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In the context of the history of
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n,
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who were primarily of
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
African descent with little mixture. They were a distinct group of free people of color in the French colonies, including
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
and in settlements on Caribbean islands, such as Saint-Domingue (
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...
), St. Lucia,
Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographical ...
,
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label= Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands— Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and ...
, and
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...
. In these territories and major cities, particularly
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
, and those cities held by the Spanish, a substantial third class of primarily mixed-race, free people developed. These colonial societies classified mixed-race people in a variety of ways, generally related to visible features and to the proportion of African ancestry. Racial classifications were numerous in
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...
. A freed African slave was known as '' affranchi'' (French: "freed"). The term was sometimes meant to include the free people of color, but they considered the term pejorative since they had been born free. The term ''gens de couleur libres'' ( ("free people of color") was commonly used in France's West Indian
colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
prior to the abolition of slavery. It frequently referred to free people of mixed African and European ancestry. In British North America, the term free Negro was often used to cover the same class of people—those who were legally free and visibly of African descent.


Saint-Domingue

By the late 18th century prior to the
Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt began on ...
, Saint-Domingue was legally divided into three distinct groups: free whites (who were divided socially between the plantation-class '' grands blancs'' and the working-class '' petits blancs''); freedmen ('' affranchis''), and
slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. More than half of the ''affranchis'' were '' gens de couleur libres''; others were considered freed black slaves. In addition, '' maroons'' (runaway slaves) were sometimes able to establish independent small communities and a kind of freedom in the mountains, along with remnants of Haiti's original Taino people. A large group of surviving Native Taino's also supported the Haitian Revolution, they were known as "indiens esclaves" which numbered about 5,000. In a 1780 census, there was also a group listed as “indiens sauvages”, which Haitian historians believe were the native Arawak and Taino that were known to live in tiny reclusive mountain communities at this point. Dessalines talked about people whom he called “Rouges” (reds), or sometimes “Incas” in his letters. When they were spoken about in context of the war, he makes mention of cooperation between Africans and Natives in maroon communities that plotted against colonists on the southern peninsula. He’s also spoken about “Incas among his men” showing him secret burial quarters in the Artibonite valley that could be used by rebels as shelter and storage. There were 3,000 known Native peoples (both “esclaves” and “sauvages”) living in Haiti in the years before independence, according to a 1802 colonial census. Dessalines did not forget these people and their sacrifices against Spain and now, France. He named the Haitian army “the Incas”, “the Army of the Sun” and eventually “the Indigenous Army” in honor of them. He also renamed the island “Haiti,” its pre-Columbian name. When slavery was ended in the colony in 1793, by action of the French government following the French Revolution, there were approximately 28,000 ''anciens libres'' ("free before") in Saint-Domingue. The term was used to distinguish those who were already free, compared to those liberated by the general emancipation of 1793. About 16,000 of these ''anciens libres'' were ''gens de couleur libres''. Another 12,000 were ''affranchis'', black slaves who had either purchased their freedom or had been given it by their masters for various reasons.


Rights

Regardless of their ethnicity, in Saint-Domingue freedmen had been able to own land. Some acquired plantations and owned large numbers of slaves themselves. The slaves were generally not friendly with the freedmen, who sometimes portrayed themselves to whites as bulwarks against a slave uprising. As property owners, freedmen tended to support distinct lines set between their own class and that of slaves. Also often working as artisans, shopkeepers or landowners, the ''gens de couleur'' frequently became quite prosperous, and many prided themselves on their European culture and descent. They were often well-educated in the
French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in N ...
, and they tended to scorn the Haitian Creole language used by slaves. Most ''gens de couleur'' were reared as
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
, also part of French culture, and many denounced the Vodoun religion brought with slaves from Africa. Under the ''
ancien régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...
'', despite the provisions of equality nominally established in the '' Code Noir'', the ''gens de couleur'' were limited in their freedoms. They did not possess the same rights as Frenchmen, specifically the
right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
. Most supported slavery on the island, at least up to the time of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
. But they sought equal rights for free people of color, which became an early central issue of the unfolding
Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt began on ...
. The primary adversary of the ''gens de couleur'' before and into the Haitian Revolution were the working-class white people such as farmers and tradesmen of the colony, known as the ''petits blancs'' ("small whites"). Because of the freedmen's relative economic success in the region, sometimes related to blood ties to influential whites people, the ''petits blancs'' farmers often resented their social standing and worked to keep them shut out of government. Beyond financial incentives, the free coloreds caused the working-class whites further problems in finding women to start a family. The successful mulattos often won the hands of the small number of eligible women on the island. With growing resentment, the working-class whites monopolized assembly participation and caused the free people of color to look to France for legislative assistance.


