On Tuesday, March 11th, a group of us were able to visit the Cabildo on a rainy day in New Orleans. The Cabildo was built in 1799 for the Spanish colonial rule in New Orleans, LA. After France took over these territories, the Cabildo served as a city hall, then as a courthouse, then as a prison, and it wasn’t until 1911 that the Cabildo became part of the Louisiana State Museum.
The Cabildo is rich in Louisiana’s history, specially the Spanish history. I learned that the first explorers to adventure into the Mississippi River were all Spaniards; Alonzo Álvarez de Pineda, Panfilo de Narváez, and Hernando de Soto between the years of 1519 to 1542. These Spanish conquistadors then brought their families to take advantage of the native laborers for the precious metals and fertile soils. They established settlements and colonies, expanding the Roman Catholic beliefs, architecture, music and other traditions. The Spanish colonies were the first to establish free public schools, first only for boys in Louisiana around 1772.
The Isleño farmers raised corn, fowls and vegetables to sell all over Louisiana and even across the river. The Isleños raised livestock and food. They fished and hunted, selling surplus goods and cash crops such as cotton and sugarcane. Just like we learned in Los Isleños Fiesta on Sunday, the Cabildo exhibitions also mentioned that the Isleños came to Louisiana during the late 1700s and by the 19th century, most lived in St. Bernard Parish, which is now St. Bernard Village where we went on Sunday.
The Cabildo was definitely very useful and will be a big tool for my research project.
