Land of Many Tongues

Bulbancha. La Nouvelle-Orleans. Nueva Orleans. New Orleans. Nawlins. NOLA.

All these names refer to the same part of Louisiana where numerous accessible waterways and ecological resources abound. This abundance attracted Indigenous Peoples, European colonizers, and ultimately Americans. New Orleans has a complex history; it changed hands numerous times and saw a myriad of different peoples – ethnically, religiously, and racially – pass through, migrate to, be exiled to, and settle in it. As the small settlement expanded from a tribal village into an American international port city, New Orleans soon became a multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-racial center of the Americas and ultimately defined a unique culture and language of its own. Now, the city's cultural melange lends inspiration and breathes new life into Roundabout's reimagining of Gilbert and Sullivan's classic story. To truly understand how New Orleans assumed its iconic identity, we must look back at the history that transpired before the Pirate King's ship docked in its port. 

The first known people to occupy the land we now know as New Orleans was the Chitimacha Tribe. The Chitimacha called their home “Bulbancha,” a Choctaw word meaning the land of many tongues. The name referred to its significance as an area where many nearby tribes would gather to trade and negotiate. While integral to many people, the land itself was Chitimacha territory. They spoke (and still speak) Sitimaxa; were hunters and fishers; ate maize and potatoes and game and aquatic species; and made river cane basketry – which is still a staple of their culture today. It is argued that although much of the Chitimacha culture has been erased from New Orleans, the successful cultivation of many indigenous crops was likely learned from the Chitimacha. 

According to Chitimacha.gov, prior to the European colonization of their land, the tribe’s territory included land from Atchafalay Basin, lands westward toward Lafayette, southward to the Gulf of Mexico and eastward to the New Orleans area. By the late 1600s the Chitimacha Tribe was considered the most powerful tribe between Texas and Florida. Although the Chitimacha no longer inhabit the lands of New Orleans, they still have a strong physical and cultural presence in several parts of Louisiana. Their language Sitimaxa has been revitalized and can be learned via Rosetta Stone. 

La Nouevelle Orleans

The Chitimacha would see many outsiders lay claim to their land, the first being the French. With the French explorers to this region came not only the French people, but also French culture and language. Explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier de la Salle was instrumental in the exploration of this area through his expedition of the Mississippi River. His compatriot and brother-in-law recorded their journey and his journal commemorates a ceremony from April 1682 in which La Salle claimed “the seas, harbors, ports, bays, adjacent straits, and all the nations, peoples, provinces, cities, towns, villages, mines, minerals, fisheries, streams and rivers” for King Louis XIV, naming it Louisiana.  

According to the Chitimacha tribe, their first encounter with Europeans was in 1699 along the Mississippi River in what we now know as Louisiana. French-Canadian soldier and explorer Pierrer Le Moyne d’Iberville led this expedition (and at least three others) alongside four of his brothers. During these expeditions the Le Moyne brothers established a permanent French settlement in Louisiana. In order to seize control of the land, the French waged a twelve-year war during which they enslaved and almost annihilated the Chitimacha who were ultimately forced south and southwest where they remain today. 

Nearly 20 years after their first expedition, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville was tasked with establishing a town up the Mississippi River to name after the Duc d’Orleans. In 1718 he claimed a crescent shaped piece of land on the Eastern banks of the Mississippi River. This became La Nouvelle-Orleans. 

Enslaved People Create a Colony

Nueva Orleans

During European expedition years, the inhabitants of this region struggled with famine, disease, and violence. The violence grew out of incessant battles for territory and trading routes as well as wars between the indigenous peoples and French, Spanish, British colonizers. In fact, in 1763 when France was faced with losing New Orleans to the British, they ceded the city to Spain. The change in rule marked the beginning of a new cultural influx from Cuba, Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries and colonies. More languages, more cultures, and more traditions were added to the cauldron of what was then known as Nueva Orleans. 

The Fires in Nueva Orleans

In 1788 strong winds carried a spark to a mostly wood-structured city, igniting a fire that devastated the city. Of 1,100 buildings, 856 of them were consumed by flames. The city began the recovery process which was stymied when another fire sparked only six years later, destroying nearly 200 buildings, many of which had just been rebuilt. These two devastating events birthed new building codes, fire patrols composed of both white and free Black militia members, minimized easily burned gardens and yards, and led to balconies railed with iron. These shifts not only improved the safety of the buildings and the city at large, but it also created a unique visual landscape of buildings, alleyways, and courtyards, part of what makes New Orleans now such a distinct architectural vision.  

Beyond its response to the fires, the Spanish government further invested in infrastructure and urban planning. They improved the jails, built a public bathhouse, and made the markets more sanitary. Other social services were provided by the newly established Diocese of Louisiana. And, in the interest of the public's well-being, care was given to planning for responses to natural disasters.  

Pirates, Privateers, Smugglers, and Elites

Although more solid structure came with Spanish rule, Nueva Orleans still faced its previous challenges. With the influx of more international explorers came more cultural challenges. It became known for its lack of a moral center. France often exiled its “unwanted” population (e.g. convicted criminals) to New Orleans in an attempt to rid France of these people and increase the population of New Orleans. What resulted was a place where pirates (or privateers), smugglers, elites with the freedom to overindulge, and people from all walks of life lived and fought alongside each other.  

