For two hundred years the history of the Battle of New Orleans has suffered from the neglected state of the historiography on the War of 1812 and the static state of the Battle's orthodox narrative. This dissertation identifies and deconstructs the central themes of the Battle's orthodox narrative. It reveals how these long standing presumptions surfaced through the Battle's public commemoration in the nineteenth century and have fostered misleading perceptions about Louisiana’s involvement in the war, the defense preparations undertaken in New Orleans prior to Andrew Jackson's arrival, and the so-called unity that was achieved through the victory. By incorporating the actions and experiences of women and the enslaved into the Battle's history, this dissertation exposes the traditional marginalization of these groups in accounts of the Battle and its subsequent memorialization. It shows that the absence of women and the enslaved in the cultivation of the Battle's public memory was a deliberate measure taken by white slaveholding elites to preserve racial and social divisions that were blurred by the Battle's symbolic message of the power of unity. The actions of a third group, free men of color, are examined to illustrate how critical they were to the victory and how dangerous the memory of their service was to white slaveholding elites, especially in the 1850s. These new perspectives on the Battle and its public commemoration challenge the unchanging nature of the Battle's history and indicate that there is far more to the Battle's story than has ever been told. / acase@tulane.edu

À la Martinique au XVIIIe siècle, les « libres de couleur », qu’ils soient nés libres ou affranchis, noirs ou métis, forment une catégorie juridique distincte des Blancs et des esclaves. L’étude comparée, avec les territoires espagnols ou anglais, montre qu’aucune réglementation légale n’a officialisé un passage de la catégorie Libre de couleur à celle de Blanc dans les colonies françaises de la fin du XVIIe siècle à la Révolution française. Aussi, cette thèse se propose de montrer les processus officieux qui ont permis à certaines personnes – les « assimilés » – de franchir la barrière de couleur. Une réflexion a été menée sur le préjugé de couleur, système raciste dont l’idéologie, soutenue par la réglementation locale, a légitimé la construction collective d’un ordre public et social. Puis, on a examiné l’élaboration de la barrière de couleur. Les libres de couleur ont été les premiers à faire les frais de l’imperméabilisation de la ligne de démarcation et des problèmes posés par la pureté de sang ; mais les Blancs mésalliés, dans le cadre d’unions interraciales, et les Amérindiens ont aussi été visés. Enfin nous avons réfléchi à ce qui faisait la blancheur et aux stratégies adoptées pour réussir ce changement de statut. Le notariat et les 33 000 actes des registres paroissiaux traités ont donné lieu à la reconstitution de généalogies pour examiner des individus et des familles sur plusieurs générations ; on a ainsi observé l’importance du phénotype, le blanchiment, la légitimité des relations, les conjoints privilégiés, le choix des réseaux, les niveaux de fortune et l’usage de l’espace. / In Martinique in the eighteenth century, the "free people of color", both those free by birth and freedmen, black or mixed race, form a legal category, which was distinct from those of whites and slaves. Comparative studies with Spanish or English territories show that no legal regulation formalized a shift - from the category of free colored people to that of White - in the French colonies between the late seventeenth century and the French Revolution. Also, this thesis proposes to show the informal process that enabled some people - the "assimilated" - to cross the color barrier. I analysed the color prejudice, a racist system, whose ideology, supported by local regulations, legitimized the collective construction of a public and social order. In a second step, I examined the development of the color bar. The free colored people were the first to bear the brunt of the impermeability of the demarcation line and of the problems posed by the purity of blood; but some whites, through interracial unions, and Native Americans have also been targeted. Finally I thought about what made the whiteness, and the strategies to achieve whiteness, change in status. Notarial acts and 33,000 acts of parish registers treaties led to the reconstitution of genealogies, in order to examine individuals and families over generations; I observed the importance of the phenotype, whitening, legitimacy relations, privileged partners, choice of networks, wealth levels and the use of space.

Submitted by Maria Dulce (mdulce@ndc.uff.br) on 2014-07-01T17:56:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Precioso, Daniel-Tese-2014.pdf: 2609576 bytes, checksum: e7ee5a477b36b702e64f49b9916e3bf7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-01T17:56:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Precioso, Daniel-Tese-2014.pdf: 2609576 bytes, checksum: e7ee5a477b36b702e64f49b9916e3bf7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Esta tese apresenta um estudo de arquiconfrarias e ordens terceiras fundadas por pardos e crioulos, forros ou livres, na Capitania de Minas Gerais – sobretudo, em Vila Rica e Mariana – durante a segunda metade do século XVIII. A pesquisa concilia o exame da dinâmica institucional dessas corporações com uma análise das carreiras e redes sociais tecidas pelos seus membros. Destaca-se que o estabelecimento das associações estudadas não reflete apenas o desejo de aprimoramento da vida religiosa e a devoção de seus fundadores, mas também a tentativa de aquisição de privilégios religiosos, isenções jurisdicionais e status social. Além disso, relaciona-se o surgimento das instituições analisadas com a promoção de ações de caridade e assistência social. / This thesis is a study of Archonfraternities and Third orders created by pardos and creoles, freed or free men, in the Captaincy of Minas Gerais – most importantly, in Vila Rica and Mariana – during the second half of the XVIII century. The research reconciles the exam of the institutional dynamics of those corporations with an analysis of the careers and social networks woven by their members. This study emphasizes that establishment of the studied associations doesn’t reflect only the desire to perfect the religious life and the devotion of their founders, but also the attempt to acquire religious privileges, exemptions of authorities and social recognition. Furthermore, this study links the appearance of the institutions analyzed with the promotion of charity actions and social assistance.