The Colonial Period
(Up to 5/2/1802)

DateEventAuthorFormatLinkKeyword 1Keyword 2
-/-/1670Native Americans occupy the area now called Louisiana for at least 2000 years prior to European exploration.UsnerBookClick Here

Indigenous
4/21/1671John Law, a Scotsman, is born this month and baptized on this date. Law, a convicted murderer, gambler, and economic theorist, would eventually create a stock market scheme in France that would popularize French expansion in the colony before leading to an economic collapse.MurphyBookClick Here

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4/9/1682René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Henri de Tonti travel down the Mississippi and reach the mouth of the river. LaSalle would also "claim" much of the explored territory in the name of the crown.GreenwaldBookClick Here

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-/-/1689French explorer Nicolas Perrot would "claim" the area between the Mississippi and Lake Michigan in the name of France.GiraudBookClick Here

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10/24/1698Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, born in Canada, leaves from France to find the mouth of the Mississippi. He receives the assignment from the french Minister of the Marine Louis Phelypeaux Pontchartrain..PowellBookClick Here

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1/1/1699The earliest recorded contact between Europeans and the Houma Tribe occurs when d"Iberville visits the tribe "30 leagues" above "istrouma," a Muscogean word for "red stick." (Baton Rouge) [Exact date unknown.]Select Committee on Indian AffairsTranscriptClick Here

Indigenous
3/2/1699Iberville finds the mouth of the Mississippi from the Gulf side.McWilliamsBookClick Here

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3/3/1699Iberville celebrates the first Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) in the territory on this date. The area is named Pointe du Mardi Gras.McWilliamsBookClick Here

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3/27/1699While exploring the Mississippi, Iberville crosses through Pass Manchac and finds a large lake that he names De Pontchartrain, after the french Minister of Marine.McWilliamsBookClick Here

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3/31/1699His expedition running out of time, Iberville directs that a settlement be located at the mouth of the "Bilocchy" river - present day Biloxi/Ocean Springs, MS.McWilliamsBookClick Here

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1/8/1700Iberville arrives at (today's) Biloxi Bay beginning his second exploration of North America.McWilliamsBookClick Here

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1/9/1700Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the younger brother of Iberville, "bluffs" an English sea captain at the English Turn on the Mississippi. Bienville tells the British that the area belongs to the French King and Bienville would use force to protect the Crown's property. [Date estimated.]McWilliamsBookClick Here

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1/1/1704Approximately 22 women arrive in the colony aboard The Pelican. [Date estimated.]DeJeanBookClick Here

Women-
7/9/1706Iberville dies from malaria in Havana. There is speculation that Iberville had gone to Havana to store iron he had stolen from the Crown.PowellBookClick Here

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-/-/1709The first black enslaved people arrive in Louisiana on the order of Bienville.Midlo HallBookClick Here

Slavery-
9/14/1712Louis XIV leases Louisiana to Antoine Crozat, a wealthy businessman. Crozat has been misled about the vast riches of the territory by Sieur de Cadillac.SubletteBookClick Here

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6/-/1713Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac (military officer, explorer, and the "founder" of Detroit) arrives in the Gulf after being appointed Governor of the colony in 1710.ZoltvanyWeb PageClick Here

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9/1/1715Louis XIV dies. Louis XIV's nephew, Philippe II, Duc d’Orléans, becomes Regent. He is known for his outrageous behavior and debauchery.SubletteBookClick Here

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9/1/1715Louis XV becomes King but he will not rule until he reaches his age of majority in 1723.Common FactOtherClick Here

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12/-/1715John Law writes the Regent explaining his concept of a state bank that would expand the money supply and thus the French economy. The specifics behind Law's proposal are not clear but the letter will lead to the creation of the General Bank.MurphyBookClick Here

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5/2/1716Letters of Patent are granted to John Law to establish the General Bank. The Bank is a private entity but the Regent (Duc d'Orleans) participates in the formation of the Bank. Law hopes the Bank's notes will be treated as legal tender, fostering economic growth.DavisPaperClick Here

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1/1/1717The Houma Nation and twenty-three other tribes enter into a peace treaty with the French.Select Committee on Indian AffairsTranscriptClick Here

Indigenous
5/-/1717According to one writer, the proposed settlement is named New Orleans (after the Regent) by Bienville and territory Governor Jean-Michel de Lepinay in a report sent back to France.de VilliersPaperClick Here

