[LINK] The Fate of Upper Louisiana

[rfmcdonald]

C. Ray Brassieur's 2003 article "The Cost and Value of the Purchase: A View from French Upper Louisiana " surveys a neglected corner of the Francophone world. Although French settlement in what is now the American Midwest began early in the 18th century and quickly developed into a vigourous colonial society, massive American immigration in the 19th century swamped these Francophones. Much apparently remains of the French heritage of "Upper Louisiana," though: music, folklore, dance.