French Louisiana Culture

• 1685 (set of laws) to regulate the growing number of slaves in the colony.
– Code Noir means the black code.

• Forbid interracial marriages.
– French and slaves could still marry Indians.
• Forbid slaves & French from living together as couples
– Often ignored because few French women living in the colony.
• Any children born to interracial couples would be slaves.

• Sometimes slave owners would want to free their slave wife and children.
– This required a lot of trouble and expense.
– Slaves that were freed & had French blood were called, les gens de couleur libres.

• Slaves could not: be educated, gather in public in large numbers & they could not carry weapons.
• Punishment was cruel and severe.
– Runaways could be branded or have their ears cut off.
– Any slave who hit his owner or ran away 3 times was executed.
• Slaves were at the mercy of their owners.
– Owners were not punished for cruelty or murder.

• Code Noir was one of the few slave codes that gave slaves some rights.
– Slaves were recognized as humans & were allowed to marry other slaves.
– A child under 14 could not be separated from his mother.
– Slaves did not work on Sundays or religious holidays.
– Slave owners had to provide: food, shelter, clothing,
& medical attention.
– If a slave became old or sick, the owner still had to care for him.

• Code Noir said that freed slaves had the same rights as the whites.
– Freed slaves could own property, have slaves, & serve in the government or military.
– Free people of color were wealthy and influential.

• Everyone had to be
Christian.
– No other religious practices were allowed in the colony
• All slaves had to be baptized.
• Jews were not allowed in the colony.

• Many African traditions still exist in Louisiana today.
– Example is Gumbo.
• Name from the African word for okra “guingombo.”
– Example is Voodoo.
– Catholic & African traditions blended together
– Believe in God but also in other sprits
• Magic chants, spells, potions, and charms to ward off evil.
– Dark side of voodoo is called hoodoo (to harm people)

Gumbo
Voodoo