The French in Texas : history, migration, culture / Francois Lagarde, editor.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Lagarde, François, 1949-

Series:

Focus on American history series.

Focus on American history series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

French Americans--Texas--History.

French Americans.

French Americans--Migrations.

French Americans--Texas--Intellectual life.

Texas--History.

Texas.

Texas--Civilization.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (345 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The flag of France is one of the six flags that have flown over Texas, but all that many people know about the French presence in Texas is the ill-fated explorer Cavelier de La Salle, fabled pirate Jean Laffite, or Cajun music and food. Yet the French have made lasting contributions to Texas history and culture that deserve to be widely known and appreciated. In this book, François Lagarde and thirteen other experts present original articles that explore the French presence and influence on Texas history, arts, education, religion, and business from the arrival of La Salle in 1685 to 2002. Each article covers an important figure or event in the France-Texas story. The historical articles thoroughly investigate early French colonists and explorers, the French pirates and privateers, the Bonapartists of Champ-d'Asile, the French at the Alamo, Dubois de Saligny and French recognition of the Republic of Texas, the nineteenth-century utopists of Icaria and Reunion, and the French Catholic missions. Other articles deal with French immigration in Texas, including the founding of Castroville, Cajuns in Texas, and the French economic presence in Texas today (the first such study ever published). The remaining articles look at painters Théodore and Marie Gentilz, sculptor Raoul Josset, French architecture in Texas, French travelers from Théodore Pavie to Simone de Beauvoir who have written on Texas, and the French heritage in Texas education. More than seventy color and black-and-white illustrations complement the text.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: Introduction

FRANCOIS LAGARDE

ix 1. The Wreck of Ships and Dreams: A New Look at the Explorer La Salle

ROBERT S. WEDDLE

I

2. Exploring the Texas Coast: Bellisle, Beranger, and La Harpe, 1719-1721

ROBERT S. WEDDLE AND PATRICIA R. LEMEE

20

3. Ambivalent Successes and Successful Failures: St. Denis, Aguayo, and Juan Rodriguez

PATRICIA R. LEMEE

35

4. Athanase de M6zieres and the French in Texas, 1750-1803

F. TODD SMITH

46

5. French Pirates and Privateers in Texas

R. DALE OLSON

60

6. Champ d'Asile, Texas

BETJE BLACK KLIER

79

7. Heroes, Villains, Merchants, and Priests: The Alamo's Frenchmen

98

8. Diplomacy, Commerce, and Colonization: Saligny and the Republic

107

9. Grounds for Emigration: Alsace at the Time of Henri Castro

JANINE ERNY

124

10. Henri Castro and Castroville: Alsatian History and Heritage

WAYNE M. AHR

I28

11. French Catholic Missions in Texas, 1840-1880: Propagation and Enterprise

142

12. Birth, Stock, and Work: French Immigration in Texas

I57

13. French Artists in Texas

MARTHA UTTERBACK

178

14. Eugenie Lavender, nee Aubanel: A Romantic on the Frontier

192

15. Building Utopia in the Promised Land:

Icarians and Fourierists in Texas

JONATHAN BEECHER

197

16. Is There French Architecture in Texas?

RICHARD CLEARY

226

17. The Enduring Legacy of the French in Texas Education

ANN MARIE CALDWELL

240

18. French Travelers in Texas: Identity, Myth, and Meaning from Joutel to Butor

ALEXANDRA K. WETTLAUFER

255

19. "Grand Texas": The Cajun Migration to Texas

CARL A. BRASSEAUX

273

20. Raoul Josset and the I936 Texas Centennial

287

21. Global Culture: French Economic Presence in Texas, Summer 2001

293

Epilogue

309 Selected Bibliography

313

Contributors

321

Acknowledgments

323

Index

324.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 313-320) and index.

ISBN:

9780292797802

029279780X

OCLC:

60334020