what are different settlements called in louisiana

What is the oldest settlement in Louisiana?

The settlement of Natchitoches (along the Red River in present-day northwest Louisiana) was established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis, making it the oldest permanent settlement in the territory that then composed the Louisiana colony.

How did the Louisiana Territory get its name?

The French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle named the region Louisiana in 1682 to honor France's King Louis XIV. The first permanent settlement, Fort Maurepas (at what is now Ocean Springs, Mississippi, near Biloxi), was founded in 1699 by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, a French military officer from Canada.

When did European settlers come to Louisiana?

European settlement in the Louisiana colony was not exclusively French; in the 1720s, German immigrants settled along the Mississippi River in a region referred to as the German Coast . In 1719, two French ships arrived in New Orleans, the Duc du Maine and the Aurore, carrying the first African slaves to Louisiana for labor.

What nationalities have settle in Louisiana?

Among the other nationalities that have settled in Louisiana are the Yugoslavians who made a success of oyster harvesting along the Gulf Coast and the Hungarians who became cultivators of strawberries and other crops in the Albany area.

What does Louisiana call its divisions?

parishesThrough each change in her history, Louisiana never deviated and the primary civil divisions have been officially known as parishes ever since.

What are the names of towns in Louisiana?

New OrleansBaton RougeBossier CityShreveportLafayetteLake CharlesLouisiana/Cities

Does Louisiana have towns?

Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes, which are equivalent to counties, and contains 304 incorporated municipalities consisting of four consolidated city-parishes, and 304 cities, towns, and villages.

Why are towns in Louisiana called parishes?

In 1816, the first official map of the state used the term parish, as did the 1845 constitution. It was in that 1845 Constitution, that the county system was abolished, and instead, established only parishes as the State's primary civil division. Since then, parishes became the official term.

What does Louisiana mean in French?

Louisiana (French: La Louisiane; La Louisiane française) or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682 to 1769 and 1801 (nominally) to 1803, the area was named in honor of King Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle.

Why is it called Baton Rouge?

Louisiana's capital city, Baton Rouge, means “red stick” in French. The red stick refers to a blood-stained pole that French explorer Iberville found on the bank of the Mississippi River in 1699 at the city's present location.

What are the different regions in Louisiana?

The Regions of Louisiana. Louisiana is separated into five regions, Greater New Orleans, Plantation Country, Cajun Country, Crossroads and Sportsman's Paradise.

What is a town in Louisiana?

New OrleansBaton RougeBossier CityShreveportLafayetteLake CharlesLouisiana/Cities

What does Baton Rouge mean in English?

Red StickHe and his men saw the bloodied cypress pole on the bluff, adorned with animal parts and stained red from the tribes' latest haul, and dubbed the area "le bâton rouge," French for "Red Stick".

What is a Parrish in Louisiana?

A parish is by definition a small administrative district typically having its own church and priest, which naturally grew out of Louisiana's heavily Roman Catholic influenced past.

What is a ward in Louisiana?

The city of New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana, is divided into 17 wards. Politically, the wards are used in voting in elections, subdivided into precincts. Under various previous city charters of the 19th century, aldermen and later city council members were elected by ward.

What is the difference between a county and a parish?

The term "county" is used in 48 US states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs respectively. Until the late 19th century, the South Carolina Lowcountry was divided into parishes. Today all of South Carolina is divided into counties.

What towns are in south Louisiana?

While in South Louisiana, be sure to visit other popular area destinations this spring including Breaux Bridge and its Crawfish Festival, St. Martinville, Lafayette, Morgan City, New Iber along beautiful Bayou Teche, and Henderson.

How many main cities are in Louisiana?

Below are the 488 Louisiana cities sorted by population from 1 to 459 (there are some ties)....Looking for a list of cities, counties or zips in Louisiana?RankCityPopulation1New Orleans376,9712Baton Rouge222,1853Shreveport184,0214Metairie138,511156 more rows

Which city is close to Louisiana?