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8/23/1717Antoine Crozat, to whom the Crown had given the rights to develop the colony, is allowed to return his concession to the Crown.DavisPaperClick Here

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9/6/1717Crozat's grant to control Louisiana commerce is conferred on Company of the West by edict. The Company of the West is required to populate the colony with 6,000 whites and 3,000 blacks. Shares are issued and must be purchased with government debt, thus reducing France's national debt. [See also Davis.]GiraudBookClick Here

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3/20/1718Bienville, along with convicts and smugglers, begins cutting reeds and establishing a settlement "thirty leagues" above the mouth of the Mississippi. The exact date of this "founding" of the city is unknown.PowellBookClick Here

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4/14/1718The Company of the West issues instructions that the colony is to be located at Bayou Manchac.PowellBookClick Here

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7/-/1718L'Aurore, the first French slave ship bound for Louisiana, leaves Saint-Malo.SeckBookClick Here

Slavery-
8/1/1718The Company of the West proposes taking over the tobacco monopoly. This assumption is expected to provide income and boost the share price of the Company.VeldeArticleClick Here

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12/4/1718The General Bank Banque is converted to the Royal Bank, controlled by the Crown. The Regent takes this action because of the success of the General Bank.DavisPaperClick Here

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-/-/1719The first group of German settlers arrives in Louisiana.SeckBookClick Here

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3/-/1719Bienville awards himself two large parcels of land near the current location of the Vieux Carré giving him a vested interest in the colony's location.PowellBookClick Here

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3/27/1719John Law extolls the quality of Louisiana tobacco to the directors of the Company. Tobacco would prove to be a major lure to the Company's investors.DeJeanBookClick Here

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5/23/1719By edict, grants of commerce belonging to Company of the East Indies and China Company grants are conferred on Company of the West. New shares are to be issued to satisfy creditors. The new company is known as Company of the Indies. See also Davis.MurphyBookClick Here

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6/-/1719The French ships Duc du Maine and l’Aurore bring 500 slaves from Africa to the colony through New Orleans. Other ships follow and through 1743, 23 ships will land bringing over 5,900 slavesMidlo HallBookClick Here

Slavery-
8/1/1719Shares of the Company trade at 2750 livres.MurphyBookClick Here

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8/30/1719Shares of the Company trade at 4100 livres.MurphyBookClick Here

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10/25/1719Louis Pierre Le Blond de La Tour is appointed head planner of the colony by the Indies Company.DeJeanBookClick Here

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10/26/1719In Paris, archers are positioned near stock exchanges to maintain order due to the massive influx of investors seeking to buy shares of the Company.DavisPaperClick Here

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11/18/1719Les Deux Freres, a pinnace ship of relatively small proportions, having left La Rochelle, France in August, arrives in the colony with the first group of "exiled" women.DeJeanBookClick Here

Women-
12/12/1719La Mutine, a second ship filled with almost 100 "exiled" women, leaves from France.DeJeanBookClick Here

Women-
1/8/1720Speculation in John Law's Company's shares reaches a frenzy as shares trade at 10,100 livres. By November of the following year the shares will drop 64%.MurphyBookClick Here

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2/1/1720Responding to criticism of his plan, John Law publishes a letter defending his system. He will write a similar "explanatory" letter the following month.DavisPaperClick Here

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2/1/1720Les Deux Freres makes it second journey to the colony, this time loaded with German immigrants lured to the colony by John Law. [Month and date estimated.]DeJeanBookClick Here

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2/27/1720The ship La Mutine, with approximately 100 "exiled" women, arrives in the colony.DeJeanBookClick Here

Women-
5/21/1720In an attempt to align financial and economic markets, Arrets (decrees) are issued changing some of the terms of Law's system. Changes such as these destroy confidence in the system and lead to its ultimate collapse. [See also Davis.]MurphyBookClick Here

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5/27/1720The French Parliament has an emergency meeting and revokes the recent changes to Law's system. The manipulation of the terms causes a permanent loss of confidence in the shares.MurphyBookClick Here

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5/27/1720The Regent refuses John Law's offer to resign from his post.MurphyBookClick Here

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5/29/1720The Regent dismisses Law from his post although he will later be rehired to fix his system.MurphyBookClick Here

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5/31/1720John Law's "Mississippi Bubble" collapses as the shares drop 58% from their peak.MurphyBookClick Here

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9/-/1720In France, The Company declares that the Biloxi site will be the location for the colony’s capital.PowellBookClick Here

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12/-/1720Law resigns from his post and leaves France, eventually residing in Venice.MurphyBookClick Here

