Louisiana and the Louisiana Purchase continues to bring interesting stories of families, sugar plantations and the enslaved people who helped build the wealth the region was known for. Our story continues with moving over to Whitney Plantation, another sugar plantation location along the Mississippi River with hundreds of other plantations.  However, the story presented at Whitney plantation tells the story of many enslaved people who were children, working the sugarcane fields bringing wealth to the region. There is also a story of grand attempts of those enslaved who sought to gain their freedom. On Whitney Plantation there were Creole people following the traditions and customs of the French and later the U.S. traditions, once the area was purchased during the historic Louisiana Purchase.

On this week’s episode we continue with the story of the enslaved who worked on the plantation and also look deeper to understand the rules and laws which dictated the norms of day-to-day life for the slaves and plantation life. We hear how the Code Noir (The Black Code) was introduced and restricted the freedom of the enslaved even more than they experienced before. There were now laws, which controlled the movement, engagement and family life on the plantation.