Creoles: In Louisiana creole history, "Whites, free people of color, and slaves who had called colonial Louisiana home were all Creoles" (Eble 43). Creole appears to be a complex identity; as historically this identity fails to specifically denote one specific group. In this digital project, I will refer to creole people of color; specifically, creole women of color.
Un Mariage de Conscience: Un Mariage de Conscience was a non-legalized union between free creole women of color and white men. Armand Lanusse defines "Un Mariage de Conscience" in his short story of the same title as "a pact in which the law has no part, but to which a priest gives all the character of a legitimate engagement"(Lanusse).
Quadroon Balls/Plaçage: Quadroon Balls were social events in the nineteenth-century in which creole women of color attended in hopes of being 'placed' in a plaçage with wealthy white men. In a plaçage, white men behaved as a husband would and financially provided for creole women of color. However, because of miscegenation laws, whites and blacks were unable to marry. Scholars often question the validity of Quadroon balls and plaçage. Emily Clark, American colonial history professor at Tulane University, explores the myth of the quadroon balls/placage balls through a feminist lens: "There are a lot of stereotypes perpetuated in this myth- the over-sexualization of women of African descent. A lack of strong nuclear families, among free people of color." Clark echoes Simien and Douglas's point of Quadroon Balls, which was a front for prostitution and all creole women did not participate in these social events and relationships.