Disclaimer: This is ongoing thoughts about the plaçage myth(?) as I try to understand the history of New Orleans and not conclusive research.
I recently posted a video about the myth of plaçage. Some recent scholarly research explains that no one has found a contract regarding plaçage arrangements. We can spin rich tales about our history because so many records were kept via the Catholic Church and the notarial system, but we have no evidence of a written plaçage contract. This research concludes that the concept of plaçage, as explained by the tourism industry of today and of yore, is a myth.
When I started researching the life of Henriette Delille, I realized that she is thought to have been a placée before joining religious life in more recent research. The source cited for the details of plaçage, however, is the now debunked(?) older research. The life of the Venerable Henriette turns on her rejection of the plaçage system she was born into, according to her biographies. If the concept of plaçage is a debunked myth, how does the life of the Venerable Henriette change?
What we know as of now
We know that free women of color often married free men of color. We also know that they outlawed “mixed race” marriages for much of the 19th century (legalized in 1868 only to be re-criminalized in 1894 until 1972, five years after Loving v. Virginia). Further, we know that women of European descent had loving and chosen relationships with men who had African ancestors, such as Mrs. Parlongue who lived for almost a decade with Mr. Parlongue, a free person of color, only marrying officially in 1872. In the same way, women with African ancestors sometimes chose to enter relationships with men who had European ancestors, even though they could not marry. We find lots of evidence of fathers leaving inheritances to their “illegitimate” children in the records.
We know that free people of color in New Orleans enjoyed prosperous lives. Under the French, enslaved people were able to buy their freedom with the Code Noir, which they instituted in 1724 in New Orleans. But we have records of free people of color as early as 1722. We know that the first ships with enslaved people as cargo arrived in New Orleans in 1719. From the very beginning of the European takeover, people of African descent were free in New Orleans.
Free people of color are said to have enjoyed even more liberal treatment under the Spanish regime (1762-1803), whatever that means. By the time the Americans took over (1803), the relationship between people of European descent and those of African descent was souring. The Americans did not take as kindly to the three caste system as the laid back New Orleanians did. It seems that they operated as at least three “races” — those enslaved, those with any African or Native ancestry (divided further by terms to indicate which ancestor was African), and those with only European ancestry — with ever decreasing privileges for those deemed “of color”. Society never treated free people of color equally even though free people of color prospered and provided many of the inventions and much of the culture we still cherish in this city.
Another thing we know is that the Haitian Revolution pushed people to New Orleans around 1803. During this time many enslavers who were banished came to the city, along with free women of color who had fewer opportunities to prosper.
My thoughts on plaçage as of today
In a world where enslavers actively prevented some people from learning to read or write, only relying on written documentation of historic events as proof is an act of ignorance. We cannot continue to use only the documentation left by those of European descent to tell the whole story of the history of New Orleans. We cannot continue to reject rich oral histories that detail how a significant portion of the people lived.
There is an African proverb on display at the Free People of Color Museum. It was also how my teacher for two courses I’m taking now (African History of New Orleans and the History of Voodoo) chose to start. “Until the lion tells his story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” We’ve been denied so much truth by only telling a part of the story. We cannot learn from history until we know it all.
I do not have any conclusion. And I am not sure plaçage is a myth. My next reading assignment is Wicked Flesh: Black Women, Intimacy and Freedom in the Atlantic World by Dr. Jessica Marie Johnson. I think Dr. Johnson’s research and analysis will illuminate details of the era that I do not yet understand.
I’d also love any reading suggestions from you.
Sources:
- https://afropunk.com/2016/10/know-your-black-history-deconstructing-the-quadroon-ball/
- https://afropunk.com/2015/06/op-ed-race-forward-time-to-drop-antiquated-racial-designations/
