The French Louisianians (), also known as Louisiana French, are Latin French people native to the states that were established out of French Louisiana. They are commonly referred to as French Creoles (). Today, the most famous Louisiana French groups are the Alabama Creoles (including Alabama Cajans), Louisiana Creoles (including Louisiana Cajuns), and the Missouri French (Illinois Creoles).
Etymology
The term Créole was originally used by French settlers to distinguish people born in French Louisiana from those born elsewhere, thus drawing a distinction between Old-World Europeans and Africans from their Creole descendants born in the Viceroyalty of New France. The term Louisanese () was used as a demonym for Louisiana French people prior to the establishment of states in the Louisiana Territory, but the term fell into disuse after the Orleans Territory gained admission into the American Union as the State of Louisiana:
"The elegant olive-browned Louisianese- the rosy-cheeked maiden from La belle riviere ( La Belle Rivière is the native Louisiana French name for Ohio)..."
Louisiana French Language
The Louisiana French speak similar dialects of French, the major varieties being Lower Louisiana French, Upper Louisiana French, and Louisiana Creole.
Alabama Creoles
Adventurers lead by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville moved from Fort Maurepas in Biloxi, Mississippi to a wooded bluff on the west bank of the Mobile River in early 1702, where they founded Mobile, which they named after the Maubilian Indians. The outpost was populated by French soldiers, French-Canadian trappers and fur traders, and a few merchants and artisans accompanied by their families. The French had easy access to the Indian fur trade, and furs were the primary economic resource of Mobile. Along with fur, some settlers also raised cattle as well as produced ships' timbers and naval stores.
Indian nations gathered annually at Mobile to be wined, dined, and showered with presents by the French. About 2,000 Indians descended on Mobile for as long as two weeks. Because of the close and friendly relationship between colonial French and Indian peoples, French colonists learned the Indian Lingua franca of the area, the Mobilian Jargon, and intermarried with Indian women.
Mobile was a melting pot of different peoples, and included continental Frenchmen, French-Canadians, and various Indians mingled together in Mobile. The differences between continental Frenchmen and French-Canadians were so great that serious disputes occurred between the two groups.
The French also established slavery in 1721. Slaves infused elements of African and West Indian French Creole culture into Mobile, as many of the slaves who came to Mobile worked in the French West Indies. In 1724, the Code Noir, a slave code based on Roman laws, was instituted in French colonies which allowed slaves certain legal and religious rights not found in either British or American communities. The Code Noir based on Roman laws also conferred affranchis (ex-slaves) full citizenship and gave complete civil equality with other French subjects.
By the mid-18th century, Mobile was populated by West Indian French Creoles, European Frenchmen, French-Canadians, Africans, and Indians. This diverse group was united by Roman Catholicism, the exclusive religion of the colony. The town's inhabitants included 50 troops, a mixed group of approximately 400 civilians which included merchants, laborers, fur traders, artisans, and slaves. This mixed diverse group and its descendants are called Creoles.
Mobile Alabama, the Athens of the South
Mobile contained approximately 40% of all of Alabama's free black population. Mobile's free people of color were the Creoles. A people of diverse origins, the Creoles formed an elite with their own schools, churches, fire company, and social organizations. Many Creoles were the descendants of free blacks at the time of Mobile's capture by American forces, and who retained their freedoms by treaty and treated by the American government as a unique people. Other Creoles were blood relatives of white Mobilians including those of prominent families.
Mobile gained the nickname the "Athens of the South" as it became rich and prospered. European immigrants from continental Europe as well as those who had already established themselves in Northern cities flocked to Mobile. By 1860, Mobile boasted a population of 30,000.
In 1844, a Northern visitor described the diversity and beauty of Mobile: