The French Colonial Period In the Illinois Country,1673-1765:  A Select Bibliography
By B. Pierre Lebeau, Professor of History Emeritus, North Central College (Continued)
 

SECONDARY SOURCES:

Allain, Mathé.  "Not Worth a Straw" French Colonial Policy and the Early Years of Louisiana.  Lafayette:  University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1988.
Well documented, compact and clearly written account of French official policies with regard to Louisiana from its founding to 1831.  Useful for the understanding of the political and economic background of early Louisiana.

Alvord, Clarence Walworth.  The Illinois Country 1673-1818.  The Centennial History of Illinois, Vol. I.  Springfield:  The Illinois Centennial Commission,1920; reprint ed., Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987.
Although dated, this is still the best introduction to the early history of Illinois.  Treatment of the subject is broad and generally accurate.  Although presented in a scholarly form, the work is easily read and should appeal to the general reader.

Arnold, Morris S.  Unequal Laws Unto a Savage Race: European Legal Traditions in Arkansas, 1686-1836.  Fayetteville, Arkansas: The University of Arkansas Press, 1985.
The first chapter describes the French legal system and practices in use in the Mississippi Valley.  The important role of notaries is explained.

________.  Colonial Arkansas, 1686-1804.  Fayetteville, Arkansas:  University of Arkansas Press, 1991.
This well researched and elegantly told social history of French Arkansas is very useful to understand the lifestyle of the French and their social and governmental structures in the whole Mississippi Valley.

Balesi, Charles J.  The Time of the French in the Heart of North America.  Chicago: Alliance Française Chicago, 1991.
This survey of French Colonial Illinois, from the French viewpoint, is well documented and makes use of recent scholarship.  It includes interesting chapters on the French habitants, their Black slaves, and their relations with the Indians.

Beers, Henry Putney.  The French & British in the Old Northwest.  A Bibliographical Guide to Archive and Manuscript Sources.  Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1964.
Describes records of the French Regime available in the U.S., Canada, and France.  Of importance to any one interested in local, social, and religious history.

Belting, Natalia Maree.  Kaskaskia Under the French Regime.  Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences, Vol. XXIX, No. 3.  Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1948; reprint ed., New Orleans: Polyanthos, 1975.
This work describes the daily life in Kaskaskia.  Based on the Kaskaskia Manuscripts and Parish Registers, it reconstructs the social structure, activities, and customs of the French.  Includes extracts from the Parish Registers and notes on the 1752 census.

Briggs, Winstanley.  "The Forgotten Colony: Le Pays des Illinois."  Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Chicago, 1985.
A comparison of the social structure, economy, government and mentalité of French Illinois with the societies of early Canada, colonial New England and Ancien Regime France.

________.    "Slavery in French Colonial Illinois."  Chicago History 18 (Winter 1989-90): 66-81.

Brown, Margaret Kimball.  "Allons, Cowboys."  Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 76 (1983): 273-282.
Cattle and horse drive from Illinois to Fort St. Francis, Arkansas River, 1739.

________ and Lawrie Cena Dean.  The French Colony in the Mid-Mississippi Valley.  American Kestrel Books.  Carbondale, Illinois:  American Resources Group, 1995.
A short, but well documented and illustrated depiction of the settlements in the French Colonial District.

Caruso, John Anthony.  The Mississippi Valley Frontier.  The Age of French Exploration and Settlement.  Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1966.
Chapters on Indian history, the French explorers, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Creole society.  Maps, bibliography.  Dated.

Clark, John G. La Rochelle and the Atlantic Economy during the Eighteenth Century.  Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981.
This work is essential for persons interested in the trade between France and the American colonies.

Clifton, James A.  The Prairie People. Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture 1665-1965.  Lawrence: The Regents Press of Kansas, 1977.
Provides more detailed information than Edmunds regarding the influence of the French on tribal structure and customs.

Donnelly, Joseph S. J.  Jacques Marquette.  Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1968.
Still the standard work on the life of Father Marquette.

Eccles, William J.  France in America, 2nd ed.  East Lansing, MI:  Michigan State University Press, 1990.
Still the most authoritative study of the French presence in North America from 1500 to 1783.  Essential reading to understand the social, economic and political structures in New France and Louisiana.  Besides corrections and revisions throughout the book, chapter 8 has been completely rewritten.

Edmunds, R. David.  The Potawatomis Keepers of the Fire.  Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1978.
The first five chapters provide important information on the relations between the French and the Indians from the 17th century through the beginning of the 19th century.

________ and Joseph L. Peyser.  The Fox Wars.  The Mesquakie Challenge to New France.  Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.
A narrative of the conflict between the Fox and the French over trade with the Sioux.  As the French attempted to annihilate the Fox, much of the action took place in the northern part of the Illinois Country

Ekberg, Carl J.  Colonial Ste. Genevieve.  An Adventure on the Mississippi Frontier, 2nd ed.  Tucson, AZ:  The Patrice Press, 1996.
An impressively well researched social history of Ste. Genevieve, a French village on the west side of the Mississippi during the second half of the 18th century.

________.  French Roots in the Illinois Country.  The Mississippi Frontier in Colonial Times.  Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998.
The definitive work regarding social structures and agricultural life in the Illinois Country during the colonial period.

________.  "Agriculture, Mentalités, and Violence on the Illinois Frontier."  Illinois Historical Journal  88 (1995): 101-116.
The purpose of this article is to show that the communal system of agriculture in colonial Illinois resulted in a "remarkable degree of community solidarity" which reduced violent activities in contrast with the traits displayed by the Anglo-Americans who came later.

________  with Anton J. Pregaldin.  "Marie Rouensa and the Foundations of French Illinois."  Illinois Historical Journal 84 (1991):  146-160.
Marie Rouensa was the daughter of Chief Rouensa of the Kaskaskia tribe.  Converted to Catholicism, she married Michel Accault, a voyageur.  After his death she married Michel Philippe, a French settler.  The story of her family reflects the social and economic changes in early French Illinois. 

________.  Louis Bolduc.  His Family and His House.  Tucson, AZ: The Patrice Press, 2002.

________.  François Vallé and His World. Upper Louisiana Before Lewis and Clark.  Columbia, MO:  University of Missouri Press, 2002.

    This biography of one of the wealthiest individuals in Upper Louisiana is based entirely on primary source documents.  It sheds additional light on life in Ste. Genevieve during the French and Spanish colonial periods.  Of special interest is the chapter that deals with “Missouri’s Original Black Families.”