New Orleans

1
New Orleans

• Birthplace of Jazz

2
Early Settlement

• New Orleans was essentially French in character
• changes in politics listed below did not change
  its character
• Louisiana given to Charles III of Spain.
• Napoleon forced the Spanish to return the
  territory in 1800.
• US purchase in December 1803.

3
Voluntary colonists

• Capuchin monks, Jesuits, and Ursuline nuns -
  late 1720s.
• Germans (just above the city).
• "Casket girls.
• Acadians.
• settlers from Spain, Africa, the West Indies,
  British America, Ireland, and Italy.
• Slaves.
• at least a few "free blacks" lived in New Orleans
  by 1722.

4
Pierre Cavagnial de Rigaud de Vaudreuil
(1743-1753)

• New Orleans became a multidimensional community.
• parties, banquets, parades, and balls.
• Latin Catholics' tendency to celebrate heavily
  before Lent.
• Mardi Gras.
• New Orleans was a city of pleasure, "a kind of
  hedonistic binge with style a style probably
  unmatched to this day" (Buerkle and Barker, p. 5)

5
Creoles of color

• Upper class men desired to carry on a tradition
  of their forebears - the keeping of mistresses.
• the bals du Cordon Bleu patrons (eligible
  young men) and ladies (often "octaroons" - ladies
  of one eighth black ancestry) could meet.
• mistress typically provided with a house (a
  number of which were located on Rampart Street)
  and servants.
• African Americans enjoyed a much higher degree of
  freedom in New Orleans than in almost anywhere
  else in the US.

6
Creoles of color (contd.)

• "By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the
  Creoles occupied a position very near the top of
  the social order a nd though excluded from
  certain areas of white interaction, they had
  created their own social units, equal to and
  often vastly superior to all others in the
  community" (ibid., p. 8-9).
• A few owned cotton and sugar plantations with
  numerous slaves.

7
Creoles of color (contd.)

• Spain freed many of the slaves during its rule.
• slave revolt in Haiti (1791-1804), free people of
  color took refuge in Cuba most were forced out
  in 1809, and many of them came to New Orleans.
• The Vieux Carré (often called the "French
  Quarter") home to French families, their
  servants, and Creoles of Color.
• many Creoles were successful business people.
• figured prominently in the Carré's cultural
  activities.
• French-speaking "downtown" families were
  significantly higher on the social ladder than
  those on the other side of Canal Street.

8
Cultural distinctions

• Although true that most of the "uptown" people of
  color had darker skin than their "downtown"
  counterparts, neither skin color nor physical
  features defined the two communities.
• primary language French vs. English.
• Catholic vs. Protestant background.
• access to formal (including music) education.
• Creole musicians
• musical performance was a "hobby.
• participated in opera and symphonic performances
  as well as the numerous brass bands.

9
Congo Square

• After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, slaves were
  allowed some limited freedom
• many not required to work Sundays and certain
  religious holidays.
• allowed to assemble in a 4-block area near
  Orleans and Rampart Streets behind the French
  Quarter called "Congo Plains" or "Congo Square.
• free expression of African culture and customs.

10
War Between the States (April 12, 1861)

• followed by Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction
  eras.
• events and changing economic and political
  circumstances gradually changed the social strata
  of New Orleans.
• Public segregation by race reimposed 1877.
• "Act 111 of the Regular Session of the Louisiana
  Legislature" - the first of the so-called "Jim
  Crow" laws - was enacted in 1890 separate cars
  were required for black and white patrons
  traveling first class.
• separate waiting rooms in railroad depot.
• outlawing of interracial marriages.

11
Economic hardship

• Both black and white workers experienced economic
  hardship in the 1880s and 1890s.
• A huge influx of immigrants competed for
  available work.
• industrial machinery replaced large numbers of
  workers.
• unions organizing many trade/craftsman positions.
• Many Creole artisans found themselves completely
  out of work or operating on a much smaller scale.

12
Music in New Orleans

• Music once a hobby became the primary source of
  income for many.
• skilled "downtown" musicians found work playing
  for social events and, occasionally, the
  professional orchestras.
• new blues-based musical style challenged the
  livelihood of the Creole musicians.

13
Storyville

• Alderman Sidney Story, in attempting to confine
  the trade of prostitution to a limited area,
  established a 38-block area that became known as
  Storyville.
• primarily devoted prostitution and related
  businesses.

14
Music in Storyville

• wide variety of music ranging from string trios
  to ragtime pianists to the blues.
• a loss of social status within the community.
• work was steadier and money was a little better.
• musicians listened to each other and adapted
  their own styles.
• music in Storyville was clearly functional.
• Early jazz was considered tainted by critics
  both by venues in which it was performed and by
  the unpolished, improvisatory nature of the
  music.

15
Closing of Storyville

• In August 1917, the Secretary of War and the
  Secretary of the Navy issued orders forbidding
  open prostitution within five miles of Army or
  Navy posts.
• After much protest, operation of a brothel became
  illegal anywhere.
• prostitution driven underground, large numbers of
  musicians lost their jobs.
• contributed to the ongoing emigration of
  musicians from New Orleans.