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Bounded Lives, Bounded Places: Free Black Society in Colonial New Orleans, 1769–1803

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The central theme of Bounded Lives, Bounded Places is the genesis and rise of the free people of color (i.e. non-slaves, or libres), their place in the society of colonial New Orleans in the mid to late 18th century and the manner in which they bettered themselves and their lot. Throughout Kim Hanger's work, the lives, struggles and aspirations of these unique gens de couleur libres (free people of color) are explored, as well as the institutions that played a role in their ascension to an unparalleled class stratum that was truly unique for its time.

The organization of the book is methodical, concise and logically ordered. Following the introduction, chapter one discusses how libres understood freedom, what it meant for them and their kin, and the methods by which they could obtain it. In chapter two, Hanger demonstrates how, through work and property accumulation, libres negotiated themselves into secure positions in various areas of the social hierarchy. The concept of family values and how kinship helped or hindered libres' chances of success are explored in chapter three. In chapter four, the reader learns how military service propelled libres to achieve and enhance their status as a powerful group. Chapter five examines ways in which libres interacted with whites and slaves and how those relationships reinforced libre identity.

The author's tome provides specific and detailed information about a topic that seems to have been largely neglected. In no small measure, Hanger reinforces her assertions with ample statistics and analysis, making her book a laborious read at times. It will be readily apparent to the layman reader that her target audience for the book is the researcher and historian. Nonetheless, there is a need for such works that serve the interests of academics, and the keen reader and amateur historian can still garner a plethora of information on the subject.

The contemporary reader may find it difficult to comprehend colonial era notions of slavery, manumission, self-manumission and the owning of slaves by former slaves. Despite of the sensitivity of the material, the author does not deviate from the core mission of the book: documenting and supporting her research with examples (as any credible historian should), while resisting the modern day urge to opine on the ethics of slavery, or parrot politically correct judgments and sound bites. Instead, Hanger manages to bring back to life a number of principal individuals, like the pardo libre (free brown-skinned) Pedro Bailey whose outspoken manner on the issue of libre equality (or the lack thereof) caused him a great deal of trouble with the Spanish government.

The concept of the libre merits additional analysis. Although they were not necessarily on equal footing with whites, libres were nonetheless liberated. That freedom caused them to unify into a single group within a three-tiered social order, with white Europeans above and slaves below. Consequently, colonial New Orleans's free black population found themselves in an untenable position: attempting to assert their status as free people to the dominant white bourgeoisie while simultaneously maintaining a necessary and distinctive delineation from the slave class. These pressures came together from opposite ends, invariably creating tight internal cohesions that reinforced the unique libre identity. A notable example of this was the libre militia. More than just a military institution whose mission was to protect the Spanish crown's interests, it also served as an extensive and exclusive social web wherein officers would inter-marry into families of colleagues, stand in as godparents for children of other officers, and even assist their brothers in arms with loans and financial guarantees.

Hanger contends that the notion of a person's race could be malleable depending upon the situation. The problematic issue of conjugal relationships between white Europeans and libres illustrates a prime case of such racial adaptability. While religious and societal leaders discouraged such mixed unions, a libre woman might secure the sacrament of holy matrimony to a wealthy white European if she herself was sufficiently white. It is apparent through such exceptions that in colonial Louisiana, one's racial identity could alter, depending on circumstances. This racial "hedging" offered some libres a powerful card in the racial deck: if your pigmentation was light enough, you could ascend higher into the social stratum and distance yourself even further from darker skinned libres. Such thinking obviously transformed the concept of race into a chameleon-like quality that could be used by certain libres to enhance their status and insure prosperity for themselves and their progeny.

Overall, Hanger's work provides a solid study of the life of libres under Spain's colonial Louisiana. Diligent students of Louisiana's rich history will find that it gives a unique and objective examination of a fascinating group of people whose existence was a juxtapositional collage of bondage and freedom, despair and hope, failure and ambition, and probably most significant of all, irony.

Black militia Captains, and Lieutenants, the growth of a black middle class, interracial marriages, the first licensed black physician, racially integrated balls all occurred under Spanish rule in New Orleans according to this interesting work. However, the author also makes clear that this was still a racist society in which only black people could be held in bondage. Yet, taken as a whole, the book asserts that the Spanish regime was less evil than the preceding French rule and the antebellum American regime which followed. The author includes substantial original sources for her assertions. Well worth the money.


Richard Ivo Kress
Silver Spring, Maryland

The study of Louisiana history has often been regarded by some as a parallel to a famous Cajun dish - Gumbo. Gumbo is a massive mixture of many seemingly unrelated ingredients and spices that are thrown together in one pot. Once cooked, this Louisiana dish simply cannot be beat. This parallel to Louisiana history is especially true when one examines the libre (free black) population in and around New Orleans from 1769 to 1803.

To understand the libre plight, one must consider the efforts of the French, Spanish, and United States established governments in Louisiana in the 18th and early 19th centuries and the roles each played in the lives of the libres. In her book "Bounded Lives, Bounded Places," Kimberly Hangar asserts that although these libres were considered free, they often found themselves contained within the confines of the fixed caste systems of the French and Spanish.

During the Spanish era (1763-1800), the number of free blacks in New Orleans increased, and with this increase a group identity developed as libres began to push against the confines of the caste system. This identity was based upon "phenotype (mixed race), occupation, family networks, military service, religious and leisure activities, and political expression." And, it was an identity which left them in between two extremes; not a slave, yet not quite free.

This book wil make you snore. unless you need the statistic of free blacks, and black slaves being freed in New Orleans during Spanish rule, this book is little more than a complete waste of you time.