governorate A governorate is an administrative division of a country. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' ...

Viceroyalty A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 16th century. France *Viceroyalty of New France Portuguese Empire In the scope of the Portuguese Empire, the term "Viceroyalty of ...

New Orleans New Orleans (,New Orleans

France France (), officially the French Republic (french: link=no, République française), is a transcontinental country This is a list of countries located on more than one continent A continent is one of several large landmasses ...

, which had named it ''

La Louisiane Louisiana (french: La Louisiane; La Louisiane française) or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control 1682 to 1769 and 1801 (nominally) to 1803, the area was named in honor of King Louis XIV, by French ...

'' in honor of King

Louis XIV , house = House of Bourbon, Bourbon , father = Louis XIII, Louis XIII of France , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Kingdom of France, F ...

in 1682.

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = , national_anthem = , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 ...

Spain

secretly acquired the territory from France near the end of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) is widely considered to be the first global conflict in history, and was a struggle for world supremacy between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France. In Europe, the conflict ar ...

by the terms of the

Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762)The Treaty of Fontainebleau was a secret agreement of 1762 in which the Kingdom of France ceded Louisiana (New France), Louisiana to Spain. The treaty followed the last battle in the French and Indian War in North America, the Battle of Signal Hill i ...

. The actual transfer of authority was a slow process, and after Spain finally attempted to fully replace French authorities in

New Orleans New Orleans (,New Orleans

in 1767, French residents staged an uprising which the new Spanish colonial governor did not suppress until 1769. Spain also took possession of the trading post of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri Missouri is a state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * The State ( ...

and all of Upper Louisiana in the late 1760s, though there was little Spanish presence in the wide expanses of the "

Illinois Country The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Ilinois ; , i.e. the Illinois Confederation, Illinois people) — sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana) — was a vast region of New France claimed ...

". New Orleans was the main port of entry for Spanish supplies sent to American forces during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution which occurred in colonial North America between 1765 and 1783. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colo ...

, and Spain and the new

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

disputed the borders of Louisiana and navigation rights on the Mississippi River for the duration of Spain's rule in the colony. New Orleans was devastated by large fires in 1788 and

1794 Events January–March * January 13 Events Pre-1600 * 27BC – Octavian Caesar Augustus (23 September 63 BC19 August AD 14) was the first Roman emperor, reigning from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. His statu ...

which destroyed most of the original wooden buildings in what is today the

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English British English (BrE) is the standard dialect of the English language English is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic ...

. New construction was done in the Spanish style with stone walls and slate roofs, and new public buildings constructed during the city's Spanish period include several still standing today such as the St. Louis Cathedral,

the Cabildo The Cabildo was the seat of Spanish colonial city hall of New Orleans, Louisiana, and is now the Louisiana State Museum Cabildo. It is located along Jackson Square (New Orleans), Jackson Square, adjacent to St. Louis Cathedral (New Orleans), St. L ...

, and

the Presbytere

. Louisiana was later and briefly retroceded back to France under the terms of the

Third Treaty of San Ildefonso The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso was a secret agreement signed on 1 October 1800 between the Spanish Empire and the French Republic by which Spain agreed in principle to exchange its North American colony of Louisiana for territories in Tuscan ...

(1800) and the

Treaty of Aranjuez (1801) The Treaty of Aranjuez (1801) was signed on 21 March 1801 between First French Republic, France and Enlightenment in Spain, Spain. It confirmed a previous secret agreement in which Spain agreed to exchange Louisiana (New Spain), Louisiana for terr ...

. In 1802, King

Charles IV of Spain , house = House of Bourbon, Bourbon , father =Charles III of Spain , mother =Maria Amalia of Saxony , birth_date =11 November 1748 , birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Kingdom of Naples, Naples , death_da ...

published a royal bill on 14 October, effecting the transfer and outlining the conditions. Spain agreed to continue administering the colony until French officials arrived and formalized the transfer. After several delays, the official transfer of ownership took place at the Cabildo in New Orleans on 30 November 1803. Three weeks later on 20 December, another ceremony was held at the same location in which

France France (), officially the French Republic (french: link=no, République française), is a transcontinental country This is a list of countries located on more than one continent A continent is one of several large landmasses ...

transferred New Orleans and the surrounding area to the United States pursuant to 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United St ...