Cities near New Orleans91 miles:Biloxi110 miles:Moss Point (Mississippi)110 miles:Pascagoula (Mississippi)41 miles:Covington (Louisiana)78 miles:Gulfport10 more rows

How many city do we have in Louisiana?

304 citiesCity government According to a 2017 study from the U.S. Census Bureau, this state's local governments consist of 60 counties, 304 cities, towns, and villages, and 83 special districts.

How many states were carved out of the Louisiana Purchase?

With the acquisition of Louisiana, Jefferson nearly doubled the size of the fledgling U.S. and made it a world power. Later, 13 states or parts of states were carved out of the Louisiana Purchase territory.

What are the people of Louisiana?

People. There is a rich diversity of peoples in Louisiana. They include the original Indian inhabitants, plus the descendants of a variety of settlers, among whom were the French, Spanish, English, German, Acadians, West Indians, Africans, Irish and Italians and now include almost every nationality on earth. The original French colonists were soon ...

What colonial area was Spanish in?

Ironically, it was the Spanish who built many of the colonial structures that still stand in the "French Quarter" of New Orleans, and Spanish is still spoken in some communities, particularly in St. Bernard Parish below New Orleans. Hundreds of German families were recruited in 1719 by the Company of the West (which held the French royal charter for the development of Louisiana), and those sturdy pioneers settled upriver from New Orleans along a section of the Mississippi River that is still called the Cote des Allemands ("German Coast"). The parishes north of Lake Pontchartrain (the sixth largest lake in the U.S.) and east of the Mississippi River were once a part of British West Florida, occupied by English planters and military in the 1700s. Bernardo de Galvez, Louisiana's Spanish governor and an American ally in the Revolution, prevented the further development of a British stronghold in the Mississippi Valley by capturing British forts at Manchac and Baton Rouge in 1779. Some years later, in 1810, citizens of the "Florida Parishes" staged the West Florida Rebellion against Spanish authority in the region. They established the West Florida Republic, which enjoyed independence briefly before joining the American territory that had been acquired from France through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

What was the wealthiest region in America?

Through much of its early history Louisiana was a trading and financial center, and the fertility of its land made it one of the richest regions in America as first indigo then sugar and cotton rose to prominence in world markets. Many Louisiana planters were among the wealthiest men in America.

What were the European craftsmen brought to Louisiana?

Later, in prosperous years, European craftsmen came to Louisiana. European furnishings and art were imported through New Orleans and other ports. The plantation mansions of Louisiana still bear signs of efforts to make life in the new world as genteel and pleasant as possible.

Why did Louisiana become a republic?

Earlier, in 1803, Louisiana had become a part of the United States because of the region's importance to the trade and security of the American mid-west. New Orleans and the surrounding territory controlled the mouth ...

What was Louisiana's major oil producer?

Eventually, Louisiana became a major American producer of oil and natural gas and a center of petroleum refining and petrochemicals manufacturing, which it remains to this day.

When was Louisiana first settled?

The first traces of permanent settlement, ushering in the Archaic period, appear about 5,500 years ago . The area formed part of the Eastern Agricultural Complex.

When did La Louisiane become a colony?

European influence began in the 16th century, and La Louisiane (named after Louis XIV of France) became a colony of the Kingdom of France in 1682, before passing to Spain in 1763. It became part of the United States following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

What were the Mississippian cultures?

