Louisiana

Publication: Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History

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COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group, COPYRIGHT 2005 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation

LOUISIANA

Natural resources and farming hold a significant place in Louisiana's economic history. However, the cultural spice of New Orleans has added to the state's economic base by setting the city apart from any other cities in the world and, over the years, making it a unique tourist attraction.

Indians were the first known inhabitants within Louisiana, living in small pockets. Spanish and French explorers navigated the Gulf of Mexico even before Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle named the land at the mouth of the Mississippi River Louisiana. He did so in honor of King Louis XIV, claiming the land for France in 1682. In the 1700s the French began developing settlements in Louisiana and in 1722 New Orleans was established as Louisiana's capital. These early French settlers started tobacco and indigo farms and brought in slaves from Africa and the West Indies to work them.

Louisiana was not particularly prosperous under French rule, however French culture did take hold. In 1762 France ceded Louisiana to Spain during the French...

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