. Upper Louisiana was officially transferred to France and then to the United States on

Three Flags DayThree Flags Day commemorates March 9, and 10, 1804, when Spain , * gl, Reino de España, * oc, Reiaume d'Espanha, , , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = , nati ...

in St. Louis, which was a series of ceremonies held over two days on 9 and 10 March 1804.

History

Spain was largely an absentee landlord administering the territory from

Havana Havana (; Spanish Spanish may refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards, a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Canada * Spanish River (disambiguati ...

Havana

,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is a country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud Isla de la Juventud (; en, Isle of Youth) is the second-largest Cuban islan ...

Cuba

, and contracting out governing to people from many nationalities as long as they swore allegiance to Spain. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the Revolutionary War and the American War of Independence, was initiated by delegates from Thirteen Colonies, thirteen American colonies of British America in Continental Congress ...

, the Spanish funneled their supplies to the American revolutionists through New Orleans and the vast Louisiana territory beyond. In keeping with being absentee landlords, Spanish efforts to turn Louisiana into a Spanish colony were usually fruitless. For instance, while

Spanish Spanish may refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards, a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Canada * Spanish River (disambiguation), the name of several ...

Spanish

officially was the only language of government, the majority of the populace firmly continued to speak

French

. Even official business conducted at the Cabildo often lapsed into French, requiring an interpreter to be on hand.

Slavery

When

Alejandro O'Reilly Alejandro O'Reilly, 1st Count of O'Reilly, KOA (; October 24, 1723 in Baltrasna, Co. Meath, Ireland Ireland (; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It is separated from ...

re-established Spanish rule in 1769, he issued a decree on 7 December of that year which banned the trade of

Native American Native Americans may refer to: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North and South America and their descendants * Native Americans in the United States * Indigenous peoples in Canada, the indigenous p ...

slaves. Although there was no movement toward abolition of the African slave trade, Spanish rule introduced a new law called '' coartación'', which allowed slaves to buy their freedom and that of others. A group of

maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who formed settlements away from slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave, who is someone forbidden to quit their service for an enslaver, ...

led by Jean Saint Malo resisted re-enslavement from their base in the swamps east of

New Orleans New Orleans (,New Orleans

between 1780 and 1784.

Pointe Coupée conspiracy

On 4 May 1795, 57 slaves and 3 local white men were put on trial in Point Coupee. At the end of the trial 23 slaves were hanged, 31 slaves received a sentence of flogging and hard labor, and the three white men were deported, with two being sentenced to six years forced labor in

Havana Havana (; Spanish Spanish may refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards, a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Canada * Spanish River (disambiguati ...

Havana

.

Upper and Lower, or the Louisianas

Spanish colonial officials divided ''Luisiana'' into Upper Louisiana (''Alta Luisiana'') and Lower Louisiana (''Baja Luisiana'') at 36° 35' North, about the latitude of

New Madrid, Missouri New Madrid ( es, Nueva Madrid) is a city in New Madrid County, Missouri, New Madrid County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,116 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. New Madrid is the county seat of New Madrid County. The ci ...

. This was a higher latitude than during the French administration, for whom Lower Louisiana was the area south of about 31° North (the current northern boundary of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * The State (newspaper), ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, Un ...

of

Louisiana Louisiana (Standard French Standard French (in French: ''le français standard'', ''le français normé'', ''le français neutre'' eutral Frenchor ''le français international'' nternational French is an unofficial term for a standard ...

) or the area south of where the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main ste ...

joined the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and b ...

at about 33° 46' North latitude. In 1764, French fur trading interests founded

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri Missouri is a state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * The State ( ...

in what was then known as the

Illinois Country The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Ilinois ; , i.e. the Illinois Confederation, Illinois people) — sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana) — was a vast region of New France claimed ...

. The Spanish referred to St. Louis as "the city of Illinois" and governed the region from St. Louis as the "District of Illinois".

Spanish communities in Louisiana

Senora de Balderes and Her Daughter Nueva Orleans

To establish Spanish colonies in Louisiana, the Spanish military leader

Bernardo de Gálvez'' Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Viscount of Galveston, 1st Count of Gálvez (23 July 1746 – 30 November 1786) was a Military history of Spain, Spanish military leader and colonial administrator who served as List of colonial governo ...

, governor of Louisiana at the time, recruited groups of

Spanish Spanish may refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards, a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Canada * Spanish River (disambiguation), the name of several ...

Spanish

-speaking Canary Islanders to emigrate to North America. In 1778, several ships embarked for Louisiana with hundreds of settlers. The ships made stops in

Havana Havana (; Spanish Spanish may refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards, a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Canada * Spanish River (disambiguati ...

