Creoles of color

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The term Creoles of Color refers to mixed-race blacks residing in the Gulf Coast and Louisiana area. The term Creole is a derivative of the Latin word ‘creare’ which means “to create” When Portuguese colonists discovered the New World, the word “crioulo” was used in reference to a slave of African descent who came from the New World. It eventually evolved to mean any New World colonist regardless of ethnic descent who resides in the Gulf Coast area.

During Louisiana’s colonial period Creole referred to black, white and mixed race Louisiana natives. They used the term to separate themselves from foreign-born and Anglo-American settlers.

The mixed-race Creoles of Color become part of a separate ethnic group sometime during the 19th century. These freed persons of color usually enjoyed many of the privileges of whites including property ownership and formal education. Often the Creoles of Color were referred to as "gens de colour libre," French for "freed persons of color." Because they were of a social order above many of the blacks during that time period, they went to great lengths to ensure that they and their offspring had very little contact with anyone who did not belong to their social class. While it was not illegal, it was a social taboo for Creoles of Color to marry slaves and was rarely done. Many times, the Creoles of Color were owners of slaves themselves.After the civil war, many of the Creoles of Color lost their property and status and were made to join the ranks of the poverty-stricken ex-slaves.

In "Cane River," a novel written by Lalita Tademy,she explores the life of three generations of women in her family who represent the generation of mixed race creoles that resided in New Orleans before and after the civil war.

[edit] Sources

  • Creoles of color in the Bayou country / Carl A. Brasseaux, Keith P. Fontenot, and Claude F. Oubre
  • The founding of New Acadia : the beginnings of Acadian life in Louisiana, 1765-1803 / Carl A. Brasseaux
  • Acadian to Cajun : transformation of a people, 1803-1877 / Carl A. Brasseaux
  • Dormon, James H. Louisiana's "Creoles of Color": Ethnicity, Marginality, and Identity. Social Science Quarterly (University of Texas Press) 73.3 (1992): 615.