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-/-/1721A third group of women arrives in New Orleans. Most of the immigrant women had been held in French prisons.LandauBookClick Here

Women-
1/1/1721The Indies Company appoints Karl Friedrich D'Arensbourg as the administrator of the area north of New Orleans that would later be known as the "German Coast." The area was settled by German immigrants that had been lured to the colony by John Law. [Exact Month and day unknown.]DeJeanBookClick Here

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1/5/1721Eighty-one women arrive in the colony aboard The Whale. This group of women voluntarily immigrated to the colony.DeJeanBookClick Here

Women-
1/19/1721Shortly after arriving in the colony, exiled Marie Anne Fourchet marries a soldier and her son is christened in Mobile on this day.DeJeanBookClick Here

Women-
3/-/1721Architects Adrien de Pauger and Pierre Le Blond de La Tour begin the layout of New Orleans on the basis of a grid of sixty-four squares with the Place d'Armes at the center.PowellBookClick Here

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5/1/1721Bienville doubts the long-term survival of the colony because of the collapse of Law's system and the lack of support provided to the colony.DeJeanBookClick Here

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12/23/1721After receiving Pauger's map, The Company decides to locate the city at its current location.PowellBookClick Here

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-/-/1722An extensive levee system is begun along the Mississippi.ColtenBookClick Here

LeveesGeography
7/7/1722Le Blond de La Tour, head planner of the colony for the Indies Company, arrives in New Orleans.DeJeanBookClick Here

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9/11/1722A hurricane destroys much of the city, clearing many of the buildings that did not conform to Pauger’s design.PowellBookClick Here

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2/15/1723Louis XV is crowned King. The Duc d’Orléans dies in December of this year.Common FactOtherClick Here

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3/-/1724Governor Bienville promulgates the Code Noir (Black Code) regulating slavery and religious worship in the colony.GiraudBookClick Here

Slavery-
-/-/1726Jesuit Superior Beaubois finds a contingent of Ursuline nuns that is willing to come to Louisiana to provide medical care for the colony.ClarkBookClick Here

Women-
6/21/1726Adrien Pauger dies of fever and dysentery. He is the third person buried under St. Louis Cathedral. [See also Campanella - The West Bank. P. 20]Web PageClick Here

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4/1/1727Construction of the city's first church, honoring Saint Louis, is completed.DeJeanBookClick Here

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8/6/1727A group of Ursuline nuns, led by Mother Superior Marie Tranchepain, arrives in New Orleans. Although they are expected to operate a military hospital, the Ursulines will spend many of their first years in the colony educating young women.ClarkBookClick Here

Women-
6/14/1728The enslaved person "Bontemps is condemned to death as a result of a plot by several military personnel to flee the colony. Only the enslaved person was punished.DeJeanBookClick Here

Slavery-
3/21/1729John Law, the disgraced architect of the Mississippi Bubble, dies in Venice.GoldsteinBookClick Here

Bubble-
11/28/1729Angered by French attempts to take their lands, the Natchez Indians along with some slaves, attack Fort Rosalie near present day Natchez. Over 250 settlers are killed.PowellBookClick Here

Indigenous-
1/1/1731Over 2,500 enslaved Africans farm the "German Coast" when indentured workers and other laborers are supplanted by slaves.DeJeanBookClick Here

Slavery-
1/23/1731The French government accepts the return of Louisiana to the Crown from the Indies Company.DeJeanBookClick Here

Bubble-
1/1/1732Residents of New Orleans who own property abutting the Mississippi are required to maintain 6 feet thick levees. [Exact date unknown.]DeJeanBookClick Here

Levees-
-/-/1734A hurricane destroys 3/4 of the tobacco seed from a successful harvest. The destruction marked just one setback in a string of failures to successfully grow tobacco in Louisiana.PowellBookClick Here

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7/17/1734Seven years after their arrival, a permanent convent is opened by the Ursuline nuns.ClarkBookClick Here

Women-
10/-/1734The Ursulines buy Jacques Larche's riverfront plantation as a site for their new convent. Their payment would include cash, two slaves, and other consideration.ClarkBookClick Here

Women-
11/16/1735Charity Hospital is established in the will of French boat builder Jean Louis. "I bequeath..to the founding of a hospital for the sick of the city of New Orleans...to secure the things necessary to succor the sick."DartPaperClick Here

Healthcare-
6/10/1736A contract is signed to build Charity Hospital.DartPaperClick Here