The Mississippian period in Louisiana saw the emergence of the Plaquemine and Caddoan Mississippian cultures. This was the period when extensive maize agriculture was adopted. The Plaquemine culture in the lower Mississippi River Valley in western Mississippi and eastern Louisiana began in 1200 AD and continued until about 1600 AD. Good examples of this culture are the Medora Site (the type site for the culture and period), Fitzhugh Mounds, Transylvania Mounds, and Scott Place Mounds in Louisiana and the Anna, Emerald, Winterville and Holly Bluff sites located in Mississippi. Plaquemine culture was contemporaneous with the Middle Mississippian culture at the Cahokia site near St. Louis, Missouri. By 1000 AD in the northwestern part of the state the Fourche Maline culture had evolved into the Caddoan Mississippian culture. By 1400 AD Plaquemine had started to hybridize through contact with Middle Mississippian cultures to the north and became what archaeologist term Plaquemine Mississippian. These peoples are considered ancestral to historic groups encountered by the first Europeans in the area, the Natchez and Taensa peoples. The Caddoan Mississippians covered a large territory, including what is now eastern Oklahoma, western Arkansas, northeast Texas, and northwest Louisiana. Archaeological evidence that the cultural continuity is unbroken from prehistory to the present, and that the direct ancestors of the Caddo and related Caddo language speakers in prehistoric times and at first European contact and the modern Caddo Nation of Oklahoma is unquestioned today. Significant Caddoan Mississippian archaeological sites in Louisiana include Belcher Mound Site in Caddo Parish and Gahagan Mounds Site in Red River Parish.

How many miles of levees were built in Louisiana?

As the 19th century progressed, the state had an interest in ensuring levee construction. By 1860, Louisiana had built 740 miles (1,190 km) of levees on the Mississippi River and another 450 miles (720 km) of levees on its outlets. These immense earthworks were built mostly by hand.

How did the Louisiana levee system help the state?

Construction and elaboration of the levee system was critical to the state's ability to cultivate its commodity crops of cotton and sugar cane. Enslaved Africans built the first levees under planter direction. Later levees were expanded, heightened and added to mostly by Irish immigrant laborers, whom contractors hired when doing work for the state. As the 19th century progressed, the state had an interest in ensuring levee construction. By 1860, Louisiana had built 740 miles (1,190 km) of levees on the Mississippi River and another 450 miles (720 km) of levees on its outlets. These immense earthworks were built mostly by hand. They averaged six feet in height, and up to twenty feet in some areas.

How did Spanish rule affect the pace of francophone immigration to the territory?

Spanish rule did not affect the pace of francophone immigration to the territory, which increased due to the expulsion of the Acadians. Several thousand French-speaking refugees from Acadia (now Nova Scotia, Canada) migrated to colonial Louisiana. The first group of around 200 arrived in 1765, led by Joseph Broussard (also referrerd to as "Beausoleil"). They settled chiefly in the southwestern Louisiana region now called Acadiana. The Acadian refugees were welcomed by the Spanish as additions of Catholic population. Their white descendants came to be called Cajuns and their black descendants, mixed with African ancestry came to be called Creole. Additionally, some Creole Louisianians also have Native American and/or Spanish ancestry.

What was the largest city in the South during the Civil War?

Louisiana seceded from the Union (American Civil War) on 26 January 1861. New Orleans, the largest city in the entire South and strategically important as a port city, was taken by Union troops on 25 April 1862. During the Reconstruction Era, Louisiana was ...

Why did the surviving settlers abandon the colony and head to New Orleans?

Out of frustration, the surviving settlers abandoned the colony and headed to New Orleans, intending to demand passage back to Europe. Once they arrived in the city, however, they were persuaded to follow D’Arensbourg, who had won favor with the French governor, Bienville, and to settle what was considered to be the best land in the colony, about 25 miles upriver from New Orleans. Other historians argue that the group that struggled and failed in Arkansas was an unrelated one, and the story of the German Coast begins just there, when D’Arensbourg and his settlers arrived from beleaguered Biloxi in what is today St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes.

Who were the surveyors of Louisiana?

Surveyors include Carlos Trudeau and Alexandre Francois Joseph DeClouet de Piedra (1717–1789), the commandant and judge of the Attakapas and Opelousas posts. Reports on the Cession of Louisiana to Spain by France, 1762. MSS 178. 2 items.