French citizenship

The free people of color won a major political battle on May 15, 1791, when the
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
in France voted to give full French citizenship to them, on the condition of having two free parents. The decree was revoked on September 24, 1791, and replaced by a new, more generous decree on April 4, 1792, that gave full French citizenship to all free people, regardless of the color of their skin and the statuses of their parents.


Struggle

In their competition for power, both the poor whites and free coloreds enlisted the help of slaves. By doing this, the feud helped to disintegrate class discipline and propel the slave population in the colony to seek further inclusion and liberties in society. As the widespread slave rebellion in the north of the island wore on, many free people of color abandoned their earlier distance from the slaves. A growing coalition between the free coloreds and the former slaves was essential for the eventual success of the Haitians to expel French influence. The former slaves and the ''anciens libres'' still remained segregated in many respects. Their animosity and struggle for power erupted in 1799. The competition between the ''gens de couleur'' led by André Rigaud and the black Haitians led by
Toussaint Louverture François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (; also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda; 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803) was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture ...
devolved into the
War of the Knives The War of Knives (French: ''Guerre des couteaux''), also known as the War of the South, was a civil war from June 1799 to July 1800 between the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, a black ex-slave who controlled the north of Saint-Domi ...
. After their loss in that conflict, many wealthy ''gens de couleur'' left as refugees to
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
,
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
, the United States and elsewhere. Some took slaves with them. Others, however, remained to play an influential role in Haitian politics.


Caribbean

Free people of color were an important part generally in the history of the Caribbean during the period of slavery and afterward. Initially descendants of French men and African and Indian slaves (and later French men and free women of color), and often marrying within their own mixed-race community, some achieved wealth and power. By the late eighteenth century, most free people of color in Saint-Domingue were native born and part of colored families that had been free for generations. Free people of color were leaders in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which achieved independence in 1804 as the Republic of
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...
. In Saint-Domingue, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and other French Caribbean colonies before slavery was abolished, the free people of color were known as ''gens de couleur libres'', and ''affranchis''. Comparable mixed-race groups became an important part of the populations of the British colony of
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
, the Spanish colonies of
Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...
,
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
,
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
, and the Portuguese colony of
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.


New Orleans and New France

Free people of color played an important role in the history of
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
and the southern area of New France, both when the area was controlled by the French and Spanish, and after its acquisition by the United States as part of the
Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...
. When French
settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...
s and traders first arrived in these colonies, the men frequently took Native American women as their concubines or common-law wives (see
Marriage 'à la façon du pays' Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
). When African slaves were imported to the colony, many colonists took African women as concubines or wives. In the colonial period of French and Spanish rule, men tended to marry later after becoming financially established. Later, when more white families had settled or developed here, some young French men or ethnic French Creoles still took mixed-race women as mistresses, often known as '' placées.'' Popular stereotypes portray such unions as formal, financial transactions arranged between a white man and the mother of the mixed-race mistress. Supposedly, the young woman of mixed European and African ancestry would attend dances known as "quadroon balls" to meet white gentlemen willing to provide for her and any children she bears from their union. The relationship would end as soon as the man married properly. According to legend, free girls of color were raised by their mothers to become concubines for white men, as they themselves once were. However, evidence suggests that on account of the community's piety by the late 18th century, free women of color usually preferred the legitimacy of marriage with other free men of color. In cases where free women of color did enter extramarital relationships with white men, such unions were overwhelmingly lifelong and exclusive. Many of these white men remained legal bachelors for life. This form of interracial cohabitation was often viewed as no different than the modern conception of a
common-law marriage Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, marriage, informal marriage, or marriage by habit and repute, is a legal framework where a couple may be considered married without having formally registered their relation as a civi ...
. As in Saint-Domingue, the free people of color developed as a separate class between the colonial French and Spanish and the mass of black slaves. They often achieved education, practiced artisan trades, and gained some measure of wealth; they spoke French and practiced
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. Many also developed a syncretic Christianity. At one time the center of their residential community in New Orleans was the French Quarter. Many were artisans who owned property and their own businesses. They formed a social category distinct from both whites and slaves, and maintained their own society into the period after United States annexation. Some historians suggest that free people of color made New Orleans the cradle of the civil rights movement in the United States. They achieved more rights than did free people of color or free blacks in the
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centu ...
, including serving in the armed militia. After the United States acquired the Louisiana Territory, Creoles in New Orleans and the region worked to integrate the military ''en masse''. William C. C. Claiborne, appointed by
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
as governor of the Territory of Orleans, formally accepted delivery of the French colony on 20 December 1803.


