The plan for New Orleans may have been issued in 1718, but it took three nations, many wars, and 85 years for the trading colony near the mouth of the Mississippi river to develop from an unfavorable plot of land into one of the main cultural melting pots in the new world.
The story of New Orleans began with the French in need of a new source of income to compensate for the losses to the treasure from war with England. Louis XIV hoped that the New World's colonies would be that cash cow they needed. French-Canadian fur traders brought a plan to the king hoping to fund a voyage to the mouth of the Mississippi to settle trading colonies. Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville and his brother Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville set out with 200 settlers on 4 ships in October of 1698. It took until March of 1699 before the party found the mouth of the Mississippi and began to travel up the river. Iberville settled Biloxi and Ocean Springs before he would take a return trip to France, but returned to the Americas just to die of yellow fever in 1706. His brother had better fortune, however, being named Governor of Louisiana while control of Louisiana was given to Antoine Corzat for a term of 15 years. Control of the colony would pas to the Company of the West (later known as the Company of the Indies)
While the French settlers were working to establish new trading towns, King Louis XIV died, leaving Duc Philippe of Orleans, a Regent, to rule. The regent took to John Law, a Scotsman, as an advisor. Law developed a plan to sell shares of land, and forcibly relocate people to Louisiana. Law chose Bienville to act on his plan and he was named Governor for a second term. Bienville chose a site for the new city, calle...
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...renaming landmarks such as the Place d'Armes as Jackson Square.
The cultural spirit of New Orleans was present in the heritage, activities and architecture of the city. Perhaps the discrepancy of the original plot of land could have averted the recent tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. Building on a flood plan was a risk the original designers took because of the strategic importance of the city to the Mississippi River. But after the many changes of power and all the wars had been settled, the city continued to grow with the combined culture of many nations making it on of the great colonial cites.
"Jewell's Crescent City." The French Period
"Jewell's Crescent City." The Spanish Period
"Jewell's Crescent City." Urbanism and Architecture
Hugh Morrison, Early American Architecture, From the First Colonial Settlements to the National Period (New York, 1952) 255
New Orleans was founded to be a port to the world – with its intersection at the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, it was a great location for world trade. However, it was also a cesspool of disease, floods, and other problems. Despite this, the city was a major economic powerhouse and the city grew and prospered despite of the problems.
Jamestown was the first successful settlement established by England. It was first built in 1607 and lasted until about 1614. On the first ship, 100 male settlers set off for a new settlement in the New World. Life there at times was hard for various reasons. They did, however, become 7 7 trading partners with the Indians. 80% of Jamestown’s more than 500 settlers that had arrived had been dead by 1611. The reason for this is because of sickness and disease, lack of resources, and where they chose to build their settlement.
The Louisiana Purchase stands as an iconic event today that nearly doubled the size of America, ultimately introducing the United States as a world power. In 1762, during the Seven Years’ War, France ceded its control of the Louisiana Territory to Spain (Britannica). However, when Napoleon Bonaparte assumed control of France in 1799, France rallied as a world power once more. Bonaparte’s interest in the Louisiana Territory spiked, and he pressured Spain’s king, Charles IV to relinquish his control of the land on October 1, 1800. This was known as the Treaty of San Ildefonso (Britannica). In view of the transfer between France and Spain, president Thomas Jefferson sent Robert R. Livingston to Paris in 1801. Jefferson became worried, because
It also allowed for continued easy trade through New Orleans, which was a major motivation to make the Purchase (History). However, it did have its negative consequences, namely that, while France may have sold the land, many Native Americans still considered it their home, and for Jefferson’s plan to fill the land with farmers to succeed, they would have to be removed, additionally much of the wildlife on this frontier suffered. Though this probably would have happened even if Jefferson did not make the purchase, his action did speed up the
...ective." Louisiana History 53.2 (2012): 133-167. America: History and Life with Full Text. 9 Apr. 2014. Web.
When most people think of the early settlement they think of the first successful settlement, Jamestown, but this was not the first settlement in the New World. The settlement at Roanoke was the first attempt to colonize the New World. The settlement at Roanoke is often referred to as the “Lost Colony” because of its unusual disappearance. The reason people often do not know about the first settlement at Roanoke because it was abandoned, forgotten, and lost. The Roanoke settlement was located on an island on the northern coast of what is now North Carolina. A few more than a hundred English men first settled the colony at Roanoke Island in 1584. The conditions were harsh and between the lack of supplies and the troubles with natives of the area the settlement was all but doomed from the start. Three years after the initial settlement was founded, in 1587, more English arrived this time there were one hundred and ten colonists that consisted not just of men, but of women and children as well. Women and children were brought to the New World so that the settlement could become a fully functioning society. Of course this idea obviously did not work out as planned. The war going on in Europe between the English and the Spanish caused a delay of more supplies and people. If there had not been a prolonged delay in the resupplying process the entire course of American history may not have been what we know it to be now. If the war had started any earlier or later then people might have known more about the original first settlement of the New World. All the evidence left when people returned to Roanoke following the war in Europe was the word “CROATOAN” carved into a tree. Historians believe these to be marks left by the Croatoan Indians...
