Louisiana Colonials

For this companion volume to "Gulf Coast Colonials," Mr. De Ville has transcribed seven ships' passenger lists for vessels that embarked from ports in France for French Louisiana in the years 1719 and 1720. The subtitle of the work refers to the fact that the settlement of Louisiana, including the ranks of the army itself, was augmented by the importation of criminals, smugglers, debtors, and vagabonds. Thus, while any number of Louisiana soldiers and vagabonds eventually took brides and became farmers, lifting themselves into the ranks of respectable and propertied, their beginnings were invariably much humbler.