Wild Frenchmen and Frenchified Indians: Material Culture and Race in Colonial Louisiana

Wild Frenchmen and Frenchified Indians: Material Culture and Race in Colonial Louisiana - Paperback

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Wild Frenchmen and Frenchified Indians: Material Culture and Race in Colonial Louisiana
  • Wild Frenchmen and Frenchified Indians: Material Culture and Race in Colonial Louisiana
Wild Frenchmen and Frenchified Indians: Material Culture and Race in Colonial Louisiana - Paperback

Wild Frenchmen and Frenchified Indians: Material Culture and Race in Colonial Louisiana - Paperback

by Sophie White
$54.00
$54.00

Book Overview

by Sophie White (Author)

Based on a sweeping range of archival, visual, and material evidence, Wild Frenchmen and Frenchified Indians examines perceptions of Indians in French colonial Louisiana and demonstrates that material culture--especially dress--was central to the elaboration of discourses about race.

At the heart of France's seventeenth-century plans for colonizing New France was a formal policy--Frenchification. Intended to turn Indians into Catholic subjects of the king, it also carried with it the belief that Indians could become French through religion, language, and culture. This fluid and mutable conception of identity carried a risk: while Indians had the potential to become French, the French could themselves be transformed into Indians. French officials had effectively admitted defeat of their policy by the time Louisiana became a province of New France in 1682. But it was here, in Upper Louisiana, that proponents of French-Indian intermarriage finally claimed some success with Frenchification. For supporters, proof of the policy's success lay in the appearance and material possessions of Indian wives and daughters of Frenchmen.

Through a sophisticated interdisciplinary approach to the material sources, Wild Frenchmen and Frenchified Indians offers a distinctive and original reading of the contours and chronology of racialization in early America. While focused on Louisiana, the methodological model offered in this innovative book shows that dress can take center stage in the investigation of colonial societies--for the process of colonization was built on encounters mediated by appearance.

Author Biography

Sophie White is Associate Professor in the Department of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

Number of Pages: 360
Dimensions: 0.9 x 8.8 x 5.9 IN
Illustrated: Yes
Publication Date: March 19, 2014
ISBN9780812223088
Author Sophie White
PublisherUniversity of Pennsylvania Press
GenreHistory and Education
FormatPaperback
PublishedMarch 2014
LanguageENG- English
Pages360
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

History Nonfiction Social Science

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About Sophie White

SOPHIE WHITE is a novelist, essayist and podcaster from Dublin. She is the author of seven books and has previously held the position of writer-in-residence in both Dublin City University and the Museum of Literature Ireland. Her fifth book, the bestselling memoir Corpsing (Tramp Press, 2021), was shortlisted for an Irish Book Award and the Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction. Where I End is her sixth book and won the Shirley Jackson Award for best novel. She co-hosts the chart-topping comedy podcast, The Creep Dive and writes the Substack, Death Is Coming. You can find her at sophiewhite.info or @sophwhitewhoop on Instagram.

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