SOCIAL ISOLATION OF THE FRENCH SPEAKING PEOPLE OF RURAL LOUISIANA.

Gilmore, H. W.

In order to understand the more isolated French speaking settlements in present day Louisiana, it is necessary to know something of the history of the French people in this state. The French people in Louisiana consist of two rather distinct classes, the Creoles and the Acadians. Their financial position enabled them to maintain moderately close contacts with the continent, and their language and culture have retained considerable similarity to that of France, even though most of them now speak English and are more or less Americanized. Nova Scotia at the time of its settlement was a French possession. The first successful settlement occurred in 1604, and additional French colonists arrived at intervals during the next fifty years. The history of the Acadians after they settled in rural Louisiana is not easy to trace. As the colonial period developed, it is probable that some became plantation owners. These, however, were probably in the minority. With the abolition of slavery, the plantation, of course, shifted to a tenant basis. With this shift, the Acadians have tended to replace the Negroes in tenant farming, until today many are on plantations.

NOVA Scotia; LOUISIANA; CANADA; UNITED States; ACADIANS; CREOLES; FRENCH people; LANDOWNERS; POPULATION; COLONISTS

Social Forces, 1933, Vol 12, Issue 1, p78

0037-7732

Academic Journal

10.2307/2570120