Focusing on the French Creole communities and agricultural practices on both sides of the Mississippi River, this volume provides a comprehensive history of colonial settlement in the Illinois Country.

Carl Ekberg presents a completely new perspective on Illinois history by examining a number of previously unexplored issues: the medieval style open field agriculture, the first use of African slaves in the region as agricultural laborers, the flour trade between Illinois and New Orleans, and the significance of the different mentalites of French Creoles and Anglo-Americans in early Illinois.