Louisiana Creole people

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This article is about an ethnic culture in Louisiana, USA. For uses of the term "Creole" in other countries and cultures, see Creole (disambiguation).

Louisiana Creole refers to people of any race or mixture thereof who are descended from settlers in colonial French Louisiana before it became part of the United States in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase, or to the culture and Creole cuisine typical of these people.

Contents 1 Definitions 2 Culture 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Definitions

Some, from other regions of the United States, have taken the term Creole to refer only to people of mixed racial (usually African and European) descent, but this is not the traditional Louisiana usage. Some locals, especially those of relatively pure French and Spanish 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."^[1]

The Louisiana Creole Heritage Center describes Creole people as those who are "generally known as a people of mixed French, African, Spanish, and Native American ancestry, most of whom reside in or have familial ties to Louisiana."^[2] They add that "many other ethnicities have contributed to this culture including, but not limited to, Chinese, Russian, German, and Italian."

Creole is now accepted as 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 or Spanish speaking Louisiana communities originating in the 18th and 19th century with some ancestors who came to Louisiana either directly from France and Spain or via their colonies in the Caribbean; those descended from the Acadians of French Canada are more likely to identify themselves as Cajun than Creole.

A definition from the earliest history in New Orleans (circa 1718) is "a child born in the colony as opposed to France or Spain. (see Criollo)"^[3] The definition became more codified after the United States took control of the city and Louisiana in 1803. The Creoles at that time included the Spanish ruling class, who ruled from the mid-1700s until the early 1800s.

See also: Criollo (people), the Spanish term for Creole peoples.

Culture

Louisiana Creole cuisine is recognized as an unique a style of cooking originating in New Orleans.

In addition to English, many Louisiana Creoles have historically spoken a distinctive creole language, the Louisiana Creole French (creyol luizien).

See also

• Creole peoples
• Isle of Canes
• List of notable Louisiana Creoles
• Louisiana Creole French language
• Marie Thérèse Metoyer
• Zydeco music

References

1. ^ "Creole," Encyclopedia of Cajun Culture.[1]
2. ^ "Creole Definition," Louisiana Creole Heritage Center (2006).[2]
3. ^ See also American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, at def. 2a. (Houghton Mifflin Company).

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