The term French Louisiana refers to two distinct regions: * first, to colonial French Louisiana, comprising the massive, middle section of

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claimed by

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during the 17th and 18th centuries; and, * second, to modern French Louisiana, which stretches across the southern extreme of the present-day State of Louisiana. Each term has been in use for many years.

Colonial French Louisiana

Colonial French Louisiana was a part of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

. Beginning in 1682 this region, known in French as '' la Louisiane française'', The contemporary French term for the U.S. state of Louisiana is ''"Louisiane"'', with the larger colonial region called ''"la Louisiane française"''. However, in colonial writings the colony would be called "La Louisiane" (before the state was created from the lower portion of the region), just as English used "Louisiana" for both the region/state names, rather than "French Louisiana Purchase" (no such term). functioned as an administrative district of New France. It extended from the

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, now in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

ceded the region to

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and Britain in 1763 after the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

, regained it by treaty in 1800, and sold it to the

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in 1803 through the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...

Modern French Louisiana

Greater New Orleans The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans (french: Grande Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Gran Nueva Orleans), is a me ...

and the twenty-two

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cultural region known as

Acadiana Acadiana (French and Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane''), also known as the Cajun Country ( Louisiana French: ''Le Pays Cadjin'', es, País Cajún), is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained ...

compose present-day ''French Louisiana''. Although the Louisiana French dominate south Louisiana's cultural landscape, other important ethnic groups in the region include African-Americans, Native Americans, Isleños, German Coast settlers and various

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groups, including Vietnamese,

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and a growing number of

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. In addition, some French Louisiana influences can be found in cities adjacent to the region, such as

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and

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counti ...

Notes

* Acadiana French-American culture in Louisiana {{Louisiana-stub

Colonial French Louisiana

Modern French Louisiana

See also

Notes