History
John Law
John Law was the architect of the plan to consolidate French colonial trading companies, including those in Louisiana, into a single monopoly, the Company of the Indies.
Era of Exploration
Era of Exploration Index
History
La Salle Expeditions
René-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, led two expeditions in search of the Mississippi Rivers outlet to the Gulf of Mexico for France under King Louis XIV.
Government, Politics & Law
Les Petites Nations
Approximately forty ethnically and politically distinct North American Indigenous polities located in the Gulf Coast region and lower Mississippi River valley made up les petites nations.
Archaeology
Los Adaes
The history of the fort, mission, and settlement of Los Adaes reflects both intercolonial rivalry and cooperation among the Spanish, French, and Native Americans who lived along the border of New Spain and French Louisiana.
Folklife
Louisiana Folktales
Louisiana’s folktales have been influenced by Indigenous peoples and the many cultural and ethnic groups that have immigrated to the state.
Archaeology
Mississippian Culture
The Mississippian culture spanned from roughly 1050 to 1700 CE
6.8 a.-b., 6.9 g.-h. Natchez Indians
Both French and British colonists sought alliances with the Natchez Indians, an American Indian group with settlements along the Lower Mississippi River.
Peoples of Louisiana
Natchez Indians
The Natchez are an American Indian group that lived along the Lower Mississippi River during the rise of European colonialism.
Geography
Natchitoches Settlement
The Natchitoches settlement, founded in 1714, is the oldest in the Louisiana Territory.
Art
Native American Basketry
A hallmark of southeastern Indian societies, cane basketry traditions persist in fewer than ten contemporary tribal communities in the southeastern United States, including three in Louisiana.
Literature
Native American Literature in Louisiana
Native American culture has influenced Louisiana for at least six thousand years. Today, Louisiana is home to four federally-recognized tribes: Chitimacha, Tunica-Biloxi, Coushatta, and the Jena Band of Choctaw.
Archaeology
Native American Mounds
Louisiana boasts some of the most significant Native American earthen monuments in North America and ranks second only to Mississippi in the number of mound sites.
