Louisiana Creole refers to native born people of various racial descent who are descended from the Colonial
French and/or Spanish settlers of Colonial
French Louisiana, before it became part of the United States in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase with claim to the Creole culture and Creole cuisine. The commonly accepted definition today is for the community whose members are a mixture of mainly
French, Spanish, African, and Native-American heritage. Some may not have each ethnic heritage, and some may have additional ancestries. Contrary to popular belief, a Creole does not exclusively pertain to a person of African and European:
French or Spanish descent.
Historically, Creole was used in early generations to refer to colonists of
French descent who had been born in Louisiana and were thus native to the territory, compared to new immigrants. It then meant exclusively people of European descent. It also was used for black slaves who were born in Louisiana as opposed to those born in West Africa and transported from there.
French Creole became the term for those of exclusively
French descent after there grew a Creole population of mixed ancestry. Many multiracial Creoles of
French descent also call themselves
French Creole.
People of relatively pure African-American, French or Spanish descent who have family roots in Louisiana and were raised under the Creole culture also have called themselves Creole. Today Louisiana Creole has come to mean those people of mixed ancestry.