What did the colonists do when they arrived in Arkansas?

According to some historians, they were sent to settle Law’s concession in an untamed and difficult region of present-day southern Arkansas.

What are land grant records?

Land grant records concern the Attakapas, Baton Rouge, Bayou Plaquemine, Lafourche, Natchez, Natchitoches, Opelousas, Orleans, and Quachita areas. Of special interest is an inventory of structures on the German Coast. The collection contains information about Indians, free persons of color, slaves, and women.

What did the Germans do to help the French colony of New Orleans?

The Germans established their colony on the Mississippi in 1721 and, as engagés, had a commission to sell their surplus harvest to the company for the purpose of supplying New Orleans. As early as 1724, the French Superior Council recognized the importance of these goods by issuing a decree guaranteeing their protection en route to New Orleans from the settlement. When John Law’s bankruptcy caused the company to disintegrate in 1731, the settlers ceased to be indentured to anyone but continued to supply New Orleans. As census records and scholarly works found in THNOC’s German Study File illustrate, the contributions made by this community to the health and growth of New Orleans increased consistently through the eighteenth century. In fact, the Germans were not only supplying the provincial capital with staples, but were also sending timber and rice to Cap Français, the wealthy capital of the flourishing St. Domingue colony, and to France itself. In 1803, Napoleon’s prefect to Louisiana, Pierre Clément de Laussat, even recommended introducing a regular flow of German settlers to the region, as they were the only group who had as yet proven itself capable of taming the Louisiana wilderness.

When did the Germans start to live in New Orleans?

Indeed, as evidenced in a number of the manuscripts records below, the German population up-river from New Orleans thrived through the eighteenth century. It wasn’t until close to the middle part of the nineteenth century, however, that Germans began to constitute a significant portion of the population of the city of New Orleans.

Who were the Germans in New Orleans?

The story of Germans contributing directly to New Orleans’s very existence began when Karl (Charles) Friedrich (Frederick) D’Arensbourg , an ethnic German who would today be considered a Swede (he originally came from the German section of Stockholm), took over the stewardship of a group of impoverished but hearty Southern German settlers. Having come to Louisiana under the flag of John Law’s Company of the Indies, the few Germans who survived the disease-ridden passage from Europe languished on the beaches of Biloxi and Dauphine Island, victims of Law’s dilettantish colonization plan. Upon arrival, the colonists, who came as engagés of the Company, were provided with nearly no means of support and little plan to follow. According to some historians, they were sent to settle Law’s concession in an untamed and difficult region of present-day southern Arkansas. They were unsuccessful, however, and many perished in the attempt.

Who claimed Louisiana after Louis XIV?

In 1682, Rene Robert de Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle was able to accomplish what de Soto, Marquette, and Jolliet were unable to do: traverse the Mississippi River Delta. He then claimed the region for France and christened it Louisiana after King Louis XIV.

Why did the French want to establish colonies in Louisiana?

The rulers of France once again considered the idea of establishing colonies in Louisiana because of its importance. This pushed Louis Phelypeaux, Comte de Pontchartrain and Navy Secretary to Louis XIV, to further French interest in Louisiana. He commissioned Pierre Le Moyne Iberville to find the mouth of the Mississippi River and build a fort to secure the area from Spanish and English incursions. Iberville, a soldier and privateer who had long tormented English settlements in the Hudson Bay and New York, was the right man for the job. His ruthlessness was exactly what Pontchartrain needed for the colonies of Louisiana.

What did La Salle do to establish Louisiana?

After claiming the vast Mississippi River area for France in 1682, La Salle worked hard to establish settlements in the colony he called Louisiana. Although most of La Salle’s efforts failed, the French still managed to hold on to the area through fur traders and Catholic missionaries. The French authorities knew that it was possible for the English and the Spaniards to acquire the territory, so they commissioned the ruthless soldier, explorer, and privateer Pierre Le Moyne Iberville to establish a settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi River. In 1699, Iberville finally led Canadian colonists to permanently settle in the southern region of Louisiana. This event is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Poster with World History during that time.

