The Overview
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| New Orleans: 1723 |
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| New Orleans: Present Day |
The history of New Orleans began with the discovery of the
Mississippi River by Hernado DeSoto in 1541, by the Spanish (Garvey 11). The
area claimed for France by
Robert Cavelier de LaSalle in 1682 and called the land Louisiana
after the King Louis of France
(Garvey 12). Two brothers Iberville and Bienville settled the area, and arrive
at the Mississippi River on Tuesday, the day
before Ash Wednesday. Iberville started Baton Rouge in 1699, and Bienville started New Orleans in 1718. Since
1718, New Orleans
has been under control of 3 countries, of which it has emerged as a unique
American city.
Iberville Bienville
Why Build In
a Swamp?
As retailers say, “Location, location, location”. Bienville
noted that the location where New
Orleans is sits at a crossroads point where the city
is near the mouth of the river and is at a spot where people travel through
when traveling east and west by land. The location has its drawbacks for sure,
it is a swamp, mosquitoes are abundant (which carried yellow fever), and the
location is at a high risk for flooding. Bienville knew this and deemed the
benefits of the spot outweighed the drawbacks, and after some arguing with the
royal engineer, they both agreed to start a settlement there. The location of New Orleans is a perfect
spot to set up a trading town. The Mississippi river is the largest river in
the United States and runs
all the way up to Canada ,
not to mention all the other rivers that empty into the Mississippi River, such
as the Illinois River and Wabash
River New Orleans .
Back in the early days the fastest method of mass shipping was done by ships,
and New Orleans is the closest port to the gulf,
so ships bound for Europe and the Caribbean traded goods in New
Orleans with the wares that were shipped to New
Orleans down the Mississippi River .
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| The Mississippi River's Watershed |
The French
Era: 1718-1763
Philippe II, Duc D’Orleans
Philippe II, duc d’Orleans was born August 2nd,
1674, and died December 2, 1723. He was
both nephew and son-in-law of King Louis XIV, and was regent of France to young
Louis XV from 1715 to 1723. Regent meant
he was basically the de-facto leader of France while Louis XV came of age. Though New Orleans is named in honor of him,
Philippe II did not found the city, nor did he have a direct impact on its
founding; his impact on the city after its founding was great, but had more to
do with those he trusted and empowered during his time as regent of France.
Louisiana was originally claimed for France in 1682, and a
pair of brothers by the surname Le Moyne, formally known as Sieur d’Iberville
and Sieur de Bienville, founded New Orleans in 1718. It was named in honor of Philippe II, but
Orleans is also the name of a city in France, and the French name was chosen,
in part, to encourage French settlers who may have been more hesitant moving
across the world to a city with an unfamiliar, Indian name.
The history of New Orleans, of course, must start with some
history of Louisiana. By 1712 Louisiana
as a settlement had not prospered for France, and was transferred by Louis XIV
to a wealthy banker by the name of Antoine Cozart, who, for the next 15 years
would have control over the settlement; he gave it up after only 5 years,
saying he had spent 4 times his original investment, and had not seen a
profit. So, in 1717 Louisiana was again
transferred, this time to the Company of the West (known later as Company of
the Indies), which was to have authority over Louisiana for the next 25 years,
and would populate the colony with 6000 white settlers, and 3000 blacks within
10 years. Company of the West was headed
by one of the aforementioned people whom Philippe II trusted and empowered; a
man named John Law.
John Law
John Law
John Law was a protestant, a Scotsman, a professional gambler,
a “financial genius”, a manipulator and womanizer, and a fugitive from England,
where he killed a man in a duel.
Additionally, John Law became a friend and advisor to Philippe II,
himself known as something of a womanizer and rogue. With the position Law held with Philippe II,
he had the backing to enact his scheme to populate the colony of Louisiana,
while making himself a hefty profit.
This scheme called for nobles and rich businessmen to invest in
Louisiana land, and to entice (or force) Europe’s poor to colonize the land and
to work as field hands. Profits were to
come to the investors when gold, silver, diamonds, and pearls were inevitably
be found in the new world. Money flooded
in from investors, and with Philippe’s blessing, Law signed a contract with the
government of France to establish a private bank to provide all the capital he
needed.
Now inundated with cash, and with the backing of the
government of France, Law put is plan into action. Soon, a massive, unprecedented marketing
campaign blanketed France, Germany, and Switzerland, promising land, transport,
and provisions to those who would volunteer to colonize the new world. It was said that the soil of Louisiana bore 2
crops a year without cultivation, and that the Indians would essentially work
for free, as they so loved the white settlers.
