The Strange History of the American Quadroon: Free Women of Color in the Revolutionary Atlantic World

by Emily Clark

Exotic, seductive, and the antebellum mixed-race free woman of color has long operated as a metaphor for New Orleans. Commonly known as a "quadroon," she and the city she represents rest irretrievably condemned in the popular historical imagination by the linked sins of slavery and interracial sex. However, as Emily Clark shows, the rich archives of New Orleans tell a different story. Free women of color with ancestral roots in New Orleans were as likely to marry in the 1820s as white women. And marriage, not concubinage, was the basis of their family structure. In The Strange History of the American Quadroon , Clark investigates how the narrative of the erotic colored mistress became an elaborate literary and commercial trope, persisting as a symbol that long outlived the political and cultural purposes for which it had been created. Untangling myth and memory, she presents a dramatically new and nuanced understanding of the myths and realities of New Orleans's free women of color.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, African American, Race, Feminism, 18th Century

279 pages, Hardcover

First published April 22, 2013

Reviews

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but scholarly (read "dry") approach to "mixed race" women in late 18th and early 19th Century America. While the book's title refers to "quadroons" (defined as 3/4 'white'), in many cases, this term is used interchangeably in various periods for mulatto (50/50) and "octaroon" (7/8 white) - in some cases using "quadroon" as a general term and in others, using one of the others, based on the prevailing view of the periods dealt with in various chapters (e.g. the 'tragic mulatto' figure in literature). In addition to New Orleans, the book focuses on San Dominique/Haiti, Cuba, Philadelphia and a number of east coast cities. I was surprised to find out how much of what is often presented as uniquely New Orleans race in the early 19th Century were relatively recent imports from the former French colony of San Dominique. I addition to the more prurient issues associated with free women of color in early America (plaçage and quadroon balls), the author also deals with politics, law, marriage, families, and inheritance, literature, as well as the often fraught relationship between "native" New Orleanians and post-revolutionary refugees from San Dominique, who, even decades after their arrival, were still viewed as outsiders in their adopted city. She also does an excellent job of putting more than a few "facts" of popular history under the microscope, revealing that "what everybody knows" is often questionable, based on documentary evidence from the period. 3.5 stars.

[Ai Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clark's book was... fine? It didn't make a massive impact on me, mostly because imagining that people had lives outside of stereotypes is... not hugely new to me, but it is interesting for comparing racialization processes in what is now the United States across different colonial experiences. But I got lost at times in the weeds of her archival work and I just wasn't intrigued by it? It wasn't terrible either. If this is your thing, it might be interesting!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super interesting. More later!

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Along with Professor Clark's other major work, "Masterless Mistresses" about the Ursuline nuns of Louisiana, this book, focusing on the history of quadroons and how they fit into the framework of free women of color is also a well-researched, excellent scholarly work. Although I wish she had devoted more to the how's of quadroon balls--how they operated, some of the most famous ones, more sketches from the era depicting them--Clark provides a comprehensive overview of quadroons not just in Louisiana, the state with the most history in this area. For those who don't know, quadroon referred to a person who had 3/4 white heritage and 1/4 African. Those who had 3/4 white and 1/8 African were considered "octoroons"--I wish that there had been more discussion of this as well, as in addition to quadroon balls there were often octoroon balls in New Orleans in particular, but that is a minor complaint.

Quadroon balls were events in which mothers of young free women of color of this particular racial make-up arranged matches with white (usually French or Spanish) wealthy men in New Orleans, who often already had white families, and possibly other mistresses. Quadroon balls led to a concubinage contract. The white men, in agreeing to marry one of the quadroon women, would enter into a "left-handed marriage" with her, keeping her as a mistress, having children with her, but the deal, so to speak, was that the men would buy property and lodgings for the quadroon women, and provide for the care and education of any children that resulted in their union.

Clark also devotes a section to the tropes of quadroons and mixed-race individuals in the South in literature, the problematic issues and common themes associated with how their stories ended, the cliches involved, and some films from the Blaxploitation era of the 1970s that tried to capitalize on the sensationalist aspects of these stories without much regard to historical accuracy.

While it is well-researched and accessible, I wish Clark had included more from the point of view of the very people she focuses on in this book. I understand that historical records and archives are not always there, and that verifying the authenticity of such accounts is of paramount importance, but I would have liked to see more of that. Nonetheless, this text is essential for readers who would like to know more about this era in America's history.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This well researched book presents a very detailed history of the "Quadroon". It is a tough subject matter that is is rooted in racism and misogyny. Instead of regurgitating the socially accepted narrative of "New Orleans being a haven for free people of color, where life was easier than those enslaved", Clark does not shy away from the heart breaking details of what it meant to be a Quadroon Mistress.
Clark's extensive research includes the history of Haitian, French, Spanish and even Philadelphia inter-racial placage marriages. This breadth of information shows how global sex trafficking, slavery, caste/class relations, laws and religious all shaped the society for women in New Orleans.
I really enjoyed the examples of popular culture during these times that included travel articles, books, movies and even tourist pamphlets that gave even more disturbing context into the life of these women and how they were targeted/marketed/sold.
My only objection with this book was the title. The title is very casual and almost callous considering the subject matter. The author did such a sensitive, thorough job writing this book it really does it a disservice.

[Marie Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed and thorough look at a fascinating time in American history, and the effects are still lingering in many ways. If you're, like me, curious about New Orleans history, this is a must-read.

[Kiandra Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 42. I lost interest but might find my way back to the subject matter.

[Meigan Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book! Thoroughly researched and insightful.

[BettyKate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invaluable to my writing!

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a recent trip to New Orleans. The writing was very dense, definitely for an academic audience (the author kept dropping words like usufruct and manumission without any definitions!), but it was very well researched and the subject matter is pretty fascinating.