Ceramics of Power: 1763-1803 Louisiana

While Louisiana was a relatively poor colony, it provided important access to the Mississippi River, the mighty superhighway of the North American frontier. After France lost the Seven Years' War in 1763, the British gained New France. With the forfeiture of New France as a colonial possession, France no longer felt that Louisiana was a strategic asset and ceded it to Spain, who held Louisiana for roughly twenty years. Spain saw Louisiana as a potential buffer to protect its profitable colony of New Spain. Administration of this region by the Spanish proved to be difficult because the French (Creole) colonists who once lived with very little interference now faced tight economic regulation and governance from another nation. These colonial stresses boiled over into rebellion in 1768, but were quickly suppressed. Despite the suppression by Spain, the French Creole culture remained strong.
While having international implications, the importance of the period of Spanish colonial rule in Louisiana has been largely understudied. The national narratives during this time (1763-1803) are well documented, although we have less understanding of Louisiana's local lifeways. Archaeology allows us the ability to address the questions of daily life through the lenses of ethnicity, class, contraband, and nationality.