Synopses & Reviews
Two years ago, the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina inspired emotional elegies to the long and colorful history of New Orleans. But until now, the story of French New Orleans has remained largely untold. Building the Devil's Empire is the first comprehensive history of the city's early years, tracing the town's development from its origins in 1718 as an imperial experiment in urban planning through its revolt against Spanish rule in 1768.
Shannon Lee Dawdy's picaresque account of New Orleans's wild youth features a cast of strong-willed captives, thin-skinned nobles, sharp-tongued women, and carousing travelers, as well as the sounds and smells that created the texture of everyday life there. During the French period, the city earned its reputation as the devil's town, where laws were lax and pleasures abundant. Though New Orleans's roguish character is sometimes exaggerated, Dawdy traces its early roots in the city's political independence, active smuggling rings, and peculiar demographics--a diverse mix of Africans, Indians, Europeans, and Creoles all involved in the contentious process of building a new society. Dawdy also widens her lens to reveal the port city's global significance, examining its role in the French Empire and the Caribbean, and she concludes that by exemplifying a kind of rogue colonialism--where governments, outlaws, and capitalism become entwined--New Orleans should prompt us to reconsider our notions of how colonialism works.
By the end of the French period, New Orleans was one of the most modern--and most American--towns in the New World. As the city enters a new phase in its history, Building the Devil's Empire paints a rich and thoughtful portrait of its founding.
Review
"By untangling myths, Dawdy has left us all with a richer inheritance. . . . Good history contains surprises, of which there are an abundance in this eye-popping yet scholarly book. And it has some cool color illustrations, too."
Review
and#8220;Dawdyand#8217;s research is thorough and imaginative, and her argument persuasive and important. As the literature on colonial Louisiana grows and improves, Dawdyand#8217;s work raises the historical study of New Orleans to an even higher standard and promises to influence future lines of inquiry. In this ambitious and appealing book, she cleverly turns what has made New Orleans marginal to the writing of colonial historyand#8212;its reputation for disorder and failureand#8212;into the essential challenge for understanding the cityand#8217;s significance.and#8221;
Review
"[A] penetrating study of the colony's founding."
Review
and#8220;This book is highly useful for developing an understanding not only of New Orleans, but also of the history of the Caribbean world during the colonial period.and#8221;
Review
"In delightfully diverse ways, [the author] explores the themes of imperial design, creole improvisation, and rogue colonialism. . . . Dawdy's book furnishes a model of interdisciplinary research, bringing to the task the tools of archaeology, ethnography, literary analysis, and archival research, all the while vigorously engaging with the secondary and the theoretical literature. . . .Engagingly written, beautifully illustrated, flawlessly edited, and reasonably priced."
Review
and#8220;A brilliant and spirited reinterpretation of the emergence of French New Orleans. Dawdy leads us deep into the daily life of the city, and along the many paths that connected it to France, the North American interior, and the Greater Caribbean. A major contribution to our understanding of the history of the Americas and of the French Atlantic, the work is also a model of interdisciplinary research and analysis, skillfully bringing together archival research, archaeology, and literary analysis.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Nowadays it is rare to come across an academic monograph that combines literary verve and analytical virtuosity, and rarer still to find it in a book that straddles history and archeology. Shannon Lee Dawdyand#8217;s immensely sophisticated study of French Louisianaand#8212;the first full-length treatment since World War Oneand#8212;defies easy categorization.and#160;Hers is more than a rollicking tale of how rogues, creoles, and utopian planners from three continents conjured from the mud one of the Atlantic Worldand#8217;s quirkiest communities.
Building the Deviland#8217;s Empire is also a thoughtful meditation on the meaning of colonialism, revolution, and liberal capitalism near the dawn of the modern age. The book is a tour de force.and#8221;
Review
"[A] penetrating study of the colonys founding."Nation -- Andrew Burstein - Advocate
Review
"The author, trained in historical archaeology and anthropology, provides often-remarkable insights into the ethos and daily lives of the people of New Orleans, while putting this unique society into a larger context of colonial dynamics and structure. . . .and#160; Historians have paid surprisingly little attention to this fascinating period, and this book is most welcome."
Review
"Employing a vibrant style, Dawdy animates a painstakingly woven social, cultural, and economic tapestry of the history of French Louisiana, one that deserves to hang in a place of honor in the years to come."
Synopsis
Building the Devil's Empire is the first comprehensive history of New Orleans's early years, tracing the town's development from its origins in 1718 to its revolt against Spanish rule in 1768. Shannon Lee Dawdy's picaresque account of New Orleans's wild youth features a cast of strong-willed captives, thin-skinned nobles, sharp-tongued women, and carousing travelers. But she also widens her lens to reveal the port city's global significance, examining its role in the French Empire and the Caribbean, and she concludes that by exemplifying a kind of rogue colonialism--where governments, outlaws, and capitalism become entwined--New Orleans should prompt us to reconsider our notions of how colonialism works.
" A] penetrating study of the colony's founding."--Nation
"A brilliant and spirited reinterpretation of the emergence of French New Orleans. Dawdy leads us deep into the daily life of the city, and along the many paths that connected it to France, the North American interior, and the Greater Caribbean. A major contribution to our understanding of the history of the Americas and of the French Atlantic, the work is also a model of interdisciplinary research and analysis, skillfully bringing together archival research, archaeology, and literary analysis."--Laurent Dubois, Duke University
Synopsis
Building the Deviland#8217;s Empire is the first comprehensive history of New Orleansand#8217;s early years, tracing the townand#8217;s development from its origins in 1718 to its revolt against Spanish rule in 1768. Shannon Lee Dawdyand#8217;s picaresque account of New Orleansand#8217;s wild youth features a cast of strong-willed captives, thin-skinned nobles, sharp-tongued women, and carousing travelers. But she also widens her lens to reveal the port cityand#8217;s global significance, examining its role in the French Empire and the Caribbean, and she concludes that by exemplifying a kind of rogue colonialismand#8212;where governments, outlaws, and capitalism become entwinedand#8212;New Orleans should prompt us to reconsider our notions of how colonialism works.
"[A] penetrating study of the colony's founding."and#8212;Nation
and#160;
and#8220;A brilliant and spirited reinterpretation of the emergence of French New Orleans. Dawdy leads us deep into the daily life of the city, and along the many paths that connected it to France, the North American interior, and the Greater Caribbean. A major contribution to our understanding of the history of the Americas and of the French Atlantic, the work is also a model of interdisciplinary research and analysis, skillfully bringing together archival research, archaeology, and literary analysis.and#8221;and#8212;Laurent Dubois, Duke University
About the Author
Shannon Lee Dawdy is assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago and coeditor of Dialogues in Cuban Archaeology.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations and Tablesand#160;and#160;
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. and#8220;A Veritable Babylonand#8221;: Enlightenment and Disorder
Chapter 2. La Ville Sauvage: Nature and Urban Planning
Chapter 3. A Backwater Entrepand#244;t
Chapter 4. La Renommand#233;e: From Colonial Experiment to Creole Society
Chapter 5. Tensions of Power: Law, Discipline, and Violence
Chapter 6. Conclusion: Revolt and Rogue Colonialism
Chronology
Glossary
List of Abbreviations
Notes