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“In French speaking areas like Louisiana rich, white men didn't usually get married until they were in their late twenties or early thirties. They weren't expected to go without sex though, in fact they were expected to be very sexually experienced by the time they got married. This caused problems though because white women were still expected to remain chaste and pure before they got married.
The solution was what were called "left-hand marriages." These were civil unions between a white man and a free woman of color, organized by their parents when they were both in their late teens. Black communities and families generally recognized these marriages as fully legitimate but they weren't in any way legally binding for the white man or his family.
They would live together like a married couple and she would satisfy him sexually and even have his children. The wealthiest families might provide the girl with a house of her own and a college fund for their children but not everyone could afford that.
Of course the day would come when the white man would get married for real. Every left-hand "wife" knew that she would one day be usurped by a younger, wealthier white woman who would be his legal wife and bare him white children who would inherit his family's wealth and perpetuate the cycle for another generation.
What happened to the black girl after that depended entirely on the will of White man. Many were simply tossed aside, left to raise their mixed-race children on their own. Some might be kept in a separate home away from home that he could vacation to when he needed a break from married life. Still others might actually end up still living with them full time, kept as a servant or concubine and made to share the same man under the same roof.”
The solution was what were called "left-hand marriages." These were civil unions between a white man and a free woman of color, organized by their parents when they were both in their late teens. Black communities and families generally recognized these marriages as fully legitimate but they weren't in any way legally binding for the white man or his family.
They would live together like a married couple and she would satisfy him sexually and even have his children. The wealthiest families might provide the girl with a house of her own and a college fund for their children but not everyone could afford that.
Of course the day would come when the white man would get married for real. Every left-hand "wife" knew that she would one day be usurped by a younger, wealthier white woman who would be his legal wife and bare him white children who would inherit his family's wealth and perpetuate the cycle for another generation.
What happened to the black girl after that depended entirely on the will of White man. Many were simply tossed aside, left to raise their mixed-race children on their own. Some might be kept in a separate home away from home that he could vacation to when he needed a break from married life. Still others might actually end up still living with them full time, kept as a servant or concubine and made to share the same man under the same roof.”