Why did Louis XIV order the French to stop trading in Louisiana?

He ordered that any activities in French Louisiana must stop immediately. However, the French authorities knew that the English would soon take over if they neglected the area and that Spain might also reassert its claim to the region . As an answer to this threat, the French authorities allowed the Jesuit missionaries and French fur traders to continue plying their trade in the area.

What were the impact of the Jesuit missionaries on the colonization of Maine?

From Maine to the upper Mississippi River, Jesuit missionaries were able to extend Roman Catholic and French influence over the natives. Despite the presence of the fur traders, it was the missionaries who made a lasting impact in the area during the early years of colonization.

When did Iberville settle in Mississippi?

He and the settlers finished Fort Maurepas near modern Biloxi, Mississippi on May 1, 1699, but its population remained small for many years.

Who explored the Mississippi River?

It was not until the late 1600s that Europeans once again ventured into the area. In 1673, the French explorer Louis Jolliet and the Jesuit mission ary Jacques Marquette explored the Mississippi River. They were able to reach the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers until they were forced to turn back for New France.

Who was the king of Louisiana at the end of the 17th century?

Near the end of the 17th century, King Louis XIV considered another venture in the New World. In 1698 he commissioned Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d’Iberville, and Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville II, to implement La Salle’s original colonization plan for Louisiana. Iberville readied an expedition force and departed from Brest, France, ...

When was New Orleans established?

Thus began the oldest permanent settlement in the present state of Louisiana ( New Orleans was established in 1718) . For many years this post served as an important strategic and trade center on the Red River. St.

How long did Crozat have to trade in Louisiana?

On September 14, 1712, the king officially granted Crozat exclusive trading rights and governing rights in Louisiana for 15 years. Under terms of the royal charter, the French government accepted part of the colonial expenditures for nine years. Crozat planned to more fully exploit the agricultural and commercial potential of the colony.

Why was Natchitoches important to the French?

French Louisiana’s commercial activities centered around the Indian trade. Because of the proximity to Spanish Texas and the Indian nations , Natchitoches was ideally suited to a frontier market economy. Because a giant logjam called the Great Raft blocked Red River navigation above the settlement, Natchitoches was the northern terminus for traffic to and from downriver ports. In addition, the city’s location near the Spanish Camino Real, a major east-west overland route, further enhanced its growth as a trade center.

What led to the adoption of a linear settlement pattern, possibly based on European models?

The presence of natural levees along the river led to the adoption of a linear settlement pattern, possibly based on European models, wherein the main structures of the plantations were found nearest the river, while the rear portions of the grants contained fields followed by swamps or woods.

How did Cadillac's administration affect the colony?

Cadillac’s administration succeeded in attracting new settlers to the colony, which resulted in the need to develop a well-defined land-grant system. The king in 1716 adopted a series of colonial land regulations, which stipulated that a land grant had to be cleared within two years or else revert back to the crown.

Where did Iberville settle?

Eventually it settled near Biloxi, Mississippi, and later New Orleans, Louisiana. Iberville resolved to erect a number of forts and trading posts along ...

Urban Settlements

Urban settlements, or urbanized areas, are the most populated of the settlement types and usually consist of the largest land area. Urban areas are the most developed of the different types, with advanced infrastructure and many buildings. Urbanized areas are densely populated, mostly non-agricultural areas.

Rural Settlements

The designation of rural settlement status depends on the nation and government that a settlement is in. Rural settlements are smaller populated areas outside of urban areas that have a large amount of agriculture involved in the settlement.

Compact Settlements

Settlements that are close together are called compact settlements, and they can be rural or urban settlements based on how the settlement was designed. Compact settlements consist of structures that were closely built together with residential and commercial areas being zoned away from the agriculture or the environment.

