French Heritage

Over the course of the 240 years that separated Giovanni da Verrazano's voyage of exploration in 1524 and the dismantling of New France in 1763, the French cleared and divided the land, established villages and cities, built a network of roads and trails, and transformed and adapted their environment according to their needs.

Beginning with only a few small colonized areas, mainly found along the St. Lawrence River in the 17th century, the French journeyed through a large part of North America. New France extended from Hudson Bay in the north to the mouth of the Mississippi in the south and from Acadia in the east to the foothills of the Rockies in the west.
edited from: Canadian Museum of Civilization

For more information: Virtual Museum of New France

The Code Noir, or Black Code, was a decree passed by France's King Louis XIV in 1685. The Code Noir ordered all Jews out of the colony, forbade the exercise of any other religion, other than the "Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith", restricted the activities of free Blacks (affranchis) and defined the brutal conditions of slavery in the French colonial empire. This law was in effect for several centuries, although the slave-masters often ignored all provisions dealing with the rights of slaves and continued their cruel exploitation with impunity.

Ste. Genevieve, being loyal French and French-Canadian subjects adheared closely to the edict, but were generally more humane toward the slaves than either the Spanish or the British in the 18th century. Click on the link to read more about the subject on Wikipedia's Louverture Project.

Shown is the traditional Gavotte dance done periodically at the Felix Vallé House State Historic Site. The gavotte (also gavot or gavote) originated as a French folk dance, taking its name from the Gavot people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné, where the dance originated.

The dance is done in Ste. Genevieve as part of the veillée, or evening gathering, that includes storytelling as well as dancing. The veillée was held in French households during the early 1800s and has become a summer tradition at the Vallé's home.

Visitors to this historic site spend an evening in a historic atmosphere watching French folk dances performed by site staff and community volunteers in period costume. Typical folk dances, like the Gavotte de Pont Aven, are demonstrated on the lawn in the garden. Visitors at the celebration are invited to learn one of the dances and join the troupe of dancers in the grande finale.

This video was recorded during Ste. Genevieve's French Heritage Festival.