Who lives in St. Bernard Parish?

Canary Islanders of St. Bernard Parish, LA

The Canary Islands are a collection of 7 islands about 100 miles west of the coast of Morocco. Spaniards conquered the area and migrated to the island in the 15th and 16th century. By the 18th century, the islands were controlled by nobles.
Since the late 1600s, Spain had encouraged the Canary Islanders to move to the Caribbean colonies. After Spain acquired Louisiana in 1762, it recognized the need to populate the territory. When the Revolutionary War brought the English in conflict with the American colonies, Spain recognized the danger from possible English hostilities in Louisiana. On August 15, 1777, Spain ordered a second battalion be formed in Louisiana. It looked to the Canary Islands for 700 recruits. It tried to get married recruits so that they could not only defend the area, but also populate it an establish permanent settlements. Today, the descendants of this migration are mainly the "waterman" of the thriving Saint Bernard Parish fishing and trapping industries. Still referring to themselves as Isleños" (descendants of the Canary Island immigration), this group has remained uncommonly compact, retaining much of the flavor and family unity of their cultural origins. From 1778 to 1783 more than two thousand Canary Islanders were sent to Louisiana. The majority of the Canary Islanders were placed in settlements at Galveztown, Valenzuela, St. Bernard, and Barataria. Although they suffered many hardships, many of the Canarian settlers survived and eventually adapted to the low, flat topography and hot, humid weather of their new homeland. Today their descendants are scattered throughout the state and far beyond, and many Hispanic surnames remain to recall the legacy of the Canary Islander settlers in Louisiana.