No other state has a more varied or colorful past than Louisiana. The state has been governed under 10 different flags beginning in 1541 with Hernando de Soto's claim of the region for Spain. La Salle later claimed it for Bourbon France and over the years Louisiana was at one time or another subject to the Union Jack of Great Britain, the Tricolor of Napoleon, the Lone Star flag of the Republic of West Florida and the fifteen stars and stripes of the United States. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Louisiana became an independent republic for six weeks before joining the Confederacy.

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 of the Mississippi River down which much of the produce of the mid-west traveled to reach market. To get the vital region in American hands, President Thomas Jefferson negotiated the Louisiana Purchase with Napoleon. 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. 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. The plantation economy was shattered by the Civil War although the state continued to be a powerful agricultural region. The discovery of sulphur in 1869 and oil in 1901, coupled with the rise of forestry sent the state on a new wave of economic growth. 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.

Important Dates

1519

Alvarez de Pindea discovers mouth of the Mississippi

1541-42

Hernando de Soto discovers the Mississippi River

1682

Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, erects a cross at the mouth of the Mississippi River after descending the river from the Great Lakes and claims the territory for Louis XIV of France, for whom Louisiana is named.

1715

Louis Juchereau de St. Denis establishes Fort St. Jean Baptiste (Natchitoches), first permanent settlement in the Mississippi Valley

1718

New Orleans is founded and named for Phillippe Duc D'Orleans

1718

The St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans is built, the oldest in the United States

1723

New Orleans becomes the capital of Louisiana, superseding Biloxi

1735

Jean Louis, a sailor, leaves his savings to establish the first charity hospital in New Orleans

1751

Sugar cane is first introduced into Louisiana

1762

Louis XV gives the "Island of New Orleans" and all of Louisiana west of the Mississippi to his cousin, Charles III of Spain

1763

Treaty of Paris ends Seven Years' War and confirms transfer of Louisiana to Spain. Florida Parishes ceded to England with Baton Rouge becoming New Richmond

1764

First four Acadian families arrive in Louisiana from New York

1796

Opera is first performed in the United States at New Orleans

1803

Louisiana is purchased from Napoleon I by the United States for $15,000,000

1804

Louisiana is divided into the Territory of New Orleans (south of 33 degrees latitude) and the District of Louisiana (north of 33 degrees latitude). W.C. C. Claiborne is appointed governor of the Territory of Orleans.

1808

First public school is established in Pointe Coupee Parish

1811

First institution of higher learning opens in New Orleans (College of Orleans)

1812

Louisiana is admitted to the Union

1812

The first steamboat to navigate the Mississippi River, the "The New Orleans," arrives at New Orleans from Pittsburgh on January 10, 1812

1815

Battle of New Orleans is won by General Andrew Jackson

1823

First natural gas field is discovered in Louisiana, at a depth of 400 feet

1837

Shreveport is founded

1838

First Mardi Gras parade is held in New Orleans

1840

Antoine's in New Orleans, the state's oldest continuously operating restaurant, is established

1849

Baton Rouge becomes capital of Louisiana

1861

Louisiana secedes from the Union and after a brief period as a republic, joins the Confederacy

1862

The first salt mine is discovered at Avery Island, oldest in the Western Hemisphere

1867

Shrimp first canned commercially at Grand Terre Island

1868

Louisiana is re-admitted to the Union

1869

First sulphur is produced in United States

1872

Rex, King of Carnival, parades for the first time on Mardi Gras

1901

The first oil is discovered about six miles from Jennings

1915

The name "Jazz" is given to music of New Orleans origin

1926

Louisiana's first public airport is built in Mansfield

1928

Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo is established, the oldest fishing tournament in the United States

1932

New capitol is completed in Baton Rouge

1935

Senator Huey Long is assassinated in the state capitol

1935

First Sugar Bowl game is played -- Tulane 20, Temple 14

1947

Kerr-McGee Corporation, with offshore operations based in Morgan City, drills the first commercial producing oil well out of sight of land

1963

Tulane University accepts five black students, the first in its history

1973

A team of surgeons performs Louisiana's first heart transplant

1975

The Super Dome in New Orleans is completed, with a final cost of $163,313,315 for building and grounds

1977

Ernest Morial is elected mayor of New Orleans, becoming the city's first black mayor

1979

David Treen is elected governor, the first Republican governor since Reconstruction

1983

Edwin W. Edwards becomes the first three-term governor

1987

Louisiana celebrates the 175th anniversary of its admission into the Union