Military service

Free men of color had been armed members of the militia for decades during both Spanish and French rule of the colony of Louisiana. They volunteered their services and pledged their loyalty to Claiborne and to their newly adopted country. In early 1804, the new U.S. administration in New Orleans under Governor Claiborne was faced with a dilemma previously unknown in the United States, the integration of the military by incorporating entire units of established "colored" militia. See, e.g., the 20 February 1804 letter from Secretary of War Henry Dearborn to Claiborne, stating that "it would be prudent not to increase the Corps, but to diminish, if it could be done without giving offense." A decade later during the War of 1812, the militia which consisted of free men of color volunteered to join the force mustered by
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
in preparation for the Battle of New Orleans, when the British began landing troops outside the city in December 1814 in preparation for an invasion of the city. The battle resulted in a decisive American victory, in which black soldiers played a crucial part. However, many black troops who had been promised freedom in exchange for service were forcibly returned to slavery after the battle's conclusion.


Definition

There was relatively little
manumission Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that t ...
of slaves until after the revolution. Throughout the slave societies of the Americas, some slave owners took advantage of the power relationships to use female slaves sexually; sometimes they had extended relationships of concubinage. However, in the Thirteen Colonies, the children of these relationships were not usually emancipated. South Carolina diarist Mary Chesnut wrote in the mid-19th century that "like the patriarchs of old our men live all in one house with their wives and their concubines, and the mulattos one sees in every family exactly resemble the white children ..." In some places, especially in the French and Spanish Caribbean and South American slave societies, the ethnic European father might acknowledge the relationship and his children. Some were common-law marriages of affection. Slaveholders were more likely to free their mixed-race children of these relationships than they were to free other slaves. They also sometimes freed the enslaved women who were their concubines. Many slave societies allowed masters to free their slaves. As the population of color became larger and the white ruling class felt more threatened by potential instability, they worked through their governments to increase restrictions on manumissions. These usually included taxes, requirements that some socially useful reason be cited for manumission, and a requirement that a newly freed person demonstrate a means of independent support. Masters might free their slaves for a variety of reasons, but the most common was a family relationship between master and slave. Slaves sometimes gained a measure of freedom by purchasing themselves, when allowed to save some portion of earnings if leased out or selling produce. The master determined if one had to pay market or reduced value. In other cases, relatives who were already free and earning money purchased others. Sometimes masters, or the government, would free slaves without payment as a reward for some notable service; a slave who revealed slave conspiracies for uprisings was sometimes rewarded with freedom. Many people who lived as free within the slave societies did not have formal liberty papers. In some cases these were refugees, who hid in the towns among free people of color and tried to maintain a low profile. In other cases they were "living as free" with the permission of their master, sometimes in return for payment of rent or a share of money they earned by trades. The master never made their freedom official, as in the case of Margaret Morgan, who had been living as a free person in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, but was captured in 1837 and sold together with her children under claims that they were still slaves according to the laws of
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
.