Dispersed Settlements

Dispersed settlements are also known as isolated settlements or scattered settlements. Dispersed settlements are the least populated of the types of settlements and are located in regions of a country that are remote or far away from other settlements of any type.

What is a settlement?

A settlement is organized human habitation. It can be a single home or a bustling metropolis. Take Joan and Nell: they live in two very different places, but they are both living in a settlement. Let's look closer at some of the types of settlements, including rural vs. urban, and compact vs. dispersed.

Where does Joan live in the settlements?

Settlements. Joan lives in a small town, where everyone knows everyone else. The town consists of one main street and a few side streets. Everyone in the town lives on one of those streets. Joan's cousin Nell lives in a big city.

What is the difference between compact settlement and dispersed settlement?

Compact settlements have homes that are built close together, whereas dispersed settlements have homes that are built far apart. With both sets of classifications, there are issues with finding a consensus on what type of settlement places are. Learning Outcomes. After the lesson, you should be able to:

What is compact settlement?

Compact settlements are those in which homes are built close together. The city where Nell lives is a good example of this. The homes are packed so closely together that it's only a few steps to her neighbor's front door! Dispersed settlements are those in which homes are built far apart.

Where do Joan and Nell live?

Joan and Nell live in very different places. Nell is in a big city with lots of other people, and Joan is in a small town with just a few other people. But they are both in settlements. To distinguish between different types of settlements, people often classify settlements as either urban or rural.

How to classify human settlements?

Another way to classify types of human settlements involves how close together people live. For example, Nell lives in an apartment building with many other people. Her home is separated from others' homes by thin walls. Joan, on the other hand, has a lot more space.

What is the difference between rural and urban settlements?

Often, urban settlements have mostly non-agricultural occupations, while rural settlements have mostly agricultural occupations. For example, many farmers live in a sparsely populated area, and far fewer of them live in a densely populated city.

What was the Manilamen's role in Louisiana?

Library of Congress. The Manilamen and their families became an integral part of Louisiana’s multicultural society. Their multiethnic families often blurred and challenged the racial lines imposed by mainstream society.

When was Manilamen settled?

The fishing village in marshlands of present-day Louisiana was settled by the so-called Manilamen as early as 1763.

How did the Manilamen revolutionize the shrimping industry in the South?

The Manilamen revolutionized the shrimping industry in the south by introducing methods such as the Shrimp Dance. The method was a process of separating shrimp shells from the meat by teams of fishermen dancing and stomping on piles of shrimp in a circular motion.

What was the name of the Spanish ship that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean?

Fight for the Manila galleons between, c. 18th century. The Manila galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila (Philippines) and Acapulco (New Spain).

When was Saint Malo established?

According to oral traditions there was already an existing Filipino community in Saint Malo as early as 1763 when both the Philippines and Louisiana were under the Spanish colonial government in Mexico. However, the oldest known documentation of Saint Malo as a Filipino settlement only dates back to the 19th century.

Where is Saint Malo?

Saint Malo was first established as a fishing village along the sho res of Lake Borgne in Louisiana in the 18th century and continued to flourish until the 20th century. The settlement’s namesake, Juan San Maló, was a leader of a group of Maroons (runaway enslaved people) who took refuge in the marshlands. True to the settlement’s namesake, the ...

Who were the Manilamen?

Despite the uncertainties regarding the earliest Filipino settlers prior to Hearn’s 1883 article, the Manilamen of Louisiana were already active participants in the history of the United States. They were among the bands of privateers who took part in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. They fought under the command of future President Andrew ...

Overview

French exploration and colonization (1682–1763)

Prehistory

Spanish interregnum (1763–1803)

Incorporation into the United States and antebellum years (1803–1860)

Secession and the Civil War (1860–1865)

Reconstruction, disenfranchisement, and segregation (1865–1929)

Orphan trains