Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is unique in that it is divided into parishes, which in other states are known as counties. In its early days, it was home to American Indians and was a French colony and a Spanish colony and saw an influx of African slaves. Even the British and Germans settled in the area in the 1700s. This mix of cultures gives many modern Louisiana towns a heritage not found anywhere else in the U.S.
In the early-1800s, President Thomas Jefferson, worried about having a foreign nation on the western border of the up and coming United States, wanted to purchase the port of New Orleans. Instead, his representatives negotiated for a land package that doubled the size of the U.S. literally overnight, and on October 20, 1803, the U.S. Congress ratified the Louisiana Purchase. The deal cost the U.S. 3 cents per acre and dramatically enlarged the young country without a shot on either size ever being fired.
People known as Cajuns and Creoles are dominant in the southern part of the state. Cajuns are descendants of French-speaking people who were expelled from Acadia (now Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada) and then settled in what is now southwestern Louisiana in 1765. White Creoles are predominantly of French and Spanish ancestry, and Creoles of color are descendants of slaves who were born in either the French and Spanish colonies. Today, the term Louisiana Creole usually refers to people who are of mixed-race.
Webwerxx, Inc. Copyright (c) 2006-2022. All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced in any way without the express written consent of Webwerxx, Inc. Reproducing any original part of this publication without written permission from Webwerxx, Inc. is plagiarism. Numerous attempts were made to verify the accuracy of the information contained in this website, but some information may have changed since each article and/or report went online, and Webwerxx, Inc. is not liable for inaccurate information contained in its articles and/or reports.