Havana

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continent A continent is any of several large l ...

, where half the settlers disembarked (300 Canarians remained in Venezuela). In the end, between 2,100 and 2,736 Canarians arrived in Louisiana and settled near

New Orleans New Orleans (,New Orleans

. They settled in Barataria and in what is today St. Bernard Parish. However, many settlers were relocated for various reasons. Barataria suffered

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of Atmosphere of Earth, air and together with oc ...

s in 1779 and in 1780; it was abandoned and its population distributed in other areas of colonial Louisiana (although some of its settlers moved to

West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin 400px, Diagrammatic cross-section of an ocean basin, showing the various geo ...

).Hernández González, Manuel (2007). ''La emigración canaria a América'' 'Canarian Emigration to the Americas''(in Spanish). pp. 15, 43–44 (Canarian emigration of Florida and Texas); p. 51 (Canarian emigration to Louisiana). First Edition In 1782, a splinter group of the Canarian settlers in Saint Bernard emigrated to

Valenzuela

. In 1779, another ship with 500 people from

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 571,026 in 2018, it is the second-most populous ...

(in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name ...

, Spain), arrived in Spanish Louisiana. These colonists, led by

Lt. Col. Francisco Bouligny

, settled in

New Iberia

, where they intermarried with

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens, ''Acadiennes'' ) are the descendants of the French colonial empire, French who Old Acadian Villages of Nova Scotia, settled in Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Some are also descended from the Algonqui ...

settlers. In 1782, during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the Revolutionary War and the American War of Independence, was initiated by delegates from Thirteen Colonies, thirteen American colonies of British America in Continental Congress ...

and the Anglo-Spanish War (1779–83),

Bernardo de Gálvez'' Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Viscount of Galveston, 1st Count of Gálvez (23 July 1746 – 30 November 1786) was a Military history of Spain, Spanish military leader and colonial administrator who served as List of colonial governo ...

recruited men from the Canarian settlements of Louisiana and

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a popu ...

(in

Spanish Texas Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity o ...

, where Canarians had settled since 1779) to join his forces. They participated in three major military campaigns: the

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. On the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the county seat, parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, East Baton Rouge Parish, the most-populous List of par ...

, the Mobile, and the

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida Florida is a located in the region of the . Florid ...

, which ended the British presence in the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States is the coastline The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the sea or ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean T ...

and

West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin 400px, Diagrammatic cross-section of an ocean basin, showing the various geo ...

. In 1790 settlers of mixed Canarian and Mexican origin from Galveston settled in Galveztown, Louisiana, to escape the annual flash floods and prolonged droughts of this area.

Immigration from Saint-Domingue

Beginning in the 1790s, following

the slave rebellion

in

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over , the second largest empire in the world at the time behind only the Spanish ...

(now

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; french: Haïti ), officially the Republic of Haiti (; ), and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, to the east of Cuba and J ...

Haiti

) that began in 1791, waves of refugees came to Louisiana. Over the next decade, thousands of migrants from the island landed there, including ethnic Europeans,

free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were people of mixed Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most popul ...

, and African slaves, some of the latter brought in by the white elites. They greatly increased the French-speaking population in New Orleans and Louisiana, as well as the number of Africans, and the slaves reinforced African culture in the city.

Timeline

French control

The French established settlements in

French Louisiana This map shows the Louisiana Purchase area, which corresponds with much of colonial French Louisiana, but the colony extended further into the Illinois Country.The term French Louisiana refers to two distinct regions: * first, to Louisiana (New F ...

beginning in the 17th century. The French began exploring the region from

French Canada French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century ; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ) are an ethnic group An ethnic group or ethnicity is a grouping of people A people is any plurality of p ...

.

Spanish control

* 1762 – As negotiations began to end the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) is widely considered to be the first global conflict in history, and was a struggle for world supremacy between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France. In Europe, the conflict ar ...

,

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

of France secretly proposed to his cousin

Charles III of Spain it, Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese , house = BourbonBourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * ...

that France give Louisiana to Spain in the Treaty of Fontainebleau. * 1763 – The Treaty of Paris ended the war, with a provision by which France ceded all territory east of the Mississippi (including Canada) to Britain. Spain ceded Florida and land east of the Mississippi (including

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. On the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the county seat, parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, East Baton Rouge Parish, the most-populous List of par ...

