NEW ORLEANS – Erin M. Greenwald, curator and historian at The Historic New Orleans Collection, will discuss her latest book “Marc-Antoine Caillot and the Company of the Indies in Louisiana: Trade in the French Atlantic World” (LSU Press, 2016), on Tuesday, June 21, 2016, at THNOC’s Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres St., at 6:00 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public, and a book signing will immediately follow the presentation, where the book will be available for purchase for $45.
Venturing beyond the first-person narrative introduced in “A Company Man: The Remarkable French-Atlantic Voyage of a Clerk for the Company of the Indies” (THNOC, 2013), Greenwald’s latest book explores Louisiana’s place within the wider 18th-century world.
Focusing on the travels and travails of Marc-Antoine Caillot, a company clerk who set sail for Louisiana in 1729, Greenwald deftly examines the company’s role as colonizer, developer, slaveholder, commercial entity and deal maker.
The French Company of the Indies held a virtual monopoly over Louisiana culture and trade between 1717 and 1731. In addition to other roles, its administrators oversaw the slave trade, the immigration of free and indentured whites, negotiations with Native Americans and the purchase and exportation of Louisiana-grown tobacco. In her new book, Greenwald situates the colony within the triangular French Atlantic circuit stretching through France, Africa, the West Indies, Louisiana and back.
When Louisiana returned to the French crown’s control in 1731, the company shifted its focus away from agriculture. By analyzing Caillot’s account, Greenwald provides an engaging narrative that lends insight into how this shift affected early Louisiana, its place in the French Atlantic world and its early settlers whose fortunes were bound up in the company’s trade, colonization and agricultural mission.
RSVP to attend by emailing wrc@hnoc.org or calling (504) 523-4662.
