|Music of Louisiana}} Louisiana is home to many cultures; especially notable are the distinct cultures of the [[Louisiana Creoles]] and [[Cajuns]], descendants of French and Spanish settlers in colonial Louisiana. ===African culture=== The French colony of ''La Louisiane'' struggled for decades to survive. Conditions were harsh, the climate and soil were unsuitable for certain crops the colonists knew, and they suffered from regional tropical diseases. Both colonists and the slaves they imported had high mortality rates. The settlers kept importing slaves, which resulted in a high proportion of native Africans from West Africa, who continued to practice their culture in new surroundings. As described by historian [[Gwendolyn Midlo Hall]], they developed a marked Afro-Creole culture in the colonial era.<ref>Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, ''Africans in Colonial Louisiana: The Development of Afro-Creole Culture in the Eighteenth Century'' (1992)</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/laslave/|title=Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy|website=Ibiblio.org|access-date=October 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430233835/http://www.ibiblio.org/laslave/|archive-date=April 30, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> At the turn of the 18th century and in the early 1800s, New Orleans received a major influx of White and mixed-race refugees fleeing the violence of the [[Haitian Revolution]], many of whom brought their slaves with them.<ref>{{cite web|title=AAME|url=http://www.inmotionaame.org/texts/viewer.cfm;jsessionid=f8301863741603865579076?id=5_000T&bhcp=1|access-date=October 28, 2020|website=Inmotionaame.org|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031172524/http://www.inmotionaame.org/texts/viewer.cfm;jsessionid=f8301863741603865579076?id=5_000T&bhcp=1|url-status=dead}}</ref> This added another infusion of African culture to the city, as more slaves in [[Saint-Domingue]] were from Africa than in the United States. They strongly influenced the African-American culture of the city in terms of dance, music and religious practices. ===Creole culture=== [[File:CreoleFood.jpg|thumb|Typical dishes of [[Louisiana Creole cuisine]]]] [[Louisiana Creole people|Creole]] culture is an amalgamation of French, African, Spanish (and other European), and Native American cultures.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.laheritage.org/CreoleHeritage/index.html |title=French Creole Heritage |publisher=Laheritage.org |access-date=April 23, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140830084559/http://www.laheritage.org/CreoleHeritage/index.html |archive-date=August 30, 2014 }}</ref> Creole comes from the Portuguese word ''crioulo''; originally it referred to a colonist of European (specifically French) descent who was born in the New World, in comparison to immigrants from France.<ref>Delehanty, Randolph. ''New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence, Chronicle Books'', 1995, pg. 14</ref> The oldest Louisiana manuscript to use the word "Creole", from 1782, applied it to a slave born in the French colony.<ref>Kein, Sybil. ''Creole: The History and Legacy of Louisiana's Free People of Color'', Louisiana State University Press, 2009, p. 73.</ref> But originally it referred more generally to the French colonists born in Louisiana. Over time, there developed in the French colony a relatively large group of [[Creoles of Color]] (''gens de couleur libres''), who were primarily descended from African slave women and French men (later other Europeans became part of the mix, as well as some Native Americans). Often the French would free their concubines and [[mixed-race]] children, and pass on social capital to them.<ref>{{cite web|title=Creoles|url=https://64parishes.org/entry/creoles|access-date=2022-01-24|website=64 Parishes|language=en|quote=By the 1720s, free mixed-race Louisianans made up such a substantial part of the population that the Code Noir (laws governing race relations in Louisiana) spelled out the group’s special place in colonial society. These Creoles of color, as they were known (gens de couleur libres in French, "free persons of color"), occupied a middle ground between whites and enslaved blacks. They commonly owned property, including slaves, and received formal educations, sometimes in Europe.