Africans in Colonial Louisiana: The Development of Afro-Creole Culture in the Eighteenth Century

I purchased this book several years ago in Natchitoches, LA while in college and have consulted it and Dr. Hall's online database faithfully since then. It has been instrumental in my being able to trace my direct and indirect family lines back into 17th century France and Western Africa.

I think this book is an absolute must for those who have a real interest in gaining insight into the Louisiana "peculiar institution" or who desire a good, solid, and well-researched social commentary and genealogical database.


Setting The Record Straight   June 15, 2003
 17 out of 19 found this review helpful

This book corrects the many lies that racist white Louisianians and their Creole of color sympathizers have been telling about the origins of all things Louisiana for decades. It reclaims Louisiana for the Africans, who were brought there as chattle property to build the buildings, cultivate the land, blacksmith the iron and ultimately create the culture.

As a descendant of Colonial Louisiana Africans, this book was the first to tell me that I am a descendant of the Bamana of Mali. It is one of the only books I have come across to describe in detail, the battles of Louisiana maroon leader Saint Juan Malo. It is one of the first to tell it like it is concerning the true relationship of the French and Africans of this bastard french colony & address the underlying factors of why it became an Afro-creole colony more so than anything else. Basically this book tells the unadulterated truth backed by facts. It doesn't, like so many other books about Louisiana, get caught up in the romance of the Creoles of color and there obsession with their white fathers. Instead it tells the story of their Senegambian mothers. And shows how the culture of these Africans is the foundation of what is now considered Louisiana Creole culture.

This book is a breath of fresh air to some one like myself who loathes the hundreds of books written about Louisiana that describes it as " a mixture of French, Spanish, and Indian cultures". Always omitting the fact of African influence due to the legacy of white supremacy inherent in the telling of US history. In most other books on the subject, Africans are merely slaves. In this book we are shown for what we are, the foundation of the culture. It will most definitely be a textbook in any course I teach on the subject.


Pathbreaking Research   July 31, 2000
 5 out of 11 found this review helpful

Check out the front page article in the July 30 Sunday New York Times, headlined "Anonymous Louisiana Slaves Regain Identity," to fully appreciate the significance of the historical research embodied in this book.


HISTORY OF CONTRIBUTION OF WEST AFRICANS TO CULTURE IN LA   February 6, 1999
 30 out of 31 found this review helpful

I had to read this book for a seminar class and was fascinated by it. It documents in much detail the history of colonial Louisiana putting West Africans squarely in the middle of that development. Midlo Hall uses sources from three countries, France, Spain and colonial Britain to document the African presence in Louisiana. She spends some time on the fact that most of the Africans brought to Louisiana were from the Senegambia region of West Africa. Consequently, the Africans brought with them their way of life and were able to exercise much of it in Louisiana. She notes the difference in French/Spanish colonization and the contribution of African language, food and cultural practices in Louisiana. It is well worth reading for it is a history book quite well written that would appeal to the general public. It is entertaining as well as informative.