Healthcare-
6/12/1737Frustrated with the difficulties of living in the colony, Jean Francois Dumont (one of the earliest chroniclers of the colony) and Marie Baron (who had been "exiled" to Louisiana) return to France.DeJeanBookClick Here

Women-
-/-/1741Cotton is introduced as a crop on Louisiana plantations.SiegelBookClick Here

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-/-/1743An ambitious public works program drains inland water from less populated areas of New Orleans.PowellBookClick Here

Geography-
-/-/1743Bienville asks to be relieved of his duties and the request is accepted by the crown. He makes his final departure to France.PowellBookClick Here

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-/-/1760Indigo, which had been one of the colony's chief exports in the 18th Century, sees peak production this year. By the end of the century, indigo cultivation is minimal.SeckBookClick Here

-Slavery
11/3/1762Louis XV cedes Louisiana to Spain in the Treaty of Fontainebleau. The Treaty remains secret until 1764. The Treaty affords Spain a buffer zone between British and Spanish interests in Mexico.MooreBookClick Here

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-/-/1763Acadians (later called Cajuns) are expelled from their native Canada and begin to arrive in Louisiana.SubletteBookClick Here

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-/-/1763Levees parallel about 50 miles of the river above New Orleans by this date as the French require riverfront landowners to erect and maintain barriers as a condition of ownership.ColtenBookClick Here

LeveesGeography
-/-/1763The Superior Council, afraid of slave revolts, restricts the importation of slaves from Saint-Domingue.PowellBookClick Here

Slavery-
1/-/1765A meeting of colonists is held to discuss the threat posed by the Spanish takeover of the colony. The group decides to send businessman Jean Milhet to France to appeal to the King.MooreBookClick Here

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3/5/1766The newly appointed Spanish Governor, Antonio de Ulloa, finally arrives in New Orleans. He does not formally transfer power to Spain since he has only 90 troops at his command.DawdyBookClick Here

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3/23/1768Spain prohibits the colonists from trading with any country other than Spain. This effectively eliminates most of the territory’s existing trading partners, angering local citizenry.SubletteBookClick Here

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10/27/1768At a Superior Council meeting, a petition is presented that demands Spanish Governor Ulloa’s expulsion from the territory.DawdyBookClick Here

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10/28/1768Five hundred French, Acadians, and Germans converge on New Orleans to air their grievances against Spanish rule.SubletteBookClick Here

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10/29/1768The Superior Council led by de La Freniere (Attorney General) and Foucault (Presiding Judge) “expels” Spanish Governor Ulloa.MooreBookClick Here

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11/1/1768Spanish Governor Ulloa departs New Orleans on the French frigate Cesar, never to return.MooreBookClick Here

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4/-/1769Apologists from the Colony reach France with the hope of presenting their views on the expulsion of Ulloa to the Crown. They are turned away without presenting their case.MooreBookClick Here

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7/20/1769Spanish Officer Alejandro O'Reilly arrives at the Mississippi River to assert Spanish authority over the colony.MooreBookClick Here

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8/21/1769O'Reilly asks the leaders of the rebellion to meet with him. They are then shown the allegations against them and are arrested. The remaining colonists are given amnesty after swearing allegiance to the King of Spain.MooreBookClick Here

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10/25/1769Five leaders of the rebellion are executed and seven are imprisoned. Twenty-one others are banished. The executions are carried out in the barracks of the Lisbon Regiment, downriver from the present-day Old Mint.MooreBookClick Here

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11/-/1769O’Reilly names Luis de Unzaga governor of Louisiana.MooreBookClick Here

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12/1/1769The first meeting of Cabildo (municipal government) is held.KendallEbookClick Here

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1/1/1773The Houma Nation moves to Bayou LaFourche.Select Committee on Indian AffairsTranscriptClick Here

Indigenous
-/-/1779The Spanish government announces a food market near the Mississippi River. The market would evolve into the "French Market."McCullaBookClick Here

Commerce
1/19/1781The Attorney General recommends that masking be prohibited during Carnival Season.LegislationClick Here

Culture
-/-/1785One of first documented floods hits New Orleans. Flooding would recur in 1791 and 1799 under Spanish rule, with several others between 1809 - 1817. The "solution" of raising levees would lead to more flooding from increased water velocity.ColtenBookClick Here

MeteorologyGeography
3/21/1788The "Good Friday Fire" destroys 856 houses, including the cathedral, the convent of the Capuchins, the arsenal, and the prison. The only surviving structure is Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop (St. Philip and Bourbon).CampanellaBookClick Here