) to Britain. * 1763 –

George III of the United Kingdom George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain There have been 12 British monarchs since the political union of the Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on th ...

, in the

Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain There have been 12 British monarchs since the political union of the Kingdom of ...

, proclaimed that all land east of the Mississippi acquired in the war – with the exception of

East Florida East Florida ( es, Florida Oriental, link=no) was a colony of Great Britain Great Britain is an island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water ...

,

West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin 400px, Diagrammatic cross-section of an ocean basin, showing the various geo ...

and

Quebec ) , image_shield=Armoiries du Québec.svg , image_flag=Flag of Quebec.svg , coordinates= , AdmittanceDate=July 1, 1867 , AdmittanceOrder=1st, with New Brunswick ("Hope restored") , image_map = New Brunswick in Canada 2.svg , ...

– would become an

Indian Reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the ''Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns India ...

. * 1763 – The

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens, ''Acadiennes'' ) are the descendants of the French colonial empire, French who Old Acadian Villages of Nova Scotia, settled in Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Some are also descended from the Algonqui ...

(

Cajun The Cajuns (; Louisiana French: ''les Cadiens''), also known as ''Acadians'' (Louisiana French: ''les Acadiens''), are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Texas. They also live in the The Maritimes, Canadian maritim ...

) migration began: French settlers had been ordered to leave the new

Indian Reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the ''Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns India ...

in

Quebec ) , image_shield=Armoiries du Québec.svg , image_flag=Flag of Quebec.svg , coordinates= , AdmittanceDate=July 1, 1867 , AdmittanceOrder=1st, with New Brunswick ("Hope restored") , image_map = New Brunswick in Canada 2.svg , ...

. Settlers from the east side of the Mississippi also migrated to Louisiana. The new arrivals believed the territory was still French-controlled land. * 1764 –

Pierre Laclède Pierre Laclède Liguest or Pierre Laclède (22 November 1729 – 20 June 1778) was a France, French fur trader who, with his young assistant and stepson Auguste Chouteau, founded St. Louis in 1764, in what was then Louisiana (New Spain), Spanish Ill ...

established the Maxent, Laclède & Company trading post at

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri Missouri is a state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * The State ( ...

. * 1764 – Spain's acquisition of Louisiana from France was formally announced. * 1765 –

Joseph Broussard Joseph Broussard (1702–1765), also known as Beausoleil ( en, Beautiful Sun), was a leader of the Acadian people The Acadians (french: Acadiens, ''Acadiennes'' ) are the descendants of the French who settled in Acadia during the 17th and 1 ...

led the first group of nearly 200 Acadians to settle on

Bayou Teche The Bayou Teche (Louisiana French Louisiana French (french: français de la Louisiane, lou, françé la lwizyàn) is an umbrella term for the dialects and varieties of the French language spoken traditionally in colonial Lower Louisiana. As of ...

below present-day

St. Martinville, Louisiana St. Martinville (french: Saint-Martin) Jack A. Reynolds. "St. Martinville" entry i"Louisiana Placenames of Romance Origin."LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses #7852. 1942. p. 480.) is a city in, and the parish seat of, St. Martin Parish, Louis ...

. * 1768 –

Antonio de Ulloa Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre-Giralt, FRS FRS may also refer to: Government and politics * Facility Registry System, a centrally managed Environmental Protection Agency database that identifies places of environmental interest in the United ...

became the first Spanish governor of Louisiana. He did not fly the Spanish flag and was forced to leave by a pro-French mob in the

Rebellion of 1768 The Rebellion of 1768, also known as the Revolt of 1768 or the Creole Revolt, was an unsuccessful attempt by the Louisiana Creole people, Creole elite of New Orleans, along with nearby German settlers, to reverse the transfer of the French Louisian ...

. * 1769 –

Alejandro O'Reilly Alejandro O'Reilly, 1st Count of O'Reilly, KOA (; October 24, 1723 in Baltrasna, Co. Meath, Ireland Ireland (; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It is separated from ...

suppressed the rebellion, executed its leaders, and sent some plotters to prison in Morro Castle in

Havana Havana (; Spanish Spanish may refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards, a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Canada * Spanish River (disambiguati ...