Economic influence

Free people of color filled an important niche in the economy of slave societies. In most places they worked as artisans and small retail merchants in the towns. In many places, especially in the American South, there were restrictions on people of color owning slaves and agricultural land. But many free blacks lived in the countryside and some became major slaveholders. In the antebellum years, individual slaves who were freed often stayed on or near the
plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...
s where they or their ancestors had been slaves, and where they had extended family. Masters often used free blacks as plantation managers or overseers, especially if the master had a family relationship with the mixed-race man. In the early 19th century, societies required apprenticeships for free blacks to ensure they developed a means of support. For instance, in North Carolina, "By the late 1830s, then, county courts could apprentice orphans, fatherless or abandoned children, illegitimate children, and free black children whose parents were not employed. However, the number of apprenticeships declined as the number of free blacks increased. In some Southern states after the Nat Turner slave rebellion of 1831, the legislatures passed laws that forbade the teaching of free blacks or slaves to read and write, which was a requirement for having an apprenticeship. There was fear if blacks could read and write, they might start slave revolts and rebellions. Blacks were not allowed to apprentice as an editor or work in a printing press. Despite the restrictions of some apprenticeships, many free blacks benefited from their time as an apprentice. In Caribbean colonies, governments sometimes hired free people of color as rural police to hunt down runaway slaves and keep order among the slave population. From the view of the white master class in places such as Saint-Domingue or Jamaica, this was a critical function in a society in which the population of slaves on large plantations vastly outnumbered whites. In places where law or social custom permitted it, some free people of color managed to acquire good agricultural land and slaves, and become planters themselves. Free blacks owned plantations in almost all the slave societies of the Americas. In the United States, free people of color may have owned the most property in Louisiana, as the French and Spanish colony had developed a distinct creole or mixed-race class before its acquisition by the United States. A man who had a relationship with a woman of color often also arranged for a transfer of wealth to her and their children, whether through deed of land and property to the mother and/or children under the system of ''plaçage'', or by arranging for an apprenticeship to a trade for their mixed-race children, which provided them a better opportunity to make a skilled living, or by educating sons in France and easing their way into the military. In St. Domingue by the late colonial period, ''gens de couleur'' owned about one-third of the land and about one-quarter of the slaves, mostly in the southern part of the island.


Post-slavery

When the end of slavery came, the distinction between former free coloreds and former slaves persisted in some societies. Because of advantages in the social capital of education and experience, free people of color often became leaders for the newly freed people. In Saint-Domingue, Toussaint Louverture had gained freedom before he became a leader in the slave rebellion, but he is not believed to have been of mixed race. In the United States, many of the African Americans elected as state and local officials during
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
in the South had been free in the South before the Civil War. Other new leaders were educated men of color from the North whose families had long been free and who went to the South to work and help the freedmen. Some were elected to office.


Today

Many descendants of the '' gens de couleur'', or free people of color, of the Louisiana area celebrate their culture and heritage through a New Orleans-based Louisiana Creole Research Association (LA Créole). The term "Créole" is not synonymous with "free people of color" or ''gens de couleur libre'', but many members of LA Créole have traced their genealogies through those lines. Today, the multiracial descendants of the French and Spanish colonists, Africans, and other ethnicities are widely known as
Louisiana Creoles Louisiana Creoles (french: Créoles de la Louisiane, lou, Moun Kréyòl la Lwizyàn, es, Criollos de Luisiana) are people descended from the inhabitants of colonial Louisiana before it became a part of the United States during the period of bo ...
. Louisiana's Governor Bobby Jindal signed Act 276 on 14 June 2013, creating the "prestige" license plate, "I'm Creole," honoring Louisiana Creoles' contributions and heritage.
Louisiana State Government website The terms "Créole" and " Cajun" have sometimes been confused in Louisiana, as members of each group generally had ancestors who were French-speaking; but the terms are not synonymous. The Cajuns are descendants of French colonists from
Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and earl ...
(in eastern Canada) who were resettled to Louisiana in the 18th century, generally outside the New Orleans area. Generations later, some of their culture relates to that of the Louisiana Creoles, but they are distinct. Members of each group may be multi-ethnic.