New Orleans was, and is still, known for their diverse atmosphere due to African, Caribbean, and European influences. The city’s richness in culture and history is what attracts tourists, from all over the country, to New Orleans. There is not only diversity when comparing New Orleans to other cities but also diversity between the different areas of New Orleans as well. Some of these locations include the French Quarter, City Park, and the Aquarium of Americas. The French Quarter consists of the city’s best restaurants which features cuisines from all over the world, a European style marketplace, many museums and theaters to display art pieces of different cultures, and...
New Orleans was founded May 7, 1718 by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean- Baptist Le Moyne. It was ruled for 40 years by the Spanish and bought by the United States in 1803. By the 1900s New Orleans was the birthplace of jazz music in dance halls and clubs. In 1940s young musicians such as Charlie Parker steeped in the sounds of jazz music. Also during the 1940s jazz musicians were looking for new directions to explore.
Perhaps the greatest advantage of buying the Louisiana territory was avoiding a potential war with France. Jefferson had originally wanted to peacefully acquire the land from the declining Spanish empire, but a plan of peaceful waiting was disrupted by the prospect of having “much more powerful France … as a next-door neighbor” (http://www.monticello.org). Once France took over the territory, Jefferson knew he had to act quickly and with “action more visible than diplomatic maneuvering”, so he quickly sent Robert Livingston, and later James Monroe to France, initially only to bargain for the purchase of the port city New Orleans (http://www.monticello.org) (http://www.presidentprofiles.com). However, France’s problems regarding North American colonization continued to mount: the French army was unable to put down a slave uprising in Hispaniola, and the French were at war with the British (http://www.encyclopedia.com). Realizing that his dreams of American colonization were over, and that he needed money to fund his war, Napoleon, realizing the “futility of his plan” authorized a fifteen million dollar counter-offer to the U.S offer to buy New Orleans for two million (http://www.encyclopedia.com). Realizing that there would not be a better time, or offer, Jefferson signed the treaty and “Congress quickly approved the purchase”, taking advantage of the French misfortune to double the size of the U.S (http://www.encyclopedia.com). The deal appealed to Jefferson, who would rather acquire the territory through peaceful means than “through fifty thousand men” and a costly war (James Jackson to the Senate). Senator James Jackson used arguments like these to convince the wary members of the senate that “seem[ed] to be displeased” that the Purchase of Louisiana came “peaceably and at probably ten times less expense than… forcible
Most of the destructions from the events of August 29th 2005, when Katrina Hit the City Of New Orleans, were not only caused by the storm itself; but also, by failure of the engineering of the levee system protecting the entire infrastructure of the city. The years of poor decision making and avoidance of the levee system led to one of the most catastrophic events in the history of the United States. Throughout our research, we have identified three key players in charge of the levee system design, construction and maintenance. These three organizations are the Unites States Corps of Engineers, the New Orleans Levee District and the Louisiana Department of Transportation. The consequences of the hurricane showed the organizations negligence in the design, construction and maintenance of the protective walls. Later independent sresearch showed that more than 50 levees and food walls failed during the passage of the hurricane. This failure caused the flooding of most of New Orleans and all of ST. Bernard Parish. The Unites States Corps of Engineers had been in charge of the of the levee system and flood walls construction since the 1936 flood act. According to the law, the Louisiana Department of Transportation is in charge to inspect the overall design and engineering practices implemented in the construction of the system. Once the levee systems were finished, they were handed over to the New Orleans Levee District for regular maintenance and periodically inspections. The uncoordinated actions of these three agencies resulted in the complete failure of a system that was supposed to protect the people of New Orleans. The evidence is clear that this catastrophic event did not happened by chance. The uncoordinated response of these...
Sacher, John M. "Louisiana." Encyclopedia of the New American Nation. Ed. Paul Finkelman. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner 's Sons, 2006. 305-307. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
formed. New Orleans was under the rule of a law making body called the Superior
France’s arch enemy and rival, England, in the meanwhile were preparing for the great population expansion across the Appalachians Mountains and beyond. In 1749, about 500,000 acres of Ohio valley land was bought by Virginian businessmen who had secured a grant for settlement purposes. This forced the French, in an effort to keep the English from expanding into French territory, to construct new forts in the Ohio valley reg...
New Orleans is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. The city, nicknamed the “Big Easy”, brings people from all over the country. Its unique and vibrant culture and fascinating history just draws people in whether it is to celebrate a well-known festival like Mardi Gras or to visit the very Congo Square where Jazz music was born. This beauty of New Orleans is one of the reasons why the summer of 2005 was so devastating. On the 23 of that August, Hurricane Katrina was set to make contact with the area where New Orleans was located. The Category 5 storm caused tremendous damage including the destruction of the ninth level ward of the levees which caused the entire city to flood. In 200-, Spike Lee released his film
On early morning of August 29th, 2005 on the Gulf Shore near New Orleans, a devastating hurricane struck. It wrecked havoc, demolishing anything in its path. Leaving nothing but mounds of trash. The surviving people were forced to leave due to massive flooding and the destruction of their homes. New Orleans was not the only place hit by Katrina but it was one of the areas that was hit the hardest. Millions of people were affected by this tragedy and the cost range was up in the billions. Crime rates went up, no one had a place to stay and water was polluted. The damage done by Katrina affected New Orleans and the other areas hit years after it struck. Restoration for the areas hit was going to need support from all of America and support groups across the country. No one was ready for this tragedy or could ever predict the horrible outcome.