There were promises of riches, and even of a climate where disease and
old age did not exist. Despite these
promises and lofty claims, not enough people volunteered, so many colonists
were vagrants, criminals, prostitutes, or simply the poor, who were kidnapped
or coerced into populating the Louisiana territory. Many prisoners, regardless of the validity of
the charges, chose the new world over an old jail. Prisoners were often paired with prostitutes
and married, chained together, and sent off to the new world.
Meanwhile, during this time Bienville had begun building and
establishing the city of L Nouvelle Orleans (New Orleans, of course). He chose the site in part because he felt it
was safe from hurricanes and tidal waters, and sat safely between two
forts. His vision ultimately succeeded
despite many doubts and objections, including from the royal engineer. This site was, after all, located in the
middle of a swamp. In 1718 the first
wave of immigrants from Law’s campaign arrived, doubling Louisiana’s population
in a single day. Though they came from
multiple nations in Europe, with a notable German presence, most came from
France. Louisiana, and especially New
Orleans, was, and still is decidedly French.
French language and culture dominated through Spain’s rule of Louisiana,
and remained once it became part of the United States, standing in stark
contrast to the mostly protestant, largely puritanical original colonies. A city founded and populated by rebels,
rouges, and rabble, and that culture colored the soul of the city which still
remains; loose, loud, maybe a bit lascivious, but ever welcoming, and, of
course, fun.
The settlement made it through from year to year, some fur
shipments were starting to come down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, but
France was not making money from the settlement. The French and Indian War was
from 1740-1763, France was
fighting the British and the American colonies, and the result of the War
forced France out of
colonial America .
King Louis XV of France
offered Louisiana to his cousin King Charles
III of Spain ; King Charles
III accepted, and New Orleans went to the
control of Spain
in 1763 (Garvey 38).
The Spanish
Era: 1763-1803
The people of New
Orleans were used to the French laissez-faire type of
government, culture, and language. When the first Spanish governor took office,
there were conflicts between the settlers and the local Spanish government. The
first governor was forced out of Louisiana
by the French settlers. The second Spanish governor, O’Reilly, executed 6 of
the ringleaders of the French settlers, which established O’Reilly as the
governor (Garvey 42-45). Even though the Spanish was the controlling
government, the Spanish culture was not forced upon the settlers, so the French
culture didn’t change. The Spanish governors had a more of a paternal style of
government, and assimilated to the French culture by learning French, and
marrying local women.
The Spanish governors improved New Orleans by setting up public works such
as a fire department and schools. Two fires destroyed part of New Orleans , so the governor changed the way
buildings were built to make them more fire resistant by incorporating tile
roofs, wrought iron, and brick in the construction of the buildings. Trade
increased as the settlers from the Atlantic coast moved west and used the Mississippi River to ship goods. New Orleans grew in population and in
trading. The local Spanish government traded with the Americans and British for
the supplies New Orleans needed, even though the
government in Spain
discouraged it. New Orleans
was becoming a city with trade as its primary industry.
The American
Era: 1803-Present
The year 1803 was a very interesting year for New Orleans . Just a few
years earlier in 1801, Napoleon requested Louisiana from King Charles IV of
Spain, and King Charles granted the request, so New Orleans was technically
back in possession of France, but the transition between governments was slow.
War between Napoleon and Britain
raged, and President Thomas Jefferson was began negotiations with Napoleon in
order to buy New Orleans and parts of Florida for $15,000,000.
With Napoleon needing money and facing capture, didn’t want the Louisiana territory to go the British, and offered New Orleans and parts of Florida
with the addition of all the Louisiana
territory. The purchase became known as the Louisiana
Purchase . The American flag was raised in the Place d’Armes in
December of 1803 (Garvey 59).
The War of
1812 and Battle of New Orleans
Soon after the United
States acquired the land, Louisiana became a state in 1812, was broke out with
the British and the United States. The fighting out on the East Coast went more
the British way than the United States would have liked. The White House was
burned to the ground, but the British did suffer some defeats at the Great
Lakes. Later Britain turned its attention to the city of New Orleans; and the
aid of General Andrew Jackson was requested by Governor Claiborne.
The victory of the
Battle of New Orleans was sung about later on in American folk music.
Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte
A smuggler, privateer, and pirate near New Orleans, who didn’t
get along with Governor Claiborne, was approached by the British Navy and
offered the rank of Captain and money if he fought for the British. Being more
of a patriot, Jean Lafitte refused and gave word to Governor Claiborne of the
British’s activity in the area. General Jackson was recruiting every man that
could bear arms for the defense of New Orleans; Jean Lafitte and his pirates
were promised full pardons if they fought with General Jackson. Lafitte agreed,
he and his pirates showed up for war.
