and widows , and establishing school endowments . Founded in 1790 in Charleston , its membership consisted solely of mulattos representing the elite of the city ’ s free African American population . Voicing the importance of the organization ’ s purpose and supporting its stipulation that members were selected according to their biracial ancestry , an affiliate stated in 1848 , “[ such organizations ] add bone and sinew to our strength as a people .”
Many of Brown ’ s associates consisted of skilled professionals and , like Lafon of New Orleans , businessmen of substantial wealth who , unlike most African Americans at the time , represented an elite subclass of citizens within the free Black community . Moreover , the Society continued serving the needs of the Black community after 1865 and well into the 20th century .
Lafon and the Brown Fellowship shared a unique cultural pedigree common amongst Blacks in several cities and regions throughout the South : their mixed ancestry and economic stature . Most descended from either a mixed-race background or from the union of a white father and a slave or free mother . Depending upon state laws and proscriptions , Louisiana being the most progressive , the biracial offspring could be freed ( manumitted ) and sometimes received an education , inherited property ( inclusive of slaves ) and learned occupational trades essential to local economies . Many residing in cities along the south Atlantic and Gulf coasts established small businesses despite systemic prejudice against their color . Consequently , the Antebellum period witnessed substantial business ownership by “ Free People of Color ”— or FPCs — in Charleston and New Orleans .
New Orleans ’ free Black business community took root in the early 18th century . French settlers , predominately male , engaged in liaisons with Native American and Black women , the latter of whom were slaves . Such interactions were quite common , with any resulting children taking on the status of the mother , either slave or free . Yet , in accordance with French custom , many fathers recognized their offspring and , as records substantiate , freed them at birth . As a result , by mid-century , bequests of personal property , education and land were inherited by a burgeoning mulatto class . The colonial government as well adopted a very liberal attitude toward manumission that encouraged freedom for mistresses and children .
Spanish custom , though dissimilar in some respects , mostly adhered to the French model . After the acquisition of the Louisiana colony in 1763 as a concession of the Seven Year ’ s War , Spanish colonial administration permitted continued manumissions and accepted the social convention for property distribution between the races . The Spanish also employed the practice of “ coartacion ” ( self purchase ) contingent upon a master ’ s consent . Any savings accrued from labor outside of a slave ’ s regular duties might be used to purchase his or her freedom sometime in the future .
Under Spain , free Blacks began to realize a significant degree of economic autonomy . As historian Laura Foner concluded , during the Spanish period , free Blacks “ were guaranteed equal property rights and full rights to make contracts and engage in all business transactions .” Prejudice would eclipse economics to some degree , however , as free people were relegated to occupations in the personal service trades only : barbers , tailors and seamstresses , for example . Although a few could distinguish themselves as “ white collar ” type entrepreneurs before and after the Civil War , financial services and the legal professions were the exclusive domain of white males .
With slaves occupying the lowest economic tier under colonial ( and American ) administrations and whites controlling the professions , FPCs had no choice but to exploit and develop niche markets for their survival . Consequently , these “ gens de coluer libre ” ( free people of color ) found themselves occupying a necessary economic middle ground between white society and slaves ; however , regardless of their indispensability , they could never be socially equal with whites .
Census data from Spanish Louisiana in 1795 purports that New Orleans ’ FPCs held positions as cabinet makers , tailors , seamstresses , launderers and retailers . One observer noted during a visit to the city in the first decade of the 19th century that “[ FPCs ] are busied some in the mechanical arts for which they have great aptitude .” He further recognized the presence of those engaged in the “ retail trade ” and the significant number of grocers throughout the city .
Some even held more atypical positions . Santiago Derom , a doctor , acquired his talent for medicine from his master , also a doctor , through coartacion in 1783 . Considered a “ distinguished ” member of the city “ with a large practice among the races ,” Derom healed throat ailments . Records indicate that under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 , he became the first licensed African American physician in the United States .
The American era , which commenced with President Thomas Jefferson ’ s Louisiana Purchase , would gradually adopt a new , less inclusive attitude toward New Orleans ’ FPCs . At the same time , global political events like the successful slave revolt on the island of St . Domingue ( Haiti ) in 1803 and the Cuban immigration of 1809 increased the population of New Orleans significantly . Both migrations consisted of large numbers of whites and free Blacks , in the case of the latter , the number of free Blacks increased from 2,312 in 1806 to 5,727 by 1810 .
For the most part , Americans governing their newly acquired territory found the liberalized attitudes toward race by their Spanish and French predecessors disconcerting . The recent influx of Caribbean migrants only stiffened the resolve of local politicians hoping to limit the presence of Blacks . As a result , the state legislature passed a resolution in 1806 prohibiting the entrance of free Blacks from other states nor could they possess firearms without legal permission . At its worst , free Blacks could not even insult or strike a white citizen without fear of legal reprisal .
Though despite newly created laws prohibiting certain freedoms and curbs on their migrations , the FPC population of Louisiana continued its ascendancy , particularly in New Orleans . The US census of 1830 recorded 16,710 FPCs in Louisiana , 11,906 of which resided in New Orleans . By 1840 , 25,502 lived in the state and 75 % were New Orleans residents . Nevertheless , their numbers generally represented no more than 10 % of the Southern Black population in part due to state prohibitions across the South that , during the 1830s , restricted owners from freeing their slaves .
In the wake of the ill-fated Nat Turner rebellion in Southampton County , Virginia , in 1831 , many Southern states passed
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