Havana

. He was otherwise benign and pardoned other participants who swore allegiance to Spain. He established Spanish law and the

cabildo (council) A cabildo () or ayuntamiento () was a Spanish colonial, and early post-colonial, administrative council which governed a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having Municipal corporation, corporate sta ...

of New Orleans. * 1770 –

Luis de Unzaga Luis de Unzaga y Amézaga (1717–1793), also known as Louis Unzaga y Amezéga le Conciliateur, Luigi de Unzaga Panizza and Lewis de Onzaga, was a governor of Louisiana Louisiana (, ); Standard French: ' ; es, Luisiana is a state in t ...

freed the imprisoned rebels. * 1780 & 1783 – The Battle of Saint Louis and the

Battle of Arkansas Post The Battle of Arkansas Post, also known as Battle of Fort Hindman, was fought from January 9 until 11, 1863, near the mouth of the Arkansas River, Arkansas at Arkansas Post, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Although a ...

were the only military engagements fought west of the Mississippi River during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the Revolutionary War and the American War of Independence, was initiated by delegates from Thirteen Colonies, thirteen American colonies of British America in Continental Congress ...

. * 1788 – The Great New Orleans Fire destroyed virtually all of New Orleans. Governor

Esteban Rodríguez Miró Esteban Rodríguez Miró y Sabater, Order of Santiago, KOS (1744 – June 4, 1795), also known as Esteban Miro and Estevan Miro, was a Spain, Spanish army officer and governor of the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish American provinces ...

was respected for his relief efforts. * 1789 – Work on rebuilding New Orleans began, the city at that time being limited to what is now the

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English British English (BrE) is the standard dialect of the English language English is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic ...

. The new structures had courtyards and masonry walls. The cornerstone for the new St. Louis Cathedral was laid. * 1795 –

Pinckney's Treaty Pinckney's Treaty, also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo or the Treaty of Madrid, was signed on October 27, 1795 by the United States The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US), or America, is a ...

settled boundary disputes with the United States and recognized its right to navigate through New Orleans. * 1798 – Spain revoked the United States' right to travel through New Orleans. * 1799 – The newly-rebuilt

Cabildo

opened.

French control

* 1800 – In the

Third Treaty of San Ildefonso The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso was a secret agreement signed on 1 October 1800 between the Spanish Empire and the French Republic by which Spain agreed in principle to exchange its North American colony of Louisiana for territories in Tuscan ...

,

Napoleon Napoléon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader. He rose to prominence during the French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) refers to the period that began with the Estates General o ...

secretly acquired the territory, but Spain continued to administer it. * 1801 – The United States was permitted again to use the port of New Orleans. * 1803 – The

Sale of Louisiana

to the United States was announced. * 1803 – Spain refused

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name) Lewis () is a masculine English-language given name. It was coined as an anglicisation Linguistic anglicisation (or anglicization, occasionally anglification, anglifying, or Englishing) is the p ...

permission to travel up the Missouri River, since the transfer from France to the United States had not been made official; they spent the winter in Illinois at

Camp Dubois Camp Dubois (English: Camp Wood), near present-day Wood River, Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department o ...

. * 1803 – On 30 November 1803, Spanish officials formally conveyed the colonial lands and their administration to France. * 1803 – France turned over New Orleans, the historic colonial capital, to the United States on 20 December 1803. * 1804 – On 9 and 10 March, a ceremony, now commemorated as

Three Flags DayThree Flags Day commemorates March 9, and 10, 1804, when Spain , * gl, Reino de España, * oc, Reiaume d'Espanha, , , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = , nati ...

, was conducted in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri Missouri is a state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * The State ( ...

to transfer ownership of Upper Louisiana from Spain to the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (French: ''Première République''), officially the French Republic (''République française''), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted until the dec ...

, and then from France to the United States.

References

{{Coord, 29.772, -89.969, type:adm2nd_globe:earth_region:US-LA, display=title . Colonial United States (Spanish) Former Spanish colonies Former colonies in North America New France 1763 establishments in New Spain 1802 disestablishments in New Spain 1763 establishments in North America 1802 disestablishments in the United States Pre-statehood history of Louisiana Pre-statehood history of Missouri Pre-statehood history of Arkansas Pre-statehood history of Iowa Pre-statehood history of Nebraska Pre-statehood history of Kansas Pre-statehood history of Minnesota Pre-statehood history of Colorado Pre-statehood history of South Dakota Pre-statehood history of North Dakota Pre-statehood history of Montana Pre-statehood history of Wyoming Spanish colonization of the Americas

History

Slavery

Pointe Coupée conspiracy

Upper and Lower, or the Louisianas

Spanish communities in Louisiana

Immigration from Saint-Domingue

Timeline

French control

Spanish control

French control

See also

References