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Africans in Colonial Louisiana

            Gwendolyn Hall is the author of the book "Africans in Colonial Louisiana: The Development of Afro-Creole Culture in the Eighteenth Century." She opens with a very short preface in which she hold the opinion that culture is dynamic and that view can be seen throughout the book. The topic of French Colonial Louisiana is exceptional in the fact that the culture was constantly changing due to the trials and tribulations of frontier life. Due to this and the belief system of the Africans brought into Colonial Louisiana, there was no socio-racial hierarchy and that brought the interdependence between all the races to a high point and allowed the Africans to form the basis of the Creole Culture. Hall flawlessly mixes historical documents, ethnologies, and anthropological studies to capture the evolution of Afro-Creole Culture throughout this time period. The book is a phenomenal read and it could even appeal to the general public.
             In the first chapter, Hall goes through the colony chronologically under the French rule. Hall begins with a discussion of the people who were originally sent to Louisiana to colonize. She discusses how criminals and the generally unwanted people in French pre-revolutionary society were sent to colonize this area. She gives numerous documents and accounts of how these people were deported to Louisiana instead of being put to death. Hall also provides charts within the text showing the different aspects of the history. The French treated the Louisiana colony as a military post to prevent England colonies from gaining too much control of the Americas. As a military post and due to the constant threat of the large Indian populace, not many wanted to go to Louisiana. As such the French government deported many people and sent soldiers there as a punishment for deserting. Hall repeatedly mentions that the people within this colony were considered the lowest of the low and she uses many sources from French officials that mention how this colony is a colony of deserters.


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2. Slavery In The American Colonies

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