




Early Spanish explorers were Alvárez Piñeda,
1519; Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, 1528; and
Hernando de Soto in 1541.
Sieur de la Salle reached the mouth of the
Mississippi and claimed all the land drained
by it and its tributaries for Louis XIV of
France in 1682.
Louisiana became a French crown colony in
1731 but was ceded to Spain in 1763 after the
French and Indian Wars.
Louisiana reverted to France in 1800 and was
sold by Napoleon to the U.S. in 1803.
The southern part, known as the territory of
Orleans, became the state of Louisiana in 1812



A strong French influence is still evident
throughout the state--its capital city is
named Baton Rouge, French for "red
stick," because the French-Canadian
explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville visited
the area in 1699 and observed a red
cypress post. Today the city of New
Orleans is known for its Mardi Gras and
jazz festivals.
Street names are named after famous
French people and words-Many last names
come from French names.
The legal system in Louisiana derives
from the Civil Code established by
Napoleon in 1804.
Cajun French

Cajun French is a dialect of the French
language spoken primarily in South Louisiana.
However, a significant amount of cultural
vocabulary is derived from Spanish, German,
Portuguese, and Haitian Creole.

During the early part of the 20th century,
attempts were made to suppress Cajun culture by
measures such as forbidding the use of the
Cajun French language in schools. The Council
for the Development of French in Louisiana
(CODOFIL) was established in 1968 to promote
the preservation of French language and culture
in Louisiana.
During the French and Indian
War between France and Great
Britain, France offered Louisiana
to Spain in order to bring Spain
into the conflict on the French side.
Spain declined.
When the "Family Compact," a
supposedly secret alliance between
France and Spain, became known
to the British, the latter attacked
Spain.
In November 1762 in the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau,
France handed over Louisiana and the Isle of Orleans to Spain.
Louisiana Heritage

Four different groups have contributed to its
unique heritage:
› the Creoles, descendants of the original Spanish
and French colonists;
› the Cajuns, whose French ancestors were expelled
from Acadia (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) by
the British in 1755;
› the American cotton planters whose beautiful
plantation houses can still be seen today;
› and the African Americans who worked to create
much of Louisiana's wealth and whose music, Jazz,
has swept the world.




The Cajuns arrived almost 400 years ago in Canada.
They were seeking relief from economic and religious
oppression in Nova Scotia, Acadia, and France.
These French settlers were later know as the
“Acadians”.
The Acadians eventually came to Louisiana for a new
way of life and lived in isolation.


The fiddle and the accordion are the two main instruments
in Cajun music.
Cajun music was born from ballads. It was played during
small get-togethers or during “fais do-dos” (a public dance
in a dance hall).
There are several variations of
Cajun dance: Cajun Jig, Cajun
Two Step, and a Cajun Waltz.
In mild contrast,
Zydeco dancing
is a syncopated two-step.
The famous Mardi Gras holiday is a Cajun-Creole custom
 Cajuns’ food is more highly spiced:

› Cochon de lait (a famous pig roast)
› “hot boudin” (Cajun sausage made from rice and pork)
› Jambalaya
› Crawfish etouffé
› Gumbo

Cajuns are very superstitious.

Cajuns are mostly Roman Catholic.
CREOLES



Swamp pop, Swamp blues, and Zydeco are all creole music.
Swamp pop came about in the mid 1950s.
Swamp Blues is a sparse but funky sub-genre of blues that
flourished in the 1960s.



New Orleans is the place where Creole heritage is the most
apparent.
The word "Bazah" is Creole for having a good time or a
celebration. It includes watching the "Big Chiefs" battle it
out on Mardi Gras, the Jazz Funeral procession of a loved
one to Mt. Olivet or St. Louis Cemetery. They include First
Communions and May Crownings.
Creole food is more refined and subtler than the Cajun’s.
Many Cajun dishes can be found in Creole cuisine
(Gumbo, Jambalaya…)