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4/-/1788After the Good Friday fire, Spanish civil servant Andres Almonaster y Rojas offers to rebuild the cathedral and several other structures.KendallEbookClick Here

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4/1/1788Bertrand de Gravier begins to lay out fan shaped lots on his plantation separated by three cross streets. This was the origin of the layout for part of Faubourg Ste. Marie which was originally Bienville’s property.PowellBookClick Here

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10/-/1790An armed revolt of slaves begins in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) and is led by the quadroon Vincent Oge. The revolt is suppressed and Oge is executed in February of 1791.SubletteBookClick Here

Slavery-
-/-/1791Under Spanish rule, the Cabildo establishes the first market (now the French Market) to consolidate butchers, fishmongers, and vendors.PowellBookClick Here

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8/22/1791Led by former slave Toussaint Louverture, Saint-Domingue's (today's Haiti) slaves rebel against planters, beginning the most successful slave revolt in history.SubletteBookClick Here

Slavery-
12/30/1791Francois-Louis Hector, Baron de Carondelet becomes the sixth Spanish governor.GayarréBookClick Here

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10/4/1792The city's first ballroom and opera house both open on this date.CarterBookClick Here

Culture
1/21/1793Louis XVI is executed after the French Revolution.Common FactOtherClick Here

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-/-/1794A smallpox epidemic hits New Orleans.PowellBookClick Here

Epidemic-
-/-/1794Governor Carondelet orders the construction of a canal to be built by convicts and slaves. The canal will stretch from the rear of the Quarter to Bayou St. John. ( Later known as Old Basin Canal.)PowellBookClick Here

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2/4/1794France abolishes slavery in all its territories.SubletteBookClick Here

Slavery-
12/8/1794A fire destroys 212 retail and residential structures. The Cabildo enacts new building codes after this fire which embody many of the features of Spanish-style architecture giving the "French" Quarter much of its Spanish influence.CampanellaBookClick Here

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-/-/1795Etienne de Boré successfully granulates sugar from Louisiana sugar cane. This technique will lead to the massive expansion of the plantation/slavery system in Louisiana. [See also https://tinyurl.com/9w47mh7c%5DRolandBookClick Here

Slavery-
5/4/1795Fifty-seven slaves and three whites are tried for suspicion of rebellion at the Julien Poydras plantation in Pointe Coupee. They are convicted and twenty-three slaves will be hanged within a month.Midlo HallBookClick Here

Slavery-
5/21/1795In a trial related to the Pointe Coupée uprising, Antoine Sarazin admits to plotting a slave revolt.DeJeanBookClick Here

Slavery-
6/-/1795Governor Carondelet issues slave regulations because of the “rebellion” at Pointe Coupee.SubletteBookClick Here

Slavery-
6/2/1795By this date, twenty-three slaves had been hanged for the "rebellion" at a Poydras plantation in Pointe Coupee. Their heads are placed on posts along the Mississippi to warn other slaves against rebellion.Midlo HallBookClick Here

Slavery-
-/-/1796New Orleans suffers its first yellow fever epidemic as 350 people succumb to the disease. Transmitted by mosquitoes and not always fatal, the illness will plague the country and city throughout the 19th century.TraskBookClick Here

EpidemicHealthcare
-/-/1796Governor Carondelet, reversing policies that had granted land and other concessions to Western immigrants, bans American immigration.FaberBookClick Here

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-/-/1799The Hotel d'Orleans, the first elaborate New Orleans hotel, opens to the public.SiegelBookClick Here

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10/1/1800Napoleon Bonaparte exchanges Italian territories with Spain for the return of Louisiana.The Waterloo AssociationWeb PageClick Here

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11/-/1800The ban on the importation of slaves is lifted due to an expanding sugar industry.Midlo HallBookClick Here

Slavery-
-/-/1801Judah Touro, the Son of a rabbi, arrives penniless in New Orleans at the age of twenty-one. He will become one of the richest merchants and benefactors of New Orleans by the time of his death in 1854.Common FactOtherClick Here

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3/24/1803The French colonial prefect Pierre de Laussat arrives at Fort Plaquemines to take control of the colony from Spain.FaberBookClick Here

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4/-/1803France offers to sell the Louisiana territory to the U.S. due to France's poor financial condition and its failure to subdue the Saint-Domingue "rebellion."SubletteBookClick Here

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