Louisiana Conflict Analysis

What makes an instance of conflict historically significant is its result. A conflict is a disagreement or controversy between two or more people usually ending in a fight or battle, and a significant historical event means that a theme is developed in history due to what takes place. If the conflict causes a meaningful change over an extended amount of time, then the particular instance contains a historical significance. As it relates to the history of Louisiana, important conflicts consist of serious disagreements or battles that led to the many changes taken place throughout the state’s history. The three conflicts I selected are Bienville’s desire to name New Orleans’ location, the transfer of the Louisiana colony to Spain, and the controversy

dealing with free people of color. I chose these events because they stood out in terms of their individual impacts on Louisiana’s history.
A main conflict from the French Colonial Era was Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville’s decision on where to build the new establishment. According to the author, Lawrence Powell, around 1717, Bienville knew there would be a town built on the Mississippi River, called New Orleans. Its location, however, was not yet chosen. The Company of the West, previously known as the Mississippi Company, was in charge of choosing the location, but Bienville decided to take it upon himself and choose. In 1718, Powell mentions that Bienville became commandant-general where he had prisoners clean up along the soon to be city’s location. Bienville stated, “We are working at present on the establishment of New Orleans thirty leagues above the entrance to the Mississippi” (43). This quote explained to the council that Bienville was taking initiative to place New Orleans and the new company headquarters along the crescent bend on the Mississippi River. He felt the location was safe from floodwaters and suggested the new capital be built there. The problem, or conflict, with Bienville choosing the location was that he was not in charge, nor did he ask if he could continue with his project. According to Powell, because Bienville made his decision quickly and on his own, the Company of the West informed him that he had made a terrible mistake. The outcome was that New Orleans would not be located where he originally planned. Instead, Powell mentions that the company’s headquarters proposed Bayou Manchac as the new location because it had direct water communication between the Mississippi and Mobile. The location was convenient to Natchitoches and had an overall bright future ahead. The company, however, was also presented with other plans, giving them many options to make a decision.
In the late summer of 1718, the corporation chose Biloxi because they wanted to keep the their headquarters and capital in the same city. However, after thousands of settlers became sick, Powell tells readers that Bienville thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get people into the location where he wanted New Orleans. He then redirected all settlers into the crescent bend on the river making it more populated. Finally, with the help of others, Bienville was successful at building his city and was named the “Father of Louisiana.” If he had not been determined, New Orleans would be in a different location, resulting in a totally different background today. Bienville’s actions played a huge role in the history of Louisiana because the city of New Orleans is a huge landmark in the south, and always will be.
Another significant conflict that took place in the state’s history was when the Spanish took possession of Louisiana in 1763. This event took place during the Spanish Colonial Era. Powell States, “The transfer of the colony to Spain would precipitate the first Creole revolt in the Atlantic World against metropolitan authority, and the ensuing suppression would not be pretty” (130). The Spanish takeover was a historically significant conflict because it led to the Rebellion of 1768. According to Powell, this revolt was made by Creole and German settlers in New Orleans trying to prevent transfer of the French Territory to Spain by forcing the Spanish Governor, Antonio de Ulloa, to leave New Orleans. As said by to the Creole elites in the story, “Ulloa was simply another peninsular looking for dirt on the colonies” (135).
On October 28, 1768, several riots broke out in New Orleans creating chaos and disorder around the city.

People with guns were out on the streets and panic stormed the town, leading to Ulloa and his wife being escorted out of New Orleans. Powell mentions that in the year 1769, Alejandro O’Reilly arrived in Louisiana and ended the revolution. One of O’Reilly’s first actions was the making of a new government system. The committee, known as the Cabildo, included ten members and the governor. The Cabildo, also known as the building where the committee met, still exists in New Orleans today. The example of the Spanish takeover being a conflict in Louisiana’s history is valuable because it resulted in the rebellion, a new governing system, and the historical building many tour today called the

Cabildo.
The last significant conflict chosen took place after the American Revolution around the eighteenth century. This conflict had to do with the free people of color in Louisiana. Powell informs readers that in major cities, such as New Orleans, a third class was developed including mixed-races. Society categorized these people by their features and by how much of their genetic makeup consisted of African ancestry.
Free people of color came about in Louisiana due to the Spanish’s slave law.

The Spanish were very liberal, meaning they discarded traditional values, where as the French were not as open to change. Powell tells readers that after the 1788 fire in New Orleans, few of the free blacks tried to make better lives for themselves. To them, New Orleans was nicer than anything they knew before, so just living in the city was enough for them. New Orleans gave free blacks many opportunities to be successful such as trading through markets, working in shipbuilding yards, helping planters with their needs, and operating corner taverns.
The quote, “The result of Spanish policy made manumission a great deal easier than it had been under the French” (278), explains that the French were most likely against the new coartaction law that the Spanish enforced. This law consisted of a self-purchase contract, meaning if a slave could afford to buy himself out of slavery, he could do so without his owner stopping him. The French were distraught because they lost control over the growth of free slaves and from then on, were uneasy about the new

rule.
This conflict was significant in Louisiana’s history because it changed the way slaves were treated. The Spanish rule allowed slaves to obtain their own freedom, as well as a place in society. This was important because almost half of New Orleans’ population was made up of free people of color, which means the law affected many people. The law was eventually eliminated, and led to the Black Code of 1806, saying only slaves thirty and older who were well behaved could be freed.
In conclusion, because I am a student taking Louisiana history, The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans was very valuable to me. This award-winning book makes the history of Louisiana fascinating. It creates an exciting story in which students want to read, instead of listening to never ending facts in class. The story is informative and contains details on the many historical events and people who made Louisiana what it is today. Being from New Orleans, I was excited to read this book because I did not know a lot of the detailed history that made up my city’s background. However, even if I was not from New Orleans, I still believe students would want to learn about the city due to the fact that it is well known in the United States. I can honestly say that after reading this book, I have gained a whole new appreciation for Louisiana.