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PAGE 42
| Pierre-Louis
Berquin-Duvallon was born in
St. Dominque and, at the time of the revolution, left the island for Baltimore. In 1800 he came to New
Orleans, traveled through Louisiana, and purchased a plantation on the Tchoupitoulas Coast where he
wrote the travel account for which he is remembered. His account of his travels in Louisiana and the
Floridas was first published in French in 1803, translated into German in 1804 and into English (in an
abridged version) two years later.
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On these pages, he describes New Orleans as it existed a scant eight years after the disastrous fire of
1794, with its muddy, dirty streets (a common complaint of visitors to the city) and its few public buildings.
He focuses, however, on the "small theatre" near the center of town, where he attended "several dramas
performed with considerable ability." The theatre was probably the St. Peter Street Theatre, the first theatre
in the city, which operated from 1792 to 1810. Berquin-Duvallon, who did not have too many compliments to
pay to New Orleans, seemed surprised to find such signs of culture in the colony. View a page
from this book
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