The following Entries are associated with this Time Period. We invite you to read them and learn more about the French Colonial Period on KnowLA.
Batz, Alexandre de
Alexandre de Batz created the earliest known images of Native Americans in the lower Mississippi valley from sketches he rendered while surveying Louisiana in the eighteenth century. Continue »
Boisbriand, Pierre Sidrac Dugue de
Canadian explorer Pierre Sidrac Dugué, one of the founding fathers of colonial Louisiana, served as acting governor of Louisiana between February 1725 and March 1727. Continue »
Caddo Nation
Caddo people began to inhabit the Red River valley approximately 2,500 years ago. Around that time, the ancestors of the southern Caddo began to settle in permanent villages, build the first mounds, cultivate plants, and develop the use of ceramics. Continue »
Cadillac, Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de
Antoine de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac served as the governor of Louisiana from 1713 to 1716. Continue »
Cajuns
Cajuns are the descendants of Acadian exiles from the Maritime provinces of Canada—Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island—who migrated to southern Louisiana. Continue »
Cajuns in Literature
Acadians, Cajuns, and their history became part of American literature, often represented through romantic myth. Continue »
Classical Music
Louisiana has boasted a rich classical music traditional since early European exploration and settlement. Continue »
Code Noir of Louisiana
The 1724 Code Noir of Louisiana was a means to control the behaviors of Africans, Native Americans, and free people of color. Continue »
Cookbooks
Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, several Louisiana cookbooks collected the diverse cooking styles of Creole New Orleans. Crescent city cookbooks continued to represent Louisiana throughout the next century Continue »
Creoles
The term "Creole" has long generated confusion and controversy. The word invites debate because it possesses several meanings, some of which concern the innately sensitive subjects of race and ethnicity. Continue »
Free People of Color
Free people of color in Louisiana maintained a level of exclusiveness largely to protect their property and separate themselves from slaves. Continue »
French Colonial Louisiana
The period of French colonial control of Louisiana dates from 1682 to 1800. Continue »
Galvez, Bernardo de
Bernardo de Gálvez, the fourth governor of Spanish Louisiana, is best known for leading Louisiana militiamen against the British during the American Revolution. Continue »
Houma Nation
The Houma Indian community claims 17,000 members and continues to keep Native American traditions alive from their tribal center in Lafourche Parish. Continue »
Insurrection of 1768
In 1768, French creole merchants and planters rebelled against the imposition of Spanish rule. Continue »
Kerlerec, Louis Billouart de
French naval officer Louis Billouart, Chevalier de Kerlérec served as governor of Louisiana between 1753 and 1763. Continue »
Lépinay, Jean-Michel de
Jean-Michel de Lépinay served as the fifth governor of Louisiana from 1717 to 1718. Continue »
La Salle, Renee-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de - Expeditions
Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle led two expeditions in search of the Mississippi River's outlet to the Gulf of Mexico for France under King Louis XIV. Continue »
Le Page du Pratz, Antoine Simon
An engineer by training, Antoine Simon Le Page du Pratz published a richly illustrated, three-volume, 1,300 page observation of life in early Louisiana, “Historie de La Louisiane.” Continue »
Legalized Gambling
Legalized gambling has played an important cultural, political, and economic role in Louisiana’s history from the colonial era to the present. Continue »
