1.2. Marco teórico
1.2.2. Literacidad en una lengua extranjera (LE)
From the mid-1760’s, new Spanish subjects reached New Orleans and blended in with the existing population, taking up their lifestyle, habits, language and customs, marrying the local French residents, and therefore, according to Aurélie Jousseaume’s master’s thesis, also helping give “birth to a new ethnic group, the Creoles [… who had] hoped that France would once again become their
81 Michael T. Pasquier, “Insurection of 1768,” in KnowLA, Encyclopedia of Louisiana,
edited by David Johnson (accessed 20 December, 2013) Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 2010 http://www.knowla.org/entry/762/
82 Siegel, New Orleans, 4. The building today known as the Cabildo, which housed the
Spanish government, dates back to 1795.
83 Charles Philippe Aubry to the Ministre, April 24, 1765, Reel 54, WRC, trans. Celine
mother country.”84 When Spain gained possession of Louisiana, the colony had well-established French customs, habits and way of life, so that it left very little opportunity for the Spanish to leave their footprint within the colony. According to Johnson, “New Orleans remained a colonial French city. It never became Spanish in a cultural sense, and it would still be a colonial French city when the United States took over in 1803.”85 It is also debatable whether or not after the Louisiana Purchase New Orleans immediately became an American city. In fact, many
suggest that the French language and customs persisted at least until the Civil War. According to Lewis, “in 1861 [the] articles of secession [were] published both in French and English as were all Louisiana laws.”86
The Spaniards never really made New Orleans a Spanish city and ended up acculturating themselves to French New Orleans. This was a natural outcome since the number of Spanish colonists was much less important than that of the French. Even though Spanish was the official language of the colony, in practice, only a very small fraction of the population used that language on a regular basis. Those speaking Spanish mainly occupied important governmental positions. A few of
84 Aurélie Jousseaume, “The Survival of French Identity in New Orleans through the 19th
Century” (master’s thesis, Bordeaux 3, 2002), 33.
85 Johnson, “Colonial New Orleans,” 45. 86 Lewis, New Orleans, 3.
them even went as far as to “hispanicize” their lastnames in order for them to sound Spanish.87
There was an attempt to educate the local population in the Spanish language hoping that more of the existing settlers would take the habits of the newly arrived inhabitants, rather than the other way around. But this turned out to be a failure. Shortly after the opening of the Spanish school in 1771, there were so few Spanish-speaking students and so many French-speaking ones that the school had to revise its policy and provide education in French.88 As a matter of fact, French speakers were so numerous within the colony that for a few decades after the Americans took over, French and Foreign French89 represented the vast majority of whites in Louisiana.
As for the Spanish language, a few place names in the area come from the Spanish language. Most Spanish inherited names are found in nearby Texas or Florida. Louisiana kept some Spanish features in its cuisine such as the Spanish- inspired jambalaya, which is said to derive from paella. Whereas Spain struggled to leave its footprint on Louisiana’s culture, it seems that France had much less
87 Johnson, “Colonial New Orleans,” 48-‐49. 88 Johnson, “Colonial New Orleans,” 49.
89 Paul F. Lachance, “The Foreign French,” in Creole New Orleans: Race and
Americanisation, ed. Arnold R. Hirsch and Joseph Logsdon (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1992), 102. according to Paul F. Lachance, Foreign French are French speakers born outside of France.
trouble. Even though the French language is no longer spoken in the city, the French heritage is still very present throughout New Orleans. Many streets still bear the name of famous French figures, or French cities. Additionally, many French words remained in people’s lastnames because of their ancestry. New Orleans’ unofficial motto is also still in French: “Laissez les bons temps rouler.”
Conclusion
None of these countries had any kind of experience with disasters on a large scale when they reached the New World. If London had to handle issues of disease in 1665 with the Great Plague and fire the very next year, these were fairly isolated events that could not prepare for the repetitiveness that water damage would cause to the Gulf of Mexico area. Unaware of some of the difficulties that could arise, many proceeded to try and expand their territories in the New World. The narrative of this research will start at a time when the three main colonial powers, namely England, France, and Spain, found themselves in close proximity, and their territories intersected. Because of this close proximity, the three powers tried to keep their own colonies under control and free from their neighbors’ invasions, as well as planning for expansion. As described on the map below, North America was divided in three. England claimed the northeast, and the very north, while Spain colonized the southwest and the southeastern extremity. France, however, found itself claiming Louisiana, an area located exactly in the middle of the other
two powers. Because of such strategic yet fragile location, protecting and
populating Louisiana became essential. Being at the intersection of three powers meant that Louisiana, and especially its southern tip, where the future city of New Orleans would later be located, could easily be invaded. This also meant it bore a great location for trade and commercial development: the area had to be claimed, tamed, and developed. The area brought much interest from numerous colonial powers to claim the region for its resources and potential. European colonists, however, were not fully aware of its susceptibility to disasters. They ventured on the basis of the richness of the area and its ideal location for commerce and trade. Once Louisiana claimed, disasters and issues of survival became more apparent, but as the location prevailed, keeping the colony and the future city of New Orleans in working order seemed justified.
North America 1755 – 1760 Source:
http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/encyclopedia/SevenYearsWar-‐ FrenchandIndianWar-‐TheWaroftheConquest.htm
The next chapter will discuss the area of Louisiana, and its original
inhabitants. Then it will analyze the young city of New Orleans, its beginnings, its foundation and the men that contributed to it. It will also evaluate the other options that could have been used for the site of the colony’s main town and why they
were not successful. Later chapters will move on to discuss and assess the resilience of New Orleans.