In this vlog we venture one hour away from the lively French Quarter to visit
the plantations of Louisiana. This is the story of wealth grandeur and tragedy
during a crucial period in US history leading up to the Civil War. We learn
about the plantation owner at Oak Valley and then hear the story of the slaves
who worked to build the backbone of American industry at the Whitney plantation.
It's an experience we won't forget and we hope you check it out soon.
The bayou - B-A-Y-OU - is not like a brook or a stream where a brook or a
stream connect to the lake or the river, a bayou will be near the lake close to the river.
this is the Whiteny. Whitney plantation this is the front of the house history the
plantation from the perspective mainly of the people who worked at the slaves
These are the names of the slaves brought over in the international trade. They were given European
names. Some of them resisted and used their West Indian or i mean West African names.
Using all of the machinery there when on the female side you have Surey over
here on an official and notarized bill of sale listed as a 25 year old idiot. She
had some types of mental disability that prohibited her from working at high
function but she still sold for 105 dollars because she was 25 and she could still
potentially breed children who did not have a mental disability and there in lied her value.
So you see that noise would carry throughout the plantation and that which
everybody will be going at the work session starting on these are the slave
quarters and the sugar kettle there are about a hundred slaves working the
Whitney plantation to produce the sugar cane which was a very dangerous crop to
handle. To produce the product it involved boiling the sugar cane juice in
large kettles and pans with the high risk of being burned. I'm on the Whitney
plantation behind me are the slave quarters right there is the slave jail
how hot is it BP? it's oppressive.
we're about to go in. The Whitney plantation was used in the movie Django
Unchained and featured the blacksmith house the interior of the big house
features antiques from the antibellum era. The Whitney plantation in Louisiana
those are the live old trees it shows the history from the perspective of the
place and the food plantation going inside the outside of the plantation
the kitchen was detached because of fire danger and down there is the slave
quarters, they basically lived in shacks here's a closer look at the slaves
quarters and as I mentioned they harvested sugarcane which it was a very
treacherous crop to harvest and the life expectancy was only 10 years.
So, the things we heard today we're kind of heavy but moral of the story is
what do you do now that you're free? You got to expect more from your
lawmakers to make sure that things like this doesn't happen again. We are at oak alley
plantation. There were about five people living on one side of the house and five
people on the other very small bed made out of moss and other scraps and it's
very hot here.
The materials of this house, most of the wood came from the plantation.
Cypress harvested in the back in the swamp.
Bricks made on site. We are hearing the perspective of the slave owner.
this is this house right here - all the antique are done in Antebellum 1800's style.
don't get along so well these people have a great disdain for
anything Anglo. I'll just say the word American - it is always the same to
them they don't like em - they only like French people. Used to build this mansion
and write about the kind of this house is complete something will happen in New
Orleans that will affect their lives forever
I mean so turn it upside down her mama dies how mama dies in New Orleans in her
father calls up back to the city she's oldest daughter of eleven children
of honor she's now the matriarch of the family her duty to raise her younger
brothers and sister she's 25 years old she had six children of her own already.
But she's lost you boys to yellow fever she takes all four living children and goes
to New Orleans where she has a half a dozen little brothers and sisters
waiting boys are no problem then we sent to
boarding school ten years old 15 years old shipping off to France to go to
college it's the girls that our problem some of those girls are getting 12 13 14
years old and they need to be hooked up in a marriage and that's her
responsibility. Her husband Jacque Ramon will not go back to New
Orleans. He's had it with New Orleans he's got his plantation, he's set. She comes
from time to time. Surprise. Man this is a is a long way from New Orleans. And when
she gets here the house is beautiful as she imagined well she never did imagine
this house with me sitting in front of a work village. It''s on the factory grounds.
Takes the shine off of it real quick in her eyes. See she's on French Quarters - ain't no
factory grounds in the French Quarter. And when she gets into character run up
and down the road all day long look for come on a visit somebody to hang out
with - all she finds is plantation after plantation after plantation after
plantation. Four miles each way - this Millionaire's Row.
This is a place wealthy people have come to get wealthy. There is no social life
here. Nothing but plantation owners. The social life is back in the French Quarter
in New Orleans. And who owns most of the plantations in the area? His family she
does not like them. Some of them she hates with a passion. So to summarize this
basically if it each year old French woman married this 35 year old man they
got married they promised her a mansion she got a factory where they were
harvesting sugarcane with slaves. It is one day away from New Orleans by river boat out
here and there was no social life. She did not like it, she was not having it.
these oak trees very enlightening unique experience we have two very different
plantation experiences from two different perspectives really cool seeing
the full story and especially on 4th of July we're talking about freedom here
this is a great perspective on freedom and American history. Oak Alley!
The front of oak alley plantation it was practically abandoned after after the
Civil War and then someone purchased it in the 60s and then it became a museum
overall it's really interesting to hear this living history and I highly
recommend it if you come to Louisiana to take the plantation for Louisiana
[music from French Quarter]
A change gon come.
Change gon come.