Arkansas Post, the first European settlement in what would become Jefferson’s Louisiana, had an important mission as the only settlement between Natchez and the Illinois Country, a stretch of more than eight hundred miles along the Mississippi River. The Post was a stopping point for shelter and supplies for those travelling by boat or land, and it was of strategic importance as well, as it nurtured and sustained a crucial alliance with the Quapaw Indians, the only tribe that occupied the region.
The Arkansas Post of Louisiana covers the most essential aspects of the Post’s history, including the nature of the European population, their social life, the economy, the architecture, and the political and military events that reflected and shaped the Post’s mission.
Beautifully illustrated with maps, portraits, lithographs, photographs, documents, and superb examples of Quapaw hide paintings, The Arkansas Post of Louisiana is a perfect introduction to this fascinating place at the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers, a place that served as a multicultural gathering spot, and became a seminal part of the history of Arkansas and the nation.
Morris S. Arnold has been writing about colonial Arkansas for thirty-five years, with five books and many articles on the subject. The French government named Arnold a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques in 1994 for his work on the colonial period, and he is also winner of the Ragsdale History Prize, the Booker Worthen Literary Prize, the Porter Literary Prize, and the Arkansiana Award.
His books include The Rumble of a Distant Drum, Unequal Laws Unto a Savage Race, and Arkansas: A Narrative History.
“This will be an excellent addition for public schools, libraries and the casual explorer of Arkansas, Louisiana Métis, Quapaws, French Louisiana, and colonial artwork. In sum, Morris Arnold’s new book provides a colorful gateway to Arkansas’s long history.”
—John Truden, Louisiana History, Fall 2018
“A cultural history where many people undoubtedly thought there was no culture… Morris S. Arnold has incisively combined indigenous, French, and Spanish threads to produce a remarkable gem. It will serve as a model for historians who wish to explore their own states’ past.”
—Gilbert C. Din, winner of the Williams Prize of the Historic New Orleans Collection
