By Sarah Pruzansky, Cruise & Travel Writer | March 06, 2019 ( Comments)
Close your eyes and let the words “New Orleans” ring through your ears. What do you imagine? You most likely hear the sound of a saxophone vibrating in the air, see vibrant artwork spread across the cityscape of colonial Spanish architecture, and taste the spicy, comforting roux of gumbo atop a bed of perfectly cooked white rice. Or maybe you picture one of the biggest parties of the year adorned in beads, decadent masks, and purple, gold, and green - Mardi Gras.
New Orleans keeps its history alive with its celebratory display of every culture that has influenced the city since the time it was founded. From inspiration and excitement to tragedy and loss, this city has been through it all.
With a booming tourism industry, New Orleans is a beautiful, historically and culturally rich place to travel. And what better way to get there than by river cruise?
But before you book your cruise, we recommend getting to know more about how the city got to where it is today. Understanding New Orleans history and culture will help you appreciate your vacation more, such as knowing what the French Quarter is, where Mardi Gras originates from, why the city holds so many cultures in one location, why it looks the way that it does, and more!
While we couldn’t include every single part of New Orleans history and culture - we weren’t there in 1910 afterall! - we’ve condensed the city’s history into this simple timeline to give you an idea of what makes New Orleans so fascinating.
Here is our timeline of New Orleans history and culture:
2200 BCE - The delta region that one day became what we know as New Orleans was formed.
1000 BCE - This is the earliest date that we know Native Americans to have inhabited the area of New Orleans. They are responsible for creating a trading route between Bayou St. John and the Mississippi River.
1682 - Sieur de La Salle sailed to the Mississippi River and claimed the Valley for the French King, Louis XIV of France, naming the land Louisiana.
1690s - Fur trappers, traders and more French explorers began coming to the area.
In 1699, on Fat Tuesday in France, Sieur d’Iberville and Sieur d’Bienville arrived just south of New Orleans, to the mouth of the Mississippi River. In celebration of the holiday back home, they celebrated the U.S.’s first Mardi Gras and named the location of their festivity, Point du Mardi Gras.
1701 - Sieur d’Bienville became the governor of Louisiana.
1718 - Sieur d’Bienville founded the crescent of land we now know as New Orleans, calling it La Nouvelle Orleans, after Phillip II, Duke of Orleans.
1722 - After the Great Hurricane of 1722, much of the city’s structures that were built were wrecked. Following these events, Adrien de Pauger, the city’s assistant engineer, was responsible for drawing up the grid plans for today’s Old Square or French Quarter, the central square of the city.
This same year, New Orleans took the title of Louisiana’s capital from Biloxi.
1730s - By this point in time, Mardi Gras had become a holiday celebrated throughout New Orleans, although it wasn’t celebrated as lavishly as know it to today.
1760s - After Britain’s victory in the Seven Years’ War between Great Britain and France, Spain gained control over New Orleans for 39 years. This lead to major trading and partnerships with other countries such as Mexico and Cuba.
At this time, Spain’s views on race were liberal, leading to a class of free people of color in the city.
French Quarter decorated for Mardi Gras and the Louisiana Bayou.In 1766, Antonio de Ulloa became the first Spanish governor of Louisiana. But in 1768, the French colonists rebelled against this new Spanish rule in the Louisiana Revolt of 1768, driving Ulloa out of the country.
In 1769 though, Spain came back with force upon General Alejandro O’Reilly’s arrival, in which key members of the rebellion were punished. Others were pardoned as long as they remained loyal to Spain. O’Reilly became the second Spanish governor of Louisiana.
1788 - The Great New Orleans Fire of 1788 brought much of the city’s French architecture to ashes, destroying 856 of the city’s 1,100 buildings.
1790s - In 1794, the city was once again up in flames, destroying 212 buildings. Following the two Great New Orleans Fires, the city was rebuilt with brick buildings and fire pumps. Spanish-style buildings from this time still stand today, including the Presbytère and the Cabildo.
In 1795, Spain and the U.S. signed Pinckney’s Treaty, allowing the “Right of Deposit” in New Orleans. This gave Americans the opportunity to utilize the port in New Orleans to transfer merchandise and other goods, without having to worry about paying cargo fees.
Following the French victory in the War of the Pyrenees, Spain and France signed the Peace Treaty of Basel in 1795. This was a turning point as Spain became an ally of France in 1797 in the War of the Second Coalition against Britain.
1800s - The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed in 1800 by Spain and France to give France rule again over Louisiana and transfer power to Spain over territories in Tuscany. Spain continued to rule over Louisiana for a short period of time while the transfer was in progress.
In 1802, King Charles IV of Spain issued a royal bill confirming the transfer of power.
In 1803 though, only 20 days after France had taken over, Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States for $15 million in the Louisiana Purchase.
1809-1810 - During this time, New Orleans had an influx in immigration with a great variety of individuals, from French-speaking to Spanish to Creole to free African persons and more. New Orleans became one of the most populous cities in the United States.
Despite the growing population of free people of color, white settlers were also bringing in enslaved individuals.
