Mo linm lwizyan

Creole expression meaning “I love Louisiana”

The history of Louisiana Creoles begins with the French and Spanish colonization of Louisiana. However, at first, settlement in the region was relatively limited. It increased significantly with the arrival, between 1791 and 1803, of refugees from Saint-Domingue.

This former French colony (present-day Haiti) experienced such a major slave uprising that it led to the country’s independence in 1804. A total of 15,000 people—including enslaved individuals, free people of color, and white settlers—migrated to Louisiana in two main waves.