To understand the origins of the New Orleans cuisine, one must first understand the history behind it. In 1681-1682, the French explorer, Robert Cavalier de la Salle discovered the mouth of the Mississippi and the surrounding territory in the name of King Louis XIV calling it Louisiana.
The explorers were in search of valuable treasures. While they did not find gold or silver, they did recognize the natural resources that Louisiana had to offer. The native American Indians had furs and hides. The land was rich in timber and there was a bountiful supply of fresh fish, all of which could be exported.
Arrival of French and German Settlers and Ursuline Nuns
In 1704 a French frigate arrived with soldiers, workers, a few women and Slaves from the French Caribbean. Soon they depended almost entirely on the Indians for their food and supplies. Various tribes existed, but some of those Native to Louisiana were the Choctaws, Chetimaches and the Houmas.
In 1719 John Law and his corporation, The Company of the Indies, contracted with the French crown to administer the colony in exchange for a trade monopoly. The company was to provide settlers, slaves and goods to the colony. The Company of the Indies recruited Germans who eventually settled in what is known as The German Coast.
The Colony lacked eligible women for marriage. The Company of the Indies mounted a campaign to persuade suitable women to go to Louisiana, but they were not very successful. With the help of a Jesuit priest the Company entered into a contract with the Ursuline Nuns. The nuns agreed to work in the hospital, run a school for girls and take in orphaned children and any single unchaperoned woman. The King of France provided a dowry to French country girls that were willing to come to Louisiana.
A Gift to Spain
By 1730 The Company of the Indies turned the administration of Louisiana back over to the Crown because of poor crop harvests, slave revolts and Indian wars. Now the French government had second thoughts about keeping a distant territory. In 1762, with the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau, Louis XV decided to cede New Orleans, the Florida territories and the Louisiana territory west of the Mississippi River as a gift to his Spanish cousin, Charles III of the Bourbon family.
Cajuns and Islesnos
Elsewhere in the world, the British took over the region of present day Nova Scotia and expelled the French Acadians. Many of these “Cajuns,” the abbreviated form of Acadians, found their way to Louisiana. Besides being forced to leave, their families were torn apart. The men were shipped out first and later the women and children. They were brought to various states, including Georgia (where they were sold as slaves), Nicaragua, Honduras, the Falkland Islands, England, Europe and South America. Eventually word spread that families were being reunited in South Louisiana.
Meanwhile Spain ordered a recruitment of militiamen and settlers from the Canary Islands, off the coast of Africa, to defend Louisiana near the Gulf of Mexico. According to the Canary Islanders Heritage Society of Louisiana, “ . . . more than two thousand Canary Islanders, or Islesnos, were sent to Louisiana.”
Napoleon’s Plan and the Slave Revolt
Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor and started scheming to establish a western empire spanning from Louisiana to the Caribbean. He wanted to stop the expansion of the United States by blocking access to the Mississippi River, thus controlling trade. A second secret treaty, The Treaty of Ildefonso stipulated that France would provide a kingdom for the son-in-law of Spain’s king if Spain would return Louisiana back to France.
The success of the St. Domingue slave revolt put an end to Napoleon’s plan. After twelve years of rebellion, the free blacks and slaves of St. Domingue defeated the French troops, declaring Haiti an independent republic and ending Napoleon’s dreams of a New World empire. The need for Louisiana was suddenly pointless.
The Louisiana Purchase
Upon learning of the forthcoming transfer, the United States offered to buy New Orleans. Initially Napoleon refused. He needed cash to fund the European wars so he later agreed to sell all of Louisiana. Louisiana was retro ceded to France and then sold to the United States.
The Culinary Influences
- The Indians taught the settlers to hunt, fish and cultivate native crops such as corn, squash, bay leaves and file (ground sassafras leaves).
- European aristocrats came to the New World. According to The Evolution of Cajun and Creole Cuisine by Chef John D. Folse, some “ . . . brought with them not only their wealth and education, but their chefs and cooks. With these chefs came the knowledge of the grand cuisines of Europe.”
- In their contract with the Company of the Indies, the Ursuline nuns maintained the need for an herb garden. According to Recipes and Reminiscences of New Orleans, it stated “Sufficient ground . . . both to erect there the new buildings of which there may be need and to make a garden for the religious.” Their herbs were used in cooking and for medicine.
- The Germans came with pigs, chickens, cattle and their knowledge of sausage making. This helped immensely because there had always been a shortage of milk and butter.
- The Cajuns brought their black iron pots for their creative one-pot meals using the indigenous products from the woods, the waters and wild game.
- The Spanish brought rice, beans and the use of tomatoes.
- The African slaves introduced a new vegetable – okra.
New Orleans cuisine is as rich as its history. It has been mixed and merged and blended by many, but enjoyed by all.
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