History of Louisiana- an overview
The history of the present US state of Louisiana started about a thousand years ago when the indigenous people of the area inhabited it. The first permanent settlement is reported back to the archaic period,5500 years ago.
People started inhabiting the Mississippi region around 800 ad, referred to as the woodland period. Other civilizations emerging around the same time included the Marksville and the tchefuncte cultures, which were ancestors of the people of Natchez and taensa.
Read also: how-did-the-us-acqired-louisiana-territory?
Arrival of Europeans
Europeans started arriving in the late 1500s. It soon became a french colony and was named la Louisiane, after the french king Louis XIV. Spain then occupied Louisiana around the 1770s. The US proposed the Louisiana purchase treaty in 1803, according to which the area would be divided into two territories, the Orlean territory, and the Louisiana district.
The arrival of Creoles and slaves
Thousands of refugees arrived in Louisiana from the saint Dominican regions during the Haitian revolution of the 1790s. These emigrants included creoles and enslaved people. Some refugees migrated to Cuba but were expelled and came to Louisiana around 1809. The settlements of creoles enlarged the french community in Louisiana.
Read also: what-was-the-result-of-the-louisiana-purchase?
The Slave Revolt of 1811
The largest slave revolt in the history of America took place around 1811, during which more than 500 enslaved people had risen onto the german coast and marched 20 miles in the city. The US troops, along with the help of the citizen militias, had to gather for suppressing the revolt.
The US acquired Louisiana
The united states won the battle of New Orleans against Europe, and Louisiana officially became the 18th state of the US on 30th April 1812.
However, the western Louisiana regions were in constant disputes with the Spanish texas till the ratification of the adam-onis treaty of 1819. By 1840, New Orleans had become one of the wealthiest cities in the US.
