676. Part 2 of our
conversation with Frances Kolb Turnbell about Spanish Colonial Louisiana. Frances recently published an important history entitled,
Spanish Louisiana: Contest for Borderlands, 1763–1803. What happens when a fading French colony is handed over to a Spanish Empire determined to impose order? In this episode, we dive into Frances Kolb Turnbell’s landmark book, Spanish Louisiana. We explore a Mississippi Valley that was far more than just a line on a map—it was a "fluid zone" where Spanish governors, defiant French colonists, Indigenous diplomats, and enslaved people seeking manumission constantly negotiated the terms of their own freedom.