1810s - In January of 1811, enslaved men revolted in the German Coast Uprising, burning plantations and mills as they marched. Militia fought back and slaves were captured with varying punishments.
Not long after, on June 18 the following year, the War of 1812 began between the United States and Britain.
Great Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Ghent in 1814 in Ghent, Belgium, but news did not reach the United States in time before the final battle of the War of 1812 - the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, led by Andrew Jackson. In this battle, Andrew Jackson led an army of pirates, slaves, free people of color, frontiersmen and more against the British, resulting in U.S. victory.
1829 - Andrew Jackson became President of the United States.
1830s - During this period, New Orleans’ population and foreign exports doubled and the Pontchartrain Railroad, New Orleans’ first railway, was built.
Before 1836, the French Quarter, Uptown (upriver) and Downtown (downriver) were all governed as different cities, but at this time the three were distinguished as three municipalities governed by the one city.
This same year, President Andrew Jackson issued the Specie Circular, requiring land transactions to only be paid with minted money.
In 1838, the New Orleans Mint was established by the federal government. It became an important branch during this time because it minted both gold and silver coins, unlike other branches which only minted gold.
1840s - In 1846, Baton Rouge took New Orleans’ title as the capital of Louisiana.
Then in 1849, New Orleans was hit by Sauve’s Crevasse, a flooding caused by a levee failure upriver of the city. The flood primarily impacted farms and natural areas though as opposed to highly populated areas of the city.
1850s - Around this time, social clubs in New Orleans began hosting Mardi Gras parades and parties with floats and bands, influencing the Mardi Gras celebrations held in New Orleans today.
1860s - In 1861, the Civil War began. This led to conflicts the same year with the Union Blockade at the Mississippi River and the Battle of the Head of Passes.
Conflict continued until April 9, 1865 when the Civil War concluded.
Following the war, in 1868, people of color became part of the political process in New Orleans and the state of Louisiana.
1870 Map of New Orleans.1870s - After Louisiana’s governor, Henry C. Warmouth, was impeached, P.B.S. Pinchback became acting governor of Louisiana from December 9, 1872 to January 2, 1873, making him the first person of color to be governor of a U.S. state.
Republican William Pitt Kellogg then became the governor of Louisiana in 1873. Supporters of Democratic-Conservative John McEnery did not believe the results of the election to be true though and believed Kellogg’s place in office to be a result of the Federal government abusing its power. Other influences to their response include the changes happening in the state during the Reconstruction period of 1865-1877.
This led to the Battle of Liberty Place where the White League fought the Republican metropolitan police of New Orleans and other allied militia.
Driving Kellogg out of government temporarily, the White League gained control over New Orleans for 3 days before the United States reinstated Kellogg. Despite this, white Southern Democrats still gained power in the city.
1900s - In the early 1900s, New Orleans inventor A. Baldwin Wood created a pump and drainage system that allowed construction of neighborhoods below sea level in the many “back swamp” areas of New Orleans. This system is still used to this day.
In the 1900s, on 1909, 1915, 1947 and 1965 the city was hit by hurricanes and in 1927 the Great Mississippi Flood.
1920s - The roaring 20s is where we begin to see much of the excitement known to New Orleans, as individuals fascinated with the arts, such as writing, music, and acting, begin traveling to the French Quarter.
During the 1900s there was also a shift in the languages spoken in New Orleans, with French becoming less of a prominent language in the city. L’Abeille de la Nouvelle-Orleans, the city’s major French newspaper, stopped publishing in 1923.
The same year, the city gained access to the newly opened Industrial Canal.
1960s - Schools in New Orleans at this time began desegregating, beginning with McDonogh 19 Elementary School and William Frantz Elementary School.
The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal was completed in 1965 and while it was expected to have positive economic impacts, it did not succeed in meeting that expectation and even ended up getting blamed for various environmental issues including erosion and saltwater intrusion.
1978 - Ernest N. Morial became the first African-American mayor of New Orleans.
1990s - The Louisiana Flood created severe flooding in the city in 1995, destroying more automobiles than ever before this time in U.S. history.
2000s - Unlike other destruction that natural disasters had caused the city, Hurricane Katrina was the most destructive. When the Category 5 hurricane hit on August 29, 2005, many had evacuated but many stayed in the city for varying reasons including the lack of finances to be able to leave, underestimating the power of the storm, and more. 80% of the city was flooded, with many individuals killed and harmed. The city was greatly destroyed, preventing many who had evacuated from being able to return.
New Orleans needed a win, and the Saints gave them that win in the 2009 Super Bowl season, a victory that brought joy to the city in a time of recovery.
Despite the disaster of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans history and culture still lives on with its Mardi Gras celebrations, festivals, music, food, and artwork, all exemplifying the various vibrant cultures seen throughout the entirety of the city’s history.
At iCruise.com, we strive to make booking your next vacation simple. To learn more about how you can visit New Orleans and other historical locations along the Mississippi River and other areas of the United States, take a look at our U.S. cruisesaqsbzquzebydeyecszdctacusqdeycfcrstxaqsbzquzebydeyecszdctacusqdeycfcrstx or give us a call today.
