People and Leaders
Who claimed the Mississippi River region for France in the late 1600s?
Robert LaSalle
Around which major river was French colonial Louisiana centered?
The Mississippi River
Why did mercantilism fail in the French Louisiana colony?
The land did not offer gold and silver that the French wanted to find. Also, poor soil and coastal storms caused limited success in farming cash crops.
What year did the French colonial period begin?
1682
What was the name of the group that were free Africans?
Free People of Color (Les Gens de Couler Libres)
Who was the Louisiana named after?
King Louis XIV, king of France
Why was New Orleans' location near the mouth of the Mississippi important for trade and settlement? Give one clear reason.
It allowed control of river trade, access to the Gulf of Mexico, and easy transport of goods inland.
What was one of the settlers' primary sources of income in the French colony's early years?
Fur trading and lumber yards were also common.
What are the names of the two mountain ranges that the French Louisiana colony bordered?
Rocky Mountains and Appalachian Mountains
Creole
Who is the explorer that went with his brother to establish settlements in the Louisiana Colony and was the commander of Fort Maurepas?
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville
What is Natchitoches, and why is it important in the history of colonial Louisiana?
Natchitoches is the oldest permanent settlement in Louisiana (founded 1714) and served as a trade center linking French settlers with Spanish and Native communities.
Who did Jean-Baptiste Bienville establish a trade and military alliance with?
Native American tribes and nations
How did the Spanish colonists respond to the new French settlement in the west?
The Spanish colonists built missions around it.
What is the name of the articles that were implemented to try to control the lives of free and enslaved African people, including their religion and interactions with others?
Code Noir
Who sent idealistic advertisements to encourage people to invest or become a settler for the Company of the West in the Louisiana Colony?
John Law
What type of physical environment did Lower Louisiana have?
Lower Louisiana had a subtropical climate with hot and humid summers and mild winters. Poor weather was common, and it faced many dangers of hurricane season because of it rested near the Gulf Coast.
Where did St. Denis establish a trading post?
Fort des Natchitoches on the lands of the Natchitoches tribe.
Which event was a significant moment in the development of New Orleans that led to the architectural restructure of the settlement?
The hurricane of 1722
Which cultural group migrated to the Louisiana colony because of the advertisements by John Law?
Germans
What did Pauger create to fortify the New Orleans settlement against future floods and storms?
Pauger created a grid system of streets and blocks in the New Orleans settlement.
Where was the Fort Maurepas, the first French capital of the Louisiana Colony, located?
It originally was in Biloxi, Mississippi, but it was later moved to Mobile, Alabama.
How did the financial crash of Law's company negatively impact the Louisiana Colony?
It caused inflation.
What's the name of the document that transferred control of the Louisiana territory west of the Mississippi River from the French to the Spanish?
Treaty of Fontainebleau
Which one of these is not a topic covered in the Code Noir?
A. rules of emancipation
B. laws against interracial marriage
C. enslaved African people lacked legal rights
D the Jewish religion was the only approved religion
D. The Jewish religion was expelled (thrown out) of Louisiana. Catholicism was the approved religion.