Beautiful Crescent: A History of New Orleans by John B. Garvey, Mary Lou Widmer

sell. In this matter, he was in constant conflict with his Intendant, Juan Morales.
    The Treaty of San Lorenzo
    In 1795, Spain and America signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo , in which Spain granted Americans the right of free navigation on the Mississippi River and the right of deposit at New Orleans for three years. Although the right of deposit expired in 1798, the privilege continued until 1802, when Morales ordered it stopped.
    Flatboatsmen and Keelboatsmen
    After the American Revolution, much of the goods coming into New Orleans and subject to the right of deposit were carried in on the keelboats and flatboats of the New Americans. The men were called “Kaintocks” by the Creoles, and they were a dirty, noisy bunch of rogues and scalawags. For more than four decades, keelboatsmen were on the river bringing flour, coffee, soap, textiles, and shoes to the people of New Orleans.
    They traveled in canoes, rafts, ferryboats, and scows, all manpowered or pulled by mules on the river banks. They came from Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Ohio, areas whose population was increasing rapidly. They were strong, practical, and tough. Physical strength was needed to push, pull, and maneuver the loaded ships to their destination. Flatboats were propelled with two great oars. Keelboats were moved by one long oar in the center of the boat. Crewmen also used poles to push the boat along, which was steered by a giant rudder. These men often sold their boats with the goods and then traveled back upriver on horseback, following the old Indian trail, the Natchez Trace.
    Their flatboats were then broken up and the gunwales, the long fore- and aft- planes, were sold for paving streets and banquettes (sidewalks) and for house construction. The rest of the timber was sold for firewood.
    Keelboatsmen had appetites to match the roughness of their trade. On reaching port, they sold their merchandise. Then, they were ready for their whiskey, women, and gambling. Dens of vice, such as those on Tchoupitoulas Street near the river, on Gallatin Street, and in the “swamp” on Girod Street at the river’s edge, supplied their needs. Fistfights were inevitable. The Creoles deplored these men. They considered all Americans to be like the “Kaintocks ” in the beginning, and thus the battle lines were drawn between the Creoles and the Americans.
    Insurrection in Saint Domingue
    Until now, we have used the name Santo Domingo to refer to the island of Hispaniola, discovered by Columbus in 1492 and claimed for Spain, who called their colony Santo Domingo. In the 1600s, French colonists settled the western part of the island, which Spain gave to France in 1697 through the Treaty of Ryswick. The French called their colony Saint Domingue. It was a sugar-growing colony where a bloody insurrection occurred in 1791.
    The successful slave uprising was led by Toussaint L’Ouverture against the white plantation owners, whom they outnumbered ten to one. After a Voodoo ceremony of crazed dancing and the drinking of animal blood, a half million black slaves revolted against fifty thousand whites and an equal number of privileged mulattoes. Plantations were destroyed, and two thousand white islanders were killed.
    By 1804, shiploads of whites and free men of color from the island poured into New Orleans. Many of these gens de couleur libres were artisans, craftsmen, and sculptors, who would add to the talent and literacy of the city’s population and help to build the beautiful monuments, tombstones, and iron balconies that still grace its streets. The quadroon women were to become the beautiful concubines of song and story, so desired by the Creole men of the city.
    Social Improvements
    Living standards were high for those who could afford them. There were handsome houses, lavish furnishings, and elegant clothes. The most important piece of furniture in the Creole household was the armoire. The next in importance was the iron or brass bed. In fact, part of the