Notable free people of color

*
Francis Williams (poet) Francis Williams (–1770) was a scholar and poet born in Kingston, Jamaica, who travelled to Europe and became a citizen of Britain. In the 1720s, he returned to Jamaica, where he set up a free school for the children of Free black people in ...
(ca. 1700 - 1770), Jamaican poet and school teacher * Anne Rossignol (1730-1810), African, Caribbean and American slave trader, referred to as the first free colored voluntary immigrant to the United States *
Barzillai Lew Barzillai Lew (November 5, 1743 January 18, 1822) was an African-American soldier who served with distinction during the American Revolutionary War. Family history Barzillai Lew's story began with Primus Lew of Groton, Massachusetts (a former ser ...
(1743-1822), born free in 1743, served in the Continental Army * Julien Raimond (1744–1801), leader from Saint-Domingue of the campaign in France and the colony to extend full citizenship to free men of color following the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
* Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799), composer and swordsman in late 18th-century France * Salem Poor (1747-1802), born a slave in 1747; purchased his freedom and joined the Continental Army *
Peter Salem Peter Salem (October 1, 1750 – August 16, 1816)BlackPast.org
"Salem, Peter"
was an < ...
(с. 1750-1816), born a slave c. 1750 in
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
; freed by his master to fight for the Patriot cause in the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
* Vincent Ogé (1755 – 1791) was a wealthy free man of mixed-race descent who instigated a revolt against white colonial authority in French Saint-Domingue. * André Rigaud (1761 – 1811) was the leading
mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese ...
military leader during the
Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt began on ...
. * Thomas-Alexandre Dumas (1762-1806), father of French writer Alexandre Dumas (author of ''
The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...
''), was the son of a noble French general in Saint Domingue and a slave woman. His father took him to France at age 14 and gave him an education, helping him enter the military *
John Chavis John Chavis (c. 1763–June 15, 1838) was a free Black educator and Presbyterian minister in the American South during the early 19th century. Born in Oxford, North Carolina, he fought for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary ...
, (с. 1763-1838), born free c. 1762 in
North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
, a teacher and preacher among both white and free people of color until the mid-19th century, when laws restricted free people of color * Alexandre Pétion (1770 – 1818), President of the Republic of Haiti from 1807 until his death in 1818. *
William Costin William "Billy" Costin ( - May 31, 1842) was a free African-American activist and scholar who successfully challenged District of Columbia slave codes in the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. Early life Little is known of Costin's ...
(c. 1780-1842), born c. 1780 Fairfax County, Virginia; lived in Washington, D.C.; in 1821 brought legal challenge to African surety bond laws. * Zabeau Bellanton (fl. 1782), businesswoman of Saint-Domingue and one of the richest free people of color in the colony * William Ellison (c. 1790-1861), born a slave c. 1790; became a wealthy businessman and slaveholder *
Richard Hill (Jamaica) Richard Hill (1795 - 1872), was a Jamaican lawyer and leader of the free people of colour, when they campaigned for equal rights in the early nineteenth century. In addition to his legal practice, Hill was also a naturalist, a poet, and an educator ...
(1795-1872), Jamaican lawyer, naturalist, politician, educator and administrator *
Joaquina Lapinha Joaquina Lapinha (born before 1786 - died after 1811) was an Afro-Portuguese (Brazilian) opera singer.Rosana Marreco Brescia: Half-Caste Actresses in Portuguese American Opera Houses. Latin American Theatre Review, 2012 She was the first Afro-Americ ...
(born before 1786 - died after 1811), Afro-Brazilian opera singer, first Afro-American woman to perform in Portugal *
Louis Celeste Lecesne Louis Celeste Lecesne (c. 1796 or 1798 – 22 November 1847), also known as Lewis Celeste Lecesne, was an anti-slavery activist from the Caribbean islands. Lecesne was on a committee to improve the rights of free men of colour. He was arrested ...
(1796/8-1847), campaigner for equal rights for free people of color in Jamaica *
Elisabeth Dieudonné Vincent Elisabeth Dieudonné Vincent (1798-29 November 1883) was a Saint Dominicans, Saint Dominican Creole, businesswoman and international migrant. Born in 1798 in Saint-Domingue to an ''free people of color, affranchi'' and French father, she was Le ...
(1798-1883) Haitian-born free woman of color and businesswoman *
Edward Jordon Edward Jordon (1800-1869), or Edward Jordan, was a leading campaigner for equal rights for free people of color in Jamaica during the nineteenth century. Background Edward was born in the Colony of Jamaica on 6 December 1800, the son of a white ...
(1800-1869), Jamaican campaigner for equal rights, newspaper editor, mayor of Kingston * Aspasia Cruvellier Mirault (1800 - 1857), American entrepreneur *
Eliza Seymour Lee Eliza Seymour Lee (1800–1874), was an American pastry chef and restaurateur.Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, Forging Freedom: Black Women and the Pursuit of Liberty in Antebellum Charleston' She was the daughter of the famous pastry chef Sally Seymo ...
(1800-1874), American pastry chef and restaurateur *
Robert Osborn (Jamaica) Robert Osborn (1800–1878) was a Jamaican newspaper editor and campaigner for equal rights for free people of color. Campaigner for equal rights Robert was born on 5 April 1800, the son of Kean Osborn, a white Jamaican planter of Scottish descen ...
(1800-1878), co-founder of ''The Watchman'' with Jordon, politician, campaigner for equal rights * Marie Laveau (1801-1881), early 19th-century Voodoo practitioner *
Thomas Day Thomas Day may refer to: Sports * Tom Day (rugby union) (1907–1980), Welsh rugby union player * Tom Day (American football) (1935–2000), American football player * Tom Day (footballer) (born 1997), English footballer Others * Thomas Day (wri ...
(c. 1801-1861), born free c. 1801 in Virginia. Famous furniture maker/craftsman in Caswell County, North Carolina * Mary Seacole (1805-1881), Jamaican nurse who served in the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
* Norbert Rillieux (1806-1894), American-French engineer and inventor * William Gustavus Brown (1809-1883), Jamaican-born general, who commanded British forces in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
*
Robert Purvis Robert Purvis (August 4, 1810 – April 15, 1898) was an American abolitionist in the United States. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and was likely educated at Amherst Academy, a secondary school in Amherst, Massachusetts. He s ...
(1810-1898), born free in Charleston, became active abolitionist in Philadelphia, supported the Underground Railroad and used inherited wealth to create services for African Americans * Charles Henry Langston (1817-1892), abolitionist and activist in Ohio and Kansas *
George William Gordon George William Gordon (1820 – 23 October 1865) was a wealthy mixed-race Jamaican businessman, magistrate and politician, one of two representatives to the Assembly from St. Thomas-in-the-East parish. He was a leading critic of the colonia ...
(1820-1865), Jamaican politician and campaigner for the rights of black people * Edmond Dédé (1827-1901), Louisiana-born French composer * John Mercer Langston (1829-1897), abolitionist, politician and activist in Ohio, Washington, DC; and Virginia, first dean of Howard University Law Department, first president of Virginia State Univ., first black elected to US Congress from Virginia (1888) *
Jennie Carter Jennie Carter (c. 1830 – August 1881) was an American journalist and essayist who wrote for the California African-American newspaper '' The Elevator'' from her home in Nevada County, California during the Reconstruction Era. She used the pen ...
(c. 1830–1881), American writer *
Cubah Cornwallis Cubah Cornwallis (died 1848) (often spelled Coubah, Couba, Cooba or Cuba) was a nurse or "doctress" and Obeah woman who lived in the colony of Jamaica during the late 18th and 19th century. Early life Little is known of her early life although re ...
(d. 1848), Jamaican "doctress", who nursed
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought a ...
back to health * Amanda America Dickson (1849-1893), 19th-century heiress through her white father, socialite and estate owner in Georgia *
Jean-Louis Dolliole Jean-Louis Dolliole (1779 – January 9, 1861) was an African-American architect in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, during the 19th century. He was a free man of color who also worked as a cabinetmaker, home builder, contractor, planter and leader ...
(1779–1861), architect-builder in New Orleans, Louisiana


