Slave Labor in the Building of Bienville's Beau Croissant
IJHAS, 01 (01):
41-46 (2017)Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of African slaves in the construction of the French colonial
city of La Nouvelle Orléans, later known as New Orleans, Louisiana, as well as the part these slaves, along
with other forced immigrants, had in the reconstruction of the city following the numerous disasters it
encountered in its early days. The contribution of slaves in the making of the local culture and economy
will be reviewed. The paper will also examine the response to disasters during the Spanish period, with a
particular focus on slave labor. Part of the sources used as to write this paper comes from archive
materials found in New Orleans.