Pre-Civil
War Era: 1820-1860
This is the ear that New Orleans became a boom town due to
the increased southern production of cotton and granulation of sugar (Garvey
77). Steamboats were invented which made shipping up and down the Mississippi River faster. The population if New Orleans tripled during
this time with immigrants that came from various countries. Suburbs developed,
entertainment became popular, and the saloons had great business from all the
traffic the river brought them.
Baroness
Pontalba
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| Baroness Micaela Pontalba |
The Baroness Micaela Pontalba was the sole heir of her
father’s real estate and vast fortune. She married Celestin de Pontalba, son of
Baron in France. Micaela was 16 when she married and started having children,
and lived in France. When the she was pregnant with the first child, she
refused to sign a paper claiming her husband as the beneficiary if she died in
childbirth. This didn’t go over well with her husband’s family; especially her
father-in-law, Baron Pontalba. Money got in the way of the marriage as both
families were wary of each other. Micaela Pontalba divorced in 1831, and moved
to New Orleans. Three years later her son ran away from the French military
school, and Baron Pontalba dropped him from his will. Micaela went over to
France to reconcile the will with Baron Pontalba. Baron Pontalba waited until
she was alone in the room and shot her five times, then shot himself. Micaela
survived and moved back to New Orleans. She owned the land on both sides of the
Place d’ Armes, and designed apartment buildings. Other old buildings in the
French Quarters were falling apart, and Baroness Pontalba renewed the public’s
interest in restoring the old buildings. Place d’ Armes was renamed Jackson
Square, after General Andrew Jackson, with the support of Baroness Pontalba.
Pontalba Apartments
Civil War
and Reconstruction: 1860-1876
Tensions between the South and North came to a head in 1860
when the Civil War started by the Confederates firing on Fort Sumter New Orleans were not eager to
succeed from the United States
and fight for the Confederacy because much of New Orleans ’ trading partners were the
Northern states. Instead the people of New
Orleans would have rather negotiated an agreement so
that slavery was allowed.
Since New Orleans was a key
location to control the Mississippi River, it was attacked by the Union earlier in the war in 1862. The Union Navy sailed
up the river and blew through the defenses of New Orleans with relative ease
since the city over estimated its defenses. The control of the city went to the
Federal general: General Butler, he was hated by the people of New Orleans , but the city
fared better than the other occupied cities of the Confederacy. Firstly,
General Butler didn’t bombard the city, so all the building remained intact,
and despite Confederacy efforts to bring on a yellow fever plague, the Union
commander employed people to keep the streets clean. Trade was at a standstill
until General Grant captured Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, opening up
all the Mississippi River for shipping.
After the Civil War ended in 1865, Louisiana became the
first state to accept President Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction. Corruption
during reconstruction was a major problem, funds were misappropriated, and the
proud people of New Orleans were sore about losing the war, and were much
poorer than before the Civil War began. New Orleans still had federal troops
garrisoned in the city until 1876 when the Presidential election brought about
an agreement to pull all federal troops from occupied cities. New Orleans then
in 1876 was at liberty to conduct business as it pleased (Garvey 148).
Resurgence
The years following the Civil War were some of the most
difficult for the people of New Orleans. Eventually trade started again, and
New Orleans became one of the biggest port cities in the United States, and at
one point was the biggest. The Civil War pointed out the weakness of the South,
that it had a specialized economy that was focused on cotton and sugar with
little industrialization. After the Civil War, railroads and factories were
being built to become more industrialized. Railroads brought a more efficient
method of shipping especially when traveling from east to the ever expanding
west. The rest of the history of New Orleans has been shaped by the same events
that shaped the rest of the country: World War I, The Great Depression, World
War II, the civil rights movement, and Sept. 11th. More recently a
second resurgence of the city developed in the crisis that Hurricane Katrina
brought.
As it is evident, New Orleans has been through much; having
been under multiple countries’ rule, becoming a key trading port brought
together many different sorts of people that wouldn’t have come together
otherwise. The city of New Orleans has taken them and melted them together,
adding their own flavor for the city that is different from the rest of the
cities in the United States.
Sources
"French History in New Orleans." French History in New Orleans. Web. 14 Dec. 2015. <http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/multicultural/multiculturalhistory/french.html>
Garvey, Joan B., and Mary Lou Widmer. Beautiful Crescent: A
History of New Orleans. Gretna: Pelican Publishing Company, 1982. Print
"Philippe II, duc d'Orleans". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2015
<http://www.britannica.com/biography/Philippe-II-duc-dOrleans>.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2015
<http://www.britannica.com/biography/Philippe-II-duc-dOrleans>.
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