A GUIDE TO THE COLONIAL RECORDS PROJECT
				The Center for Louisiana Studies is open Monday-Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and by special appointment. If you would like more information about the Center's collections, please contact the Assistant Director for Research, John Sharp, or call 337.482.1320. The Colonial Records Project has been, since its inception in 1967, a major acquisitions program of the Center. The Center now houses and maintains one of the most comprehensive collections of Spanish materials pertaining to the history of the Mississippi Valley and the Gulf Coast. In addition, the Center has acquired materials from British sources regarding Anglo-French and Anglo-Hispanic rivalry on the North American continent. The size, quality, organization, accessibility, and reputation of the Colonial Records Collection has attracted scholars from throughout North America and Europe. In recent years a large number of students have traveled to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to utilize Center materials because of the collection’s comparative ease of use. A useful guide to the Center's archival holdings and supporting secondary sources can be found in Conrad and Brasseaux, A Selected Bibliography of Scholarly Literature on Colonial Louisiana and New France.
				French Materials | Spanish Materials | Louisiana Materials | British Materials Upper Louisiana Materials | Mexican Materials | Photographic Collection
				THE COLLECTIONS The Center contains microfilm copies of manuscript materials deposited in various French and Spanish archives as well as several Louisiana courthouses and churches. These materials relate primarily to the French and Spanish experiences in the Mississippi Valley (1682-1803) and, to a lesser extent, New France, Acadia, Saint-Domingue, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Cayenne. FRENCH MATERIALS: Of primary importance to scholars of the French colonial era in North America are the documents in the Archives des Colonies section of France's Archives Nationales. This large body of correspondence is divided into several series which vary greatly in significance regarding the colonial history of the Mississippi Valley. Researchers interested in the exploration and development of the American interior, therefore, should examine carefully the description of each archival subseries. France. Archives des Colonies. » Series A. Royal decrees and other acts of the king. Selections from volumes 2, 3, 5, 8, 22, 23, 25, 28, 29, 100, 101, 125. » Series B. Orders, memoranda, and instructions of the king and the ministers of the Marine. Complete from volume 1 (1667) through volume 149 (1774), with selections from volumes 158, 178, 236, 238. » Series C. General correspondence from the Colonies. »» Subseries 9a. "St. Domingue, General Correspondence." Selections from volume I through 40. »» Subseries 11a. "Canada and dependencies, Acadia, Ile St. Jean, and Ile Royale, General Correspondence." This subseries is composed of the documents received from the colonial administrators of New France. Complete, volumes 1-130. »» Subseries 11b and 11g. "Canada in general." Scattered selections. »» Subseries 11d. "Acadia." Complete, volumes 1-10. »» Subseries 13a. "Louisiana General Correspondence." This subseries contains the documents received from the colonial administrators of Louisiana. Also included is considerable information on English and Spanish colonial enterprises in North America. Complete, volume 1 (1694) to volume 54 (1807). »» Subseries 13b. "Louisiana, General Correspondence, Supplement." Complete, one volume: 1699-1782. »» Subseries 13c. "Louisiana, General Correspondence, Supplement." Complete, 5 volumes: 1673-1782. » Series D. Colonial Troops. »» Subseries 2c. Commissions, appointments, and dismissals. Numerous selections from volumes 2, 50, 51, 52. Scattered selections from volumes 3, 4, 54, 59, 65. »» Subseries 2d. Primarily lists of colonial officers and soldiers. Numerous selections from volume 10. » Series F1a. "Colonial Accounts, Records, Expense Accounts, and Orders for Payments." Scattered selections from volumes 10, 30, 31, 38. » Series F3. "The Moreau de St.-Méry Collection." Selections from volumes 3, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 24, 25, 67, 70, 71, 241. » Series F5a. "Religious Missions." Selections from volume 3. » Series F5b. "Passengers." Numerous selections from volumes 34 and 37. » Series G1. "Civil List." Scattered selections from volumes 75, 77. Complete, volumes 412, 464, 465. France: Archives des Affaires Etrangéres » Mémoires et Documents, Amérique. Contains considerable information and opinions regarding Canada, Louisiana, and colonial rivalry in North America. Complete, volumes 1 through 4. Selections from volumes 6-12, 16, 20-22, 24, 25, 33. » Mémoires et Documents, Espagne. A few selections. » Mémoires et Documents, Etats-Unis. Selections from volumes 1, 2, 4-10, 14, 15, 18. » Mémoires et Documents, Etats-Unis, Supplément. Numerous selections from volumes 1-8, 11-13, 16, 17, 26, 27, 28, 30. France: Archives de la Guerre This archive is divided into two areas: archives historiques and archives administratives. The holdings of the Louisiana Colonial Records Collection are from the archives historiques and primarily from the division of correspondence. France: Archives de la Marine » Series B1. Minutes of the Council of Marine. Numerous selections from volumes 8 and 9. Scattered selections from volumes 19-21, 29, 30, 41, 42, 50. » Series B2. Letters and Orders to Port Officials and Naval Officers. Two selections from volume 141. Two selections from volume 290. » Series B4. Deals extensively with the period of the American Revolution. Contains some materials extracted from Series B2 and B3. Scattered selections from volumes 9, 19-21, 23, 25, 37, 43-45, 50, 62, 67, 73, 81, 115. France: Depôt des Cartes et Plans de la Marine (Hydrographic Service) » Section d'Outre Mer. This collection contains 8 reels of miscellaneous materials from Series 3 JJ and 24 reels from miscellaneous materials from Series 4 JJ. Numerous selections from volumes 62, 67, 111, 115, 135. Scattered selections from other volumes. In addition to documents from the foregoing the Louisiana Colonial Records Collection of the Center for Louisiana Studies also incorporates items from the Bibliothéque de l'Arsenal, Bibliothéque de l’Institut, and the Bibliothéque Nationale. Top of Page SPANISH MATERIALS: The Collection also boasts a large body of Spanish documents drawn primarily from the Papeles Procedentes de Cuba and the Audiencia de Santo Domingo collections of Spain's Archivo General de Indias. These materials constitute a rich, but largely untapped source of social, economic, and administrative history in the late eighteenth-century Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast areas. Also valuable are the gubernatorial papers incorporated into the Papeles and Audiencia legajos. Spain. Papeles Procedentes de Cuba. » Legajos: I-3A, 3B, 4-8, 9A, 10-12, 14, 15A, 15B, 16, 18-21, 25A, 25B, 26, 27A, 27B, 28-35, 39, 40, 41-43, 46-49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 71A, 71B, 76, 81, 82, 85, 100, 107, 109-112, 120, 122A, 122B, 127, 129-131, 137A, 137B, 142, 159B, 160A-165A, 181, 187A-221B, 576, 633, 674, 1054-1055, 1109, 1145-1147, 2357, 2358, 2360-2365, 2366, 2368, 2370. 281 reels. Spain. Audiencia de Santo Domingo. » Legajos: 2529-2540, 2542-2583, 2585-2590, 2594-2626, 2628--2634, 2637-2652, 2654-2657, 2660-2662, 2664-2670, 2672-2674, 2676--2679, 2684, 2686-2689. 140 reels. California. Bancroft library. » Carondelet Papers: Letters from the Governor Carondelet Collection, Bancroft Library, University of California, 1792-1796. 2 reels. Top of Page LOUISIANA MATERIALS: Although many colonial documents were taken to Europe by withdrawing French and Spanish administrators, a large body of eighteenth-century materials remains in Louisiana. These documents, consisting primarily of civil and ecclesiastical records, are scattered about the state in numerous churches and parochial courthouses. The following materials have been acquired by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette: » Ascension Parish Original Acts, 1770-1803. 5 reels. » Assumption Parish Original Acts, 1770-1803. 4 reels. » Avoyelles Parish Colonial Records, 1786-1803. 2 reels. » Darby Abstracts, 1775-1949. 1 reel. » Deliberations of the Cabildo, 1769-1803. 5 reels. » East Baton Rouge Parish Original Acts, Spanish Period, 8 reels. » Iberville Parish Original Acts, 1770-1803. 7 reels. » Natchitoches Parish Registers, volumes 1-3. 1 reel. » New Orleans Notarial Records, 1764-1803. 47 reels. » Notre Dame du Fort Condé de la Mobile Catholic Church Registers, 1704-1764. 1 reel. » Pointe Coupée Parish Civil Records, 1771-1803. 10 reels. » Records of the Diocese of Louisiana and the Floridas, 1576-1803. 12 reels. » Records of the States, Louisiana, 1730-1803. 10 reels. » St. Charles Parish Original Acts, 1740-1803. 13 reels. » St. Gabriel Catholic Church Register, 1773-1859. 1 reel. » St. John Parish Original Acts, 1770-1803. 11 reels. » St. Landry des Opelousas Catholic Church Register, 1764-1803. 1 reel. » St. Landry Parish Colonial Records, 1764-1789. 7 reels. » St. Martin Parish Original Acts, 1760-1830. 11 reels. Top of Page BRITISH MATERIALS: The Center's British holdings consist of two major collections: the Seven Years' War papers and the British West Florida records. The former collection contains military and administrative materials concerning Britain's war for imperial supremacy in North America, while the West Florida papers pertain to local administration, Indian affairs, and diplomatic relations with Spanish Louisiana. Particularly significant to Louisiana studies are the Montfort Browne letters in the West Florida papers relating to the New Orleans Rebellion of 1768. British Public Record Office, Colonial Office, Class 5 files. » Seven Years' War materials, 1754-1763. 8 reels. » British West Florida papers, Volumes 573-590. 6 reels. British Museum. » Haldimand Papers. Correspondence with General Gage, 1758-1777, Volume 4. Add. 21,665. 1 reel. » Returns of His Majesty's Forces, Volume 1, Nov. 1768-Nov. 1769. Add. 29,256. 1 reel. » Ynforme sobre las provincias de Texas y Luisiana. Ynforme del Capitan Atanasio de Mezières de Colonel Baron y Riperda sobre las nacions. Add. 17,567. 1 reel. UPPER LOUISIANA MATERIALS: Colonial Louisiana encompassed the entire Mississippi Valley, and the Center has consequently begun to acquire materials pertaining to the region formerly called "upper Louisiana," present-day Illinois and Missouri. The Center has recently purchased copies of all extant civil records from French colonial Illinois. These materials constitute the single most important source for social history and demographics in the colonial Mississippi Valley. » Illinois State Archives. Kaskaskia Manuscripts, 1714-1816. 14 reels. Top of Page MEXICAN MATERIALS: The Center has acquired a small number of documents relating to the border tensions between Spanish Texas and French Louisiana, and particularly with the efforts of Louis Juchereau de St.-Denis and others to smuggle goods into Spanish Territory. » Spain. Audiencia de Guadalajara legajos 274, 275. 1 reel. A GUIDE TO THE PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTION » The Sugar Industry Photographic Archive. 1,200 images. » The Louisiana Parish Photographic Archive. 2,000 images. » The Farm Security Administration Photographic Collection of Depression-Era Louisiana. 400 images. » The Louisiana Folklife Photographic Archive. 300 images. » Small Town Louisiana Photographic Archive. 5,000 images. Top of Page
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