The antebellum period covers the time of the rule by the Spanish through to the War
of the Secession 1860-1865. During this period the Louisiana Territory, also
known as Spanish West Florida covered the majority of the Gulf coast.

And while the Louisiana Purchase was concluded in 1803, Spain continued
her claim to land won in a previous war with the British. The disputed territory
included lands to the north of New Orleans, west to present day Baton Rouge
and the northern part of lake Pontchartrain. This dispute continued until 1810.
Thus the lake was an international boundary with the United States operating
a customs house at New Orleans, a major port of entry into the new American territory.
The native inhabitants of the Territory felt this divide keenly. They had not elected to
join as citizens of the United States. Rather, they were "purchased" along with the
Territory itself.

Clinging to their past and its traditions, they saw themselves invariably
as Latins, being either French, Spanish or Creole.

While the region had other ethnic groups
represented, such as Germans who arrived during the early colonial period to farm, the
majority of the population was not any of these. Rather, they were African; having arrived
largely as slaves from the French colonies and territories.
Their experiences in French African colonies prepared them for life on the Gulf coast, and
Louisiana in particular. Many were skilled craftsmen having learned trades before arriving
in the New World. They were capable at many things and displayed a particular genius for
construction in the marshy soils of the coastal regions. Theirs was an intelligent and obviously
handsome population. Many originated from Senegal. They were tall, but not excessively so,
with well proportioned limbs and frames. They possessed an elegant carriage with keen wit
and confidence. Their arrival coincided with the arrival of the new French ideals of Liberty, Fraternity
and Equality, brought about by Enlightened thinkers of the French Revolutionary period and
imitated by many colonists.

The stage was set for much of what was to come. The Creoles, as they came to be known,
were a complex amalgam of elements of the old world and the new in which they now found
themselves.They were independent, motivated and set to realize their fortune in the Louisiana
territory. The Africans, and later, indentured servants, were brought to aid in this endeavor.
However quickly they realized that life could be harsh and isolated along the marshy coast line.
There were numerous illnesses, yellow fever and malaria chief among them which felled many
of the Colonials. Those surviving illness and injury were still left with the uncertain prospect of
making a living. Their fortunes lay waitng for a later time. Initially it was enough to survive in
small comfort with an adequate dwelling, clothing, food and family to succor themselves.