See also

* Affranchi *
Mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese ...
es * Free Negro * Colored * Creoles of color * Louisiana Creole people *
Mulatto Haitian Mulatto (french: mulâtre, ht, milat) is a term in Haiti that is historically linked to Haitians who are born to one white parent and one black parent, or to two mulatto parents. Contemporary usage of the term in Haiti is also applied to the bou ...
* Signare * Mauritian Creoles


References


Further reading

* Sister Dorothea Olga McCants, translation of Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes, ''Nos Hommes et Notre Histoire'' * John Blassingame, ''Black New Orleans, 1860–1880'' (Chicago, 1973) * ''New Orleans Architecture: The Creole Faubourgs'' (Gretna, 1984), Sally Kittredge Evans


Representation in other media

* '' The Feast of All Saints'' is a historical novel by
Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Christian literature. She was best known for her series of novels '' The Vampire Chronicles'' ...
, focusing on the gens de couleur libres in New Orleans. The novel was adapted as a TV mini-series of the same name. * The '' Benjamin January mysteries'' is a series of historical murder mystery novels by Barbara Hambly set in and around New Orleans whose main character, the eponymous Benjamin January, is a free man of color.


External links


''Feast of All Saints''
IMDb
Digital Library on American Slavery: Browse Subjects – Free People of Color
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Free Men of Color Leave Indelible Mark on New Orleans Culture
(FrenchQuarter.com)

(New Orleans Public Library)

(Frenchcreoles.com)
Le Musée de f.p.c.
(The Museum for Free People of Color) {{DEFAULTSORT:Free People Of Color Ethnic groups in Haiti Ethnic groups in the Caribbean People of Saint-Domingue History of the Caribbean History of Haiti Mulatto Person of color Slavery in Haiti Slavery in the United States Free people of color