57 (D-5) Slavery in Louisiana / Le Code Noir / Quiz 10

Slavery in Louisiana was different than in the other states.  It was the French colonists who introduced chattel slaves (chattel= personal property that is moveable) in Louisiana, first in 1706 when the Native American women and children were captured and became slaves.  In 1710 African chattel slaves were taken from the Spanish and then, during the years 1717-1721, the French transported more than 2000 slaves from Africa to New Orleans. (It was organized by John Law, the same man who tricked Germans into coming to live in Louisiana.  See Post 34)
Louisiana's slave trade was governed by Le Code Noir, a document inspired by the French politician Jean Baptiste Colbert. Wikipedia tells us:

The Code noir (The Black Code) was a decree originally passed by France's King Louis XIV in 1685. The Code Noir defined the conditions of slavery in the French colonial empire, restricted the activities of free Negroes, forbade the exercise of any religion other than Roman Catholicism, and ordered all Jews out of France's colonies.

The Code Noir gave unparalleled rights to slaves. It includes the right to marry, to gather publicly or to take Sundays off. Although the Code Noir authorized and codified cruel corporal punishment against slaves under certain conditions, it forbade slave owners to torture them or to separate families. It also forced the owners to instruct them in the Catholic faith, implying that Africans were human beings endowed with a soul.

It resulted in a far higher percentage of blacks being free people of color (13.2% in Louisiana compared to 0.8% in Mississippi.) They were on average exceptionally literate, with a significant number of them owning businesses, properties and even slaves.

The code has been described by Tyler Stovall as "one of the most extensive official documents on race, slavery, and freedom ever drawn up in Europe".

There are 60 articles in the document, which are summarized in wikipedia.  You might find it interesting to look at them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Noir

And, when you have time, here is another interesting article you can listen to at the VOA site:
VOA English: Slavery in the American South
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/transcript/1532857.html

There is so much more I could develop from here...
...The Civil War  
...from slavery to emancipation
...Reconstruction
...segregation, which I remember as a child
...violence, lynchings...  
...The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) 
.... desegregation
....civil rights....  
But, I'm running out of time.

And because there is music at every corner, here is still another song I love.
Strange Fruit, sung by Billie Holiday, a song and an intrepretation of that song which will make your heart cry.
PLEASE listen.  French students will have no difficulties understanding.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x17hbu_strange-fruit-b-holiday-sous-titree_music

Jane 
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QUIZ 10  (Posts 49-56, not too long ago)
1.  What is a "fais do-do"?
2.  What are the musical instruments used in Cajun music?
3.  Why shouldn't Boudreaux have eaten the parrot???
4.  What is a possible origin of the word "zydeco"?  (I forgot to tell you that the word "zydeco" evolved from the word "zarico" which had been used as a name for this music.)
5.  What is the unusual instrument used in this music? And if you don't remember the music, you can go back to Post 51 again to listen to Clifton Chenier and Queen Ida.
6.  How much do you remember about Jean Lafitte? What was the name of the island where he set up his "business"?  Why should Americans be grateful (reconnaissant) to him?
7.  Why are the trees in the bayous called "bald" cypress trees?
8.  Who runs the Rural Life Museum in the Baton Rouge area?
9.  The politician Huey Long  (1893 - 1935) died so young because  
a.  he had a heart attack. 
b.  he was killed in a train-car accident. 
c.  he was assassinated.

10.  Have you enjoyed doing these quizzes?  Congratulations!  You've just finished the last one!