Urban Slavery and Everyday Resistance

Enslaved people were among the first to enter the French colony of New Orleans. Furthermore, they were instrumental to the creation of a successful city, building much of the infrastructure, acting as the first doctors, and cultivating early essential crops, like rice. During the antebellum era (1803-1861) 750,000 enslaved people were forcibly shipped south to New Orleans. This number doesn't include the many enslaved people who were illegally shipped from Caribbean islands or traded overland from the Upper South. The fabric of New Orleans French Quarter was visibly interlaced with the inseparable contributions of the enslaved population and the free people who sold them and benefitted from their labor. This tour seeks to illustrate how enslavement permeated the antebellum era and how its survivors managed to carve out meaningful and courageous lives for themselves despite their circumstances.

Access: Walking

Distance: ~1.5 miles, 45-60 minutes