New Orleans

The year 1800 brought French rule back to New Orleans when yet another treaty meant Spain would re-cede the city to France. When the Louisiana Purchase brought New Orleans under American rule three years later, the culture of the city shifted once again.   

Dueling Culture Enters New Orleans

The early 1800s saw the arrival of more people from nearby islands, including Saint Domingue (now Haiti). Uniquely, from Saint Domingue came numerous fencing masters who influenced how disagreements in New Orleans would be handled: duels. Perhaps due to the varied populations and cultures all in one place, disagreements and fighting were a regular part of daily life in the city. At the time, duels were considered a slightly more civilized means of settling disagreements. Thus, with this influx of fencing masters came a proliferation of fencing academies where people trained to fight in and survive a duel. According to author Stuart O. Landry: 

In Old New Orleans you had to be careful what you said or how you acted. If you criticized the leading soprano at the French Opera or inadvertently spilled a little of your mint julep on the cuff of the gentleman standing next to you at the bar, you might be called upon to expiate these delinquencies on the field of honor. During the 1830s more duels were fought here than in any other city in the world. 

New Orleans not only had fencing masters from France, Italy and Germany, there were several Black fencing masters including, as Landry cites, “Baile Croquere, the most remarkable colored swordsman of Louisiana.” Dueling, either with a sword or a pistol, remained a popular means of settling a dispute until the beginning of the Civil War. 

New Orleans Flourishes

The years leading up to the Civil War saw New Orleans become the busiest marketplace of enslaved peoples and a lucrative era for Louisiana plantations. New Orleans was flourishing. According to NewOrleans.com, "In 1840 New Orleans ranked as the third-largest city in the nation…and the fourth busiest port in the world. It had a population of 102,193 of whom 58% were white, 23% were enslaved African[s & their descendants], and 19% were free people of color.” It’s important to note here, nearly one-fifth of New Orleans population were free people of color at this time. This Afro-Creole culture continued to flourish, expand, and interweave with the many cultures landing on the shores of this city. The population continued to grow as more people arrived from Ireland, Germany, and the Philippines, and New Orleans culture expanded once again.  

This thriving time was also exemplified in the arts. Visual and performance art embellished the city of New Orleans, the streets, the buildings, and the culture. Jazz saw its emergence during this time and literary culture grew as well. You can read more about the musical DNA of the city in our article "On the Brink of Jazz."

According to 64Parishes.org, “in the summer of 1853…29,120 people contracted [yellow fever]…and 8,647 died from it.” Although yellow fever had struck parts of Louisiana in small doses since the late 1700s, this summer the epidemic hit New Orleans full force. “By the end of the epidemic, approximately one out of every twelve people had died from yellow fever in New Orleans alone.” 

Mardis Gras

Shortly after this devastation, New Orleans would solidify one of its best known cultural events: Mardi Gras. Mardis Gras means Fat Tuesday in French. In the Christian faith, it is traditionally the last day of celebration and indulgence before the season of Lent that lasts until Easter. Brought over from France, the yearly celebration had occurred since Iberville landed in 1699, but it did not take on the form as we know it until 1856 when, according to MardigrasNeworleans.com:  

…six young Mobile natives formed the Mistick Krewe of Comus, invoking John Milton’s hero Comus to represent their organization. Comus brought magic and mystery to New Orleans with dazzling floats (known as tableaux cars) and masked balls.  

1870 was the first year where Mardi Gras throws (where necklaces other trinkets were thrown into the crowds of spectators) were recorded. The event grew in size and spectacle every year since, soon making New Orleans a yearly destination to participate in and witness celebrations like no other.  

The cultural impact of Mardi Gras and its celebrations are evident in New Orleans. This celebration brought together, and literally celebrated, the diverse cultures, arts, music, and peoples that called New Orleans their home. This cultural singularity continues to bring people from all over the world to this city to celebrate and indulge in all New Orleans offers. 

The Complexity of New Orleans

After the Civil War a progressive state constitution attempted to establish civil rights for formerly enslaved population of Louisiana. Unfortunately this was not long lived and post Reconstruction, racial inequalities, subjugation, and segregation continued. The 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson decision of “separate but equal” was derived from a local New Orleans case. It would be more than half a century before full integration of schools and public services and buildings would reach New Orleans. 

The complicated and complex history of New Orleans continues to define its people and culture. The land of many tongues celebrates and honors this sometimes difficult and other times revelatory past as it continues to honor and celebrate its present and future contributions to the world. Historian Gwendolyn Midlo Hall may have said it best when she wrote: 

New Orleans became another crossroads where the river, the bayous, and the sea were open roads, where various nations ruled but the folk continued to reign. They turned inhospitable swamplands into a refuge for the independent, the defiant, and the creative “unimportant” people who tore down barriers of language and culture among peoples throughout the world and continue to sing to them of joy and the triumph of the human spirit. 

The multi-cultural city of New Orleans, through all its challenges is an ever-present demonstration of the triumph of human spirit.  

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