nd natural breeding among themselves. La Harpe comments in
1724 upon the astonishing diminution of the white population and the
astounding increase of the colored population.[10] Something was
undoubtedly wrong, according to the Caucasian standard, and it has remained
wrong to our own day.[11] The person of color was now, in Louisiana, a
part of its social system, a creature to be legislated for and against, a
person lending his dark shade to temper the inartistic complexion of his
white master. Now he began to make history, and just as the trail of his
color persisted in the complexion of Louisiana, so the trail of his
personal influence continued in the history of the colony, the territory
and the State.

Bienville, the man of far-reaching vision, saw the danger menacing the
colony, and before his recall and disgrace before the French court, he
published, in 1724, the famous Black Code.[12] This code followed the
order of that of the West Indies but contains some provisions to meet
local needs. The legal status of the slave was that of movable property of
his master. Children born of Negro parents followed the condition of their
mother. Slaves were forbidden to carry weapons. Slaves of different
masters could not assemble in crowds by day or night. They were not
permitted to sell "commodities, provisions, or produce" without permission
from their masters, and had no property which did not belong to their
masters. Neither free-born blacks nor slaves were allowed to receive gifts
from whites. They could not exercise such public functions as arbitrator
or expert, could not be partners to civil or criminal suits, could not
give testimony except in default of white people, and could never testify
against their masters. If a slave struck his master or one of the family
so as to produce a bruise or shedding blood in the face, he had to be put
to death. Any runaway slave who continued to be so from the day his master
"denounced" him suffered the penalty of having his ears cut off and being
branded on his shoulder with a fleur-de-lis. For a second offence the
penalty was to hamstring the fugitive and brand him on the other shoulder.
For the third such offence he suffered death. Freed or free-born Negroes
who gave refuge to fugitive slaves had to pay 30 livres for each day of
retention and other free persons 10 livres a day. If the freed or
free-born Negroes were not able to pay the fine, they could be reduced to
the condition o