New Orleans - It's History
From its beginnings, New Orleans has been locked to the Mississippi River, the cause for New Orleans' wealth. It was originally colonized when Robert de LaSalle came down the Mississippi River from Canada, claiming the entire Mississippi river basin for France. The area of Louisiana was named in honor of King Louis XIV. At first, nobody wanted to settle on such low ground, so the settlers started north in Baton Rouge. But it just wasn't right for a major port city. In 1718 Jean Baptiste La Moyne, Sieur de Bienville established New Orleans as the capital city of Louisiana to control the wealth of North America. Going south proved to be a better location for the type of port wanted.
The French referred to New Orleans as the Isle d'Orleans, because of the rivers, lakes, and swamps surrounding the city. New Orleans was far better than the surrounding swamps and soon became a dwelling place for tourists of the Mississippi. So already, New Orleans was a popular tourist site.
From 1718 to 1810, New Orleans had a very distinct European quality, from the wooden walls to the simple and plain buildings. During the eighteenth century, the growth of the colony was long and tedious. It remained in French hands until 1763, when the Treat of Paris was signed. The treaty forced France to cede Canada and all territory between the Appalachians and Mississippi, including most of Florida and Louisiana north of Lake Ponchartrain, to Britain. The rest of Louisiana, including New Orleans, was handed over to the Bourbons of Spain. New Orleans was not really a "city" until well into the Spanish period. As a result of natural disasters such as fires and hurricanes, the Vieux Carre is Spanish, not French.
New Orleans, under Spanish rule became a town of drinking and carousing. The settlers became mostly pirates, river boatsmen, soldiers, and citizens of all races. Spanish rule came to an end in 1803 and both the Creoles and Anglo-Saxons welcomed the end of Spanish rule. Creoles stated that Spain's political rule threatened their French heritage. Anglo-Saxons welcomed the increase of American trade, government, and society that would eventually come to New Orleans. The city's economy drastically expanded after the rule of Spain in 1803.
American annexation, as expected, brought population growth and economic development. In 1810 New Orleans was named the fifth largest city in the United States. By the 1830's there were three main sections of the city: the original French Quarter, the American sector, and Fauberg Marigny, which was the section just above Canal Street. The Garden District was established in the 1830's and 1840's. By 1852 the city grew up the river to Louisiana Avenue forming Lafayette. Also, in the 1850's Jefferson City was formed as the area between Louisiana Avenue and Jefferson Avenue. Across the river from the French Quarter, Algiers was expanded into yet another small city. And so the formation of all these small sectors is what built New Orleans into what we see now.
On the next few pages, we’ll explore some of the places and history that make New Orleans a truly historic city and how we know it today.