|archive-date=July 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701153301/https://64parishes.org/entry/creoles|url-status=live}}</ref> They might educate sons in France, for instance, and help them enter the French Army. They also settled capital or property on their mistresses and children. The free people of color gained more rights in the colony and sometimes education; they generally spoke French and were Roman Catholic. Many became artisans and property owners. Over time, the term "Creole" became associated with this class of Creoles of color, many of whom achieved freedom long before the American Civil War. Wealthy French Creoles generally maintained town houses in [[New Orleans]] as well as houses on their large sugar plantations outside town along the Mississippi River. New Orleans had the largest population of free people of color in the region; they could find work there and created their own culture, marrying among themselves for decades. ===Acadian culture=== The ancestors of [[Cajun]]s immigrated mostly from west central France to New France, where they settled in the Atlantic provinces of [[New Brunswick]], Nova Scotia and [[Prince Edward Island]], known originally as the French colony of [[Acadia]]. After the British defeated France in the [[French and Indian War]] ([[Seven Years' War]]) in 1763, France ceded its territory east of the Mississippi River to Britain. After the Acadians refused to swear an oath of loyalty to the British Crown, they were [[Expulsion of the Acadians|expelled from Acadia]], and made their way to places such as France, Britain, and New England.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cajuns|url=https://64parishes.org/entry/cajuns|access-date=2022-01-24|website=64 Parishes|language=en|archive-date=March 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319080920/https://64parishes.org/entry/cajuns|url-status=live}}</ref> Other Acadians covertly remained in [[British America|British North America]] or moved to [[New Spain]]. Many Acadians settled in southern Louisiana in the region around [[Lafayette, Louisiana|Lafayette]] and the LaFourche Bayou country. They developed a distinct rural culture there, different from the French Creole colonists of New Orleans. Intermarrying with others in the area, they developed what was called Cajun music, cuisine and culture. ===Isleño culture=== {{Main|Isleño (Louisiana)}} [[File:El_Museo_de_los_Isleños.jpg|alt=|thumb|El Museo de los Isleños (Isleño Museum) in [[Saint Bernard, Louisiana|Saint Bernard]]]] A third distinct culture in Louisiana is that of the Isleños. Its members are descendants of colonists from the [[Canary Islands]] who settled in [[Spanish Louisiana]] between 1778 and 1783 and intermarried with other communities such as [[French people|Frenchmen]], [[Acadians]], [[Louisiana Creole people|Creoles]], [[Spaniards]], and other groups, mainly through the 19th and early 20th centuries. In Louisiana, the Isleños originally settled in four communities which included Galveztown, Valenzuela, Barataria, and San Bernardo. The large migration of [[Acadian]] refugees to [[Bayou Lafourche]] led to the rapid gallicization of the Valenzuela community while the community of San Bernardo ([[Saint Bernard Parish, Louisiana|Saint Bernard]]) was able to preserve much of its unique culture and language into the 21st century. The transmission of Spanish and other customs has completely halted in St. Bernard with those having competency in Spanish being octogenarians.<ref name=":02">{{cite book|title=The Language of the Isleños: Vestigial Spanish in Louisiana|last1=Lipski|first1=John|date=July 1, 1990|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|isbn=0807115347|pages=i, 4}}</ref> Through the centuries, the various Isleño communities of Louisiana have kept alive different elements of their Canary Islander heritage while also adopting and building upon the customs and traditions of the communities that surround them. Today two heritage associates exist for the communities: Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society of St. Bernard as well as the Canary Islanders Heritage Society of Louisiana. The [[Isleños Fiesta|Fiesta de los Isleños]] is celebrated annually in St. Bernard Parish which features heritage performances from local groups and the Canary Islands.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fink|first=Shawn|title=Photos: The Los Isleños Fiesta celebrates Canary Island immigrants, cultural heritage of St. Bernard|url=https://www.nola.com/multimedia/photos/collection_97e45d44-622f-11ea-b007-ef634a18db88.html|access-date=October 28, 2020|website=NOLA.com|date=March 9, 2020 |archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031061003/https://www.nola.com/multimedia/photos/collection_97e45d44-622f-11ea-b007-ef634a18db88.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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