Creole: Encyclopedia II - Creole - New Orleans and Louisiana/Gulf Coast Creoles

Creole - New Orleans and Louisiana/Gulf Coast Creoles

In this context the word refers to people of any race or mixture thereof who are descended from settlers in colonial Louisiana before it became part of the USA in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase, or to the culture and cuisine typical of these people. Some writers from other parts of the USA have mistakenly assumed the term to refer only to people of mixed racial descent, but this is not the traditional Louisiana usage. In fact some locals, especially those of relatively pure Spanish and French Creole descent, have often argued that the traditional usage excluded African lineage. However, Colonial era documents show that a broader usage of the term was already common by the late 18th century, with references to "free Creoles of Color" and even to slaves of pure African descent born in Louisiana as "Creole slaves". It is now accepted that Creole is a broad cultural group of people of all races who share a French or Spanish background. Louisianans who identify themselves as "Creole" are most commonly from historically Francophone communities with some ancestors who came to Louisiana either directly from France or via the French colonies in the Caribbean; those descended from the Acadians of French Canada are more likely to identify themselves as Cajun than Creole. Creole is still used to identify a person of Spanish, French, American Indian, and/or African origin. Whites, Blacks, Indians, and those of mixed race can all be creole.

A definition from the earliest history in New Orleans; ie, circa 1718; is: a child born in the colony as opposed to France. The definition became more codified after the United States took control of the city and Louisiana, 1803. The Creoles, by that time included the Spanish ruling class, who ruled from the mid-1700s until 1800. By 1850, however, after many years of pejorative slights by the new "American" émigrés, the term included, in a more common way, persons of different and/or mixed ethnicities and races. For example, early German immigrants, who settled along the “German Coast” of the Mississippi River above New Orleans, were referred to as Creole. By 1850, the French and Spanish Creoles lost political power, and the term became increasingly inclusive of anyone or anything from the city; eg, people, animals, architecture, etc.

Because of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina, many Creole people fear the extinction of their culture and unique community. Having been forced to evacuate New Orleans, and settle temporarily (and perhaps permanently) elsewhere throughout the United States, it is unclear whether enough will return to a rebuilt New Orleans to continue their ethnic and cultural traditions.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is of Creole descent, as is pop star Beyoncé Knowles.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "New Orleans and Louisiana/Gulf Coast Creoles", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki