In 1718, Sieur de la Bienville founded a strategic port city five feet below sea level near the juncture of the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico, it had to be reclaimed from a swamp. The new city, or ville, was named La Nouvelle Orléans for Philippe, Duc d’Orléans, and centered around the Place d’Armes (later known as Jackson Square).
New Orleans c.1722
It was confined to the area we now call the French Quarter or Vieux Carré (Old Square). The society that settled on the bend of the Mississippi was French in origin and at heart. Even so, in 1762, either because he lost a bet or because the royal coffers were exhausted, Louis XV gave Louisiana to his Spanish cousin, King Charles III. Spanish rule was relatively short— lasting until 1800— but Spain left its imprint.
In 1788, the city went up in flames, incinerating over 850 buildings. New Orleans was still recovering when a second fire in 1794 destroyed 200 structures.From Spain, Louisiana was ceded back to France and was finally sold by Napoleon to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. At fifteen million dollars, it was one of the greatest real estate bargains in history.
After the sale, Americans arrived en masse. Unwelcome in the Creole enclave of the French Quarter, they settled across Canal Street in the Central Business District. The two factions skirmished often, and the Canal Street median became neutral territory. Ever since, all city medians have been called neutral grounds. Louisiana joined the Union and New Orleans became the state capital. The New Orleans, the first steamboat to navigate the Mississippi successfully, arrived here from Pittsburgh. The voyage inaugurated the booming cotton and tobacco river trade that soon transformed the port of New Orleans into the second wealthiest city (after New York) in the nation.
The war of 1812 began, culminating in the Battle of New Orleans, three years later. In 1815, British troops attacked New Orleans and tried to persuade pirate Jean Lafitte to join them. Instead, Lafitte offered his men and guns to the commander of the U.S. troops, General Andrew Jackson. On the morning of January 8, a polyglot band of 4,000 militia, frontiersmen, former Haitian slaves, and pirates outfought 8,000 British veterans at Chalmette Battlefield, just a few miles east of the French Quarter. Only eight Americans died. English casualties exceeded 2,000.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, New Orleans dominated the Caribbean as the most active port city and trade destination for island crops like sugar cane, rum, tobacco and fruit.
Thousands of refugees arrived from the Caribbean following the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to 1804. Following the revolution, thousands more gens de couleur libres, or free people of color, arrived in New Orleans. Most were from Senegambia, now the area in Central Africa known as Benin. Their presence effectively doubled the size of the city.
New Orleans c.1873
By the mid 1800s, the city in the bend of the river became the fourth largest in the U.S. and one of the richest, dazzling visitors with chic Parisian couture, fabulous restaurants and sophisticated culture.
Society centered around the French Opera House, where professional opera and theater companies played to full houses. In fact, opera was performed in New Orleans seven years before the Louisiana Purchase, and more than 400 operas premiered in the Crescent City during the 19th century.
New Orleans c.1908
It was confined to the area we now call the French Quarter or Vieux Carré (Old Square). The society that settled on the bend of the Mississippi was French in origin and at heart. Even so, in 1762, either because he lost a bet or because the royal coffers were exhausted, Louis XV gave Louisiana to his Spanish cousin, King Charles III. Spanish rule was relatively short— lasting until 1800— but Spain left its imprint.
New Orleans c.1764
In 1788, the city went up in flames, incinerating over 850 buildings. New Orleans was still recovering when a second fire in 1794 destroyed 200 structures.From Spain, Louisiana was ceded back to France and was finally sold by Napoleon to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. At fifteen million dollars, it was one of the greatest real estate bargains in history.
After the sale, Americans arrived en masse. Unwelcome in the Creole enclave of the French Quarter, they settled across Canal Street in the Central Business District. The two factions skirmished often, and the Canal Street median became neutral territory. Ever since, all city medians have been called neutral grounds. Louisiana joined the Union and New Orleans became the state capital. The New Orleans, the first steamboat to navigate the Mississippi successfully, arrived here from Pittsburgh. The voyage inaugurated the booming cotton and tobacco river trade that soon transformed the port of New Orleans into the second wealthiest city (after New York) in the nation.
The war of 1812 began, culminating in the Battle of New Orleans, three years later. In 1815, British troops attacked New Orleans and tried to persuade pirate Jean Lafitte to join them. Instead, Lafitte offered his men and guns to the commander of the U.S. troops, General Andrew Jackson. On the morning of January 8, a polyglot band of 4,000 militia, frontiersmen, former Haitian slaves, and pirates outfought 8,000 British veterans at Chalmette Battlefield, just a few miles east of the French Quarter. Only eight Americans died. English casualties exceeded 2,000.
New Orleans and Surrounding Land Plots c.1819
During the 18th and 19th centuries, New Orleans dominated the Caribbean as the most active port city and trade destination for island crops like sugar cane, rum, tobacco and fruit.
Thousands of refugees arrived from the Caribbean following the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to 1804. Following the revolution, thousands more gens de couleur libres, or free people of color, arrived in New Orleans. Most were from Senegambia, now the area in Central Africa known as Benin. Their presence effectively doubled the size of the city.
New Orleans c.1873
By the mid 1800s, the city in the bend of the river became the fourth largest in the U.S. and one of the richest, dazzling visitors with chic Parisian couture, fabulous restaurants and sophisticated culture.
Society centered around the French Opera House, where professional opera and theater companies played to full houses. In fact, opera was performed in New Orleans seven years before the Louisiana Purchase, and more than 400 operas premiered in the Crescent City during the 19th century.
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