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Louisiana Creole people traditionally are descended from French and Spanish colonial settlers in Louisiana. Before the Civil War, the term was used generally for those people exclusively of French and Spanish descent whose families were settled in Louisiana before the Louisiana Purchase. Most Creoles lived in the greater New Orleans area, both city and suburbs. The term was first used during colonial times by the settlers to refer to those who were born in the colony, as opposed to those born in France. In New Orleans, the word Créole then applied only to people of European descent. In New Orleans' French Quarter, the word Creole is everywhere and refers to the culture of these White Creoles. Later the term was also applied to those individuals of mixed heritage born in Louisiana. However, both groups have common European heritage and in most cases are related to each other and share cultural ties.
Today, two types of Creoles exist in Louisiana. The former French Creoles are descendants of Europeans of French/Spanish descent in the New Orleans area; secondly, the term "Creoles of color", a 19th-century term, came to refer to mixed-race people of African and European ancestry (primarily French and Spanish, although later of additional ethnicities). Some Creoles of color may also have Native American heritage. Both groups of Creoles (European ancestry and Creoles of color) may have additional heritages, such as German, Irish or Italian, related to later immigrants. Most modern Creoles have family ties to Louisiana, particularly New Orleans; they are mostly Catholic in religion and through the nineteenth century, most spoke French and have had a major impact on the states culture.