Norbert Rillieux

Norbert Rillieux

Norbert Rillieux is an important nineteenth century inventor often left unrecognized in American history. He was an African-American inventor who lived in Louisiana. Rillieux was born a “quadroon libre” in 1806, to Vincent Rillieux and Constance Vivant. (Jean West) He was deemed a quadroon because he was more than half white and was given the label, libre or free man of color, either because of his father’s or mother’s freedom. His father, Vincent, was a white plantation owner, cotton merchant, and successful inventor; he had invented a steam-operated cotton baling press to be used in cotton warehouses. Constance, Rillieux’s mother, was one of his father’s African-American slaves and was not married to his father because interracial marriage was not allowed in Louisiana at the time. (Jean West) With this as a foundation, racism and slavery played a prominent role in the life of Norbert Rillieux.

In New Orleans, the significant number of free blacks created a unique group of individuals who were “neither slave nor free.” This group was the result of several factors. New Orleans had both French and Spanish predecessors and each of these countries believed in allowing slaves to buy their freedom. However, the majority of free slaves resulted from the mating between white men and black women. This group had more rights than most blacks in American colonies, but did not experience the freedom enjoyed by white men. This is the group in which Rillieux was located. (A Revolution in Sugar Processing)

As a young boy living on his father’s plantation, he observed the despicable conditions of slavery. He saw the dangerous processes slaves had to perform while refining sugar. The process of refining sugar at the time was known as the Jamaica Train. (Jean West)(Cambridge Encyclopedia) In this process, slaves would boil sugar cane in four open kettles. The kettles were called the grande, the flambeau, the sirop, and the batterie. The grande was the largest...