New Orleans becomes hostile to Congo Square. The African dances are banned. The space falls into disrepair, then becomes a whites-only park. Against all odds, it fights for its original identity.

LEARN MORE:

Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans by Freddi Williams Evans

Congo Square in New Orleans by Jerah Johnson

“A Window on Slave Culture: Dances at Congo Square in New Orleans, 1800-1862” by Gary A. Donaldson

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

City of a Million Dreams: New Orleans at 300 by Jason Berry

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

“African Cultural Memory in New Orleans Music” by Jason Berry

“Deep Skin: Reconstructing Congo Square” by Joseph R. Roach

“New Orleans Music as a Circulatory System” by Matt Sakakeeny

“The Invention of a Memory: Congo Square and African Music in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans” by Ted Widmer

Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War by Dena J. Epstein

https://antigravitymagazine.com/feature/sacred-ground/

https://chrisdier.com/2015/03/10/raquette-the-lost-sport-of-new-orleans/

SOUNDS:

French Quarter Bourbon walk.wav by volivieri --https://freesound.org/s/110012/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

We explore why Congo Square existed for so long, how it retained an African character, and how its memory survived beyond New Orleans. We also talk about Louisiana Creole and some surprising aspects of this near-extinct language.

LEARN MORE:

Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans by Freddi Williams Evans

Congo Square in New Orleans by Jerah Johnson

“A Window on Slave Culture: Dances at Congo Square in New Orleans, 1800-1862” by Gary A. Donaldson

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

City of a Million Dreams: New Orleans at 300 by Jason Berry

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

“African Cultural Memory in New Orleans Music” by Jason Berry

“Deep Skin: Reconstructing Congo Square” by Joseph R. Roach

“New Orleans Music as a Circulatory System” by Matt Sakakeeny

“The Invention of a Memory: Congo Square and African Music in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans” by Ted Widmer

Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War by Dena J. Epstein

https://antigravitymagazine.com/feature/sacred-ground/

SOUNDS:

French Quarter Bourbon walk.wav by volivieri --https://freesound.org/s/110012/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

The enslaved of New Orleans make music and dance together at the city's edge. This is the story of Congo Square: the people who gathered there every Sunday—and the African culture they kept alive.

Listen to "Tan Patate-La Tchuite" by Adelaide Van Wey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F8jFIbCD1o

LEARN MORE:

Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans by Freddi Williams Evans

Congo Square in New Orleans by Jerah Johnson

“A Window on Slave Culture: Dances at Congo Square in NewOrleans, 1800-1862” by Gary A. Donaldson

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

City of a Million Dreams: New Orleans at 300 by Jason Berry

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

“African Cultural Memory in New Orleans Music” by Jason Berry

“Deep Skin: Reconstructing Congo Square” by Joseph R. Roach

“New Orleans Music as a Circulatory System” by Matt Sakakeeny

“The Invention of a Memory: Congo Square and African Music in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans” by Ted Widmer

Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War by Dena J. Epstein

https://antigravitymagazine.com/feature/sacred-ground/

SOUNDS:

French Quarter Bourbon walk.wav by volivieri --https://freesound.org/s/110012/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

Congo Square is often described as the “birthplace of jazz.” But its history goes far deeper—as a place where, every Sunday, the enslaved of New Orleans would practice traditional African music and dance.

In this first episode of a trilogy, we examine Congo Square’s origins, its persistence across French and Spanish New Orleans, and how early American officials sought to regulate it.

LEARN MORE:

Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans by Freddi Williams Evans

Congo Square in New Orleans by Jerah Johnson

“A Window on Slave Culture: Dances at Congo Square in NewOrleans, 1800-1862” by Gary A. Donaldson

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver toCongo Square by Ned Sublette

City of a Million Dreams: New Orleans at 300 by JasonBerry

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans byLawrence N. Powell

“African Cultural Memory in New Orleans Music” byJason Berry

“Deep Skin: Reconstructing Congo Square” by Joseph R. Roach

“New Orleans Music as a Circulatory System” by Matt Sakakeeny

“The Invention of a Memory: Congo Square and African Musicin Nineteenth-Century New Orleans” by Ted Widmer

SOUNDS:

French Quarter Bourbon walk.wav by volivieri --https://freesound.org/s/110012/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

In our final battle episode, we dispel a few historical myths, muse on alternate history scenarios, and explore not just what the American victory prevented but created.

(And also discuss the TREATY OF GHENT.)

LEARN MORE:

The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis

The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly

The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

SOUNDS:

French Quarter Bourbon walk.wav by volivieri -- https://freesound.org/s/110012/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

We say farewell to the folks we've gotten to know during the Battle of New Orleans. The pirates Lafitte meet their end. We assess Andrew Jackson.

LEARN MORE:

The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis

The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly

The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf by William C. Davis

The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

"The Battle of New Orleans Reconsidered: Andrew Jackson and Martial Law" by Matthew Warshauer

"The Patterson and Ross Raid on Barataria, September 1814" by Robert C. Vogel

SOUNDS:

French Quarter Bourbon walk.wav by volivieri -- https://freesound.org/s/110012/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

The victorious Andrew Jackson reimposes strict martial law on New Orleans. He arrests a senator and a federal judge—but soon faces justice himself. Meanwhile, diseases like typhoid and measles fell hundreds of victorious soldiers.

LEARN MORE:

"The Battle of New Orleans Reconsidered: Andrew Jackson and Martial Law" by Matthew Warshauer

The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis

The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly

The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

After victory, New Orleans exhales... then throws its biggest party yet. We meet some fun characters as the British evacuate the field. Andrew Jackson is (symbolically) crowned Roman emperor.

LEARN MORE:

The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis

The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly

The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

"The Battle of New Orleans Reconsidered: Andrew Jackson and Martial Law" by Matthew Warshauer