Early History

Founding of New Orleans

New Orleans was founded by the French, but the first known settlers were the Native Americans of Woodland and Mississippian cultures. There were two expeditions: De Soto in 1542 and La Salle in 1682, who just passed through the area and never settled. Before 1718, there were very few white permanent settlers. The governor of French Louisiana was Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville who actually founded the city of Nouvelle-Orléans. In roughly 1722, he transferred the capital of Louisiana from Biloxi. Shortly after he transferred it, a hurricane destroyed most of the new city and it was rebuilt in the grid of today's French Quarter.

 

Louisiana Purchase

New Orleans was a Spanish city for nearly forty years (1722-1762). In roughly 1788, the city was ravaged by fires in 1788 and then again in 1794, so they rebuilt the city with brick. The buildings that they rebuilt are still standing today. In 1803, Louisiana reverted to French, who then sold it to the United States. In the War of 1812, Colonel Andrew Jackson fought in defense of New Orleans alongside pirates, free blacks, and volunteers.

New Orleans 1800s

After the War of 1812, New Orleans worked its way to becoming the wealthiest and third-largest city in the United States through its port. It shipped produce all the way from Caribbean to South America to Europe. With these markets, it sold thousands upon thousands of slaves, but it still maintained its free black community.

When the Civil War began, New Orleans was the biggest city in the Confederacy, but the Union took the city. There was an era known as the Reconstruction era and race became a huge political force. The emancipated slaves and free black community were a part of the political process now. 
 

New Orleans 20th Century

New Orleans had jazz born into the streets and heart of it. They had created new levees and drainage systems which allowed many people to live below sea level. New Orleans is located in hurricane city. There were big hurricanes in 1909, 1915, 1947, and 1965. They went through New Orleans, but never completely destroyed it.

After WWII, school integration was huge. It drew white residents out of the city, which left the city majority African-American and in poverty. This did not destroy New Orleans though, but it did create a huge tourist attraction.