Berquin-Duvallon, Louis Pierre:

$3,750 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

VUE DE LA COLONIE ESPAGNOLE DU MISSISSIPI [sic], OU DES PROVINCES DE LOUISIANE ET FLORIDE OCCIDENTALE, EN L'ANNÉE 1802.... The first edition of this "entertaining and gossipy first-hand picture of life in New Orleans at the turn of the century....At the end are general accounts of the natural features of Louisiana, its commerce, and other general subjects. Its two colored maps, one of lower, the other of upper Louisiana...are well worth-while" - Streeter. "This resident observer has given a good description of Louisiana and West Florida...[during] the year in which the dominion of this region passed to the United States" - Raines."Entertaining and gossipy" is one way to describe Berquin-Duvallon's work – another might be "bitter and scathing." The author was the owner of a sugar plantation on his native Saint Domingue until he was ejected by the uprising of 1793, fleeing to New Orleans as a refugee. Fearing the spread of the revolution, the Spanish colony refused to admit Haitian slaves, which immediately soured Berquin-Duvallon's opinion of his hosts. His colorful descriptions of the people and places he visited on the continent are venomous and unapologetic: New Orleans is miserable and foul, and its people greedy drunkards who take no notice of religion or manners, spend all night dancing and gambling, and are far too inclined to comingle with other races. Regardless, he considers the city's situation immensely advantageous, and predicts that it will become a leading power

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