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! ===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 groupโs 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. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page