Indigo and sugar cane at the Destrehan Plantation

Indigo is a plant that grows naturally throughout the world. The blue dye extracted from its leaves is used for painting and for dyeing clothes.

Indigo, which grows naturally in Louisiana, has been extracted commercially since 1721. Thanks to the expertise of slaves from Sene-Gambia where Indigo was well known, the crop developed rapidly in Louisiana.

Since 1790, the Destrehan Plantation has been producing Indigo on a large scale, relying on 56 slaves known as ‘Indigotiers‘ to extract the dye. In 1803, the cultivation of Indigo is replaced by sugar cane in the Destrehan Plantation.

It was the Jesuits who, in 1726, were the first to export sugar cane from Santo Domingo to Louisiana. In 1795, Etienne de Bore, brother-in-law of Jean-Nöel Destrehan, succeeded in crystallizing sugar for the first time.

This was the beginning of an industry that would make Louisiana the richest agricultural region in America.