-->
Louisiana
Louisiana is the only
state named for a king of
France. French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, claimed
the
area for France in 1682. La Salle named it for his king, Louis XIV.
Facts About
Louisiana
|
|
Capital
|
Baton
Rouge
|
Population
|
4,290,000
people
|
Rank
among states in population
|
25th
|
Major
cities
|
New
Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport
|
Area
|
51,800
square miles
134,000 square kilometers |
Rank
among states in area
|
31st
|
Statehood
|
April
30, 1812, the 18th state
|
State
nickname
|
The
Pelican State
|
Name
for residents
|
Louisianians
|
State
bird
|
Brown
Pelican
|
State
flower
|
Magnolia
|
State
tree
|
Bald
Cypress
|
Abbreviation
|
LA
|
A FRENCH
PAST—AND PRESENT
French settlers slowly
colonized Louisiana. In 1803, the
United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France. It was a lot
bigger
than what is now Louisiana. The territory doubled the size of the United
States. A small part of that territory, called Louisiana, became the
18th state
on April 30, 1812.
You’ll find lots of reminders
in Louisiana of
its French past. The state’s largest city, New Orleans, is named after a
French
duke, the Duc d’Orléans, a nephew of Louis XIV. The city’s oldest
section is
called the French Quarter. Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, means
“red
stick” in French. A French explorer named it after a red cypress tree
growing
there. Other signs of Louisiana’s French past include its Mardi Gras
festival
and its Cajun and Creole people.
MARDI GRAS
Mardi Gras (French for
“Fat Tuesday”) is a colorful
festival celebrated in many parts of the world. The Mardi Gras
celebration in
New Orleans is especially famous. Many people flock to the city to watch
the
lively Mardi Gras parades with their decorated floats and costumed
merrymakers.
Costume balls are held in the evening.
Mardi Gras takes place
just before the start of
Lent. During Lent, Roman Catholics have traditionally given up meat and
other
foods. On Fat Tuesday, they feast on foods they wouldn’t be able to eat
during
Lent.
CAJUNS AND
CREOLES
Do you know what a Cajun
is? It’s someone
whose ancestors came from Acadia. Acadia was a French colony in eastern
Canada.
If you drop the “A” and say “Cadian” fast, it sounds like Cajun.
The Acadians had to leave
Canada after Britain
took control of Acadia in the mid-1700s. The Acadians fled to Louisiana,
where
they tried to keep their French culture alive. Today, Cajuns speak an
old style
of French, mixed with English, African, and Native American words. Their
Cajun
music has become popular across America. Many restaurants serve Cajun
food,
such as gumbo and jambalaya.
Creole once referred only
to someone whose
ancestors were French or Spanish settlers of Louisiana. Now there are
also
black Creoles, who are of mixed black and European ancestry. Louisiana’s
Creoles have their own culture, too.
THE
PELICAN STATE
Louisiana is nicknamed
the Pelican State in honor of the
state bird, the brown pelican. Colonies of brown pelicans once nested
along
Louisiana’s coast. In the mid-1900s, the birds nearly died out. DDT and
other
chemicals used on crops had damaged the shells of pelican eggs. Young
pelicans
didn’t hatch. The chemicals were banned, and new pelicans were brought
to the
coast. Pelican colonies are thriving once again.
Louisiana is a great place
to see birds! Over
half of all North American bird species can be found in the state at
some time
during the year. Ducks and geese fly for thousands of miles to spend
their
winters in the marshes of Louisiana’s coast.
RIVER,
DELTA, AND BAYOU
The Mississippi River
forms much of the eastern border
of Louisiana. It empties into the Gulf of Mexico, south of New Orleans.
As the
fast-moving Mississippi enters the calmer gulf, it deposits much of the
soil,
sand, and other material it is carrying. As a result, a piece of land
called
the Mississippi Delta formed. It is one of the largest deltas in the
world.
The delta is full of bayous,
or
slow-moving rivers. The bayous and the gulf provide Louisiana with
shrimp,
oysters, fish, and crayfish. Seafood figures in many of the state’s
unique
dishes.
The Mississippi and the
Gulf of Mexico also bring
problems to the area. Hurricanes rise in the gulf and hit the coastline
of
Louisiana. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina flooded the city of New Orleans and
forced
people to flee. The Mississippi occasionally floods the delta area.
PLANTATIONS
AND PETROLEUM
Cotton and sugarcane once
grew on plantations along
Louisiana’s riverbanks. Planters could load bales of cotton and sacks of
sugar
directly onto boats. Black slaves worked the fields. They picked the
cotton and
harvested the cane.
The plantations are gone,
but some plantation
houses remain. Many of the houses are open for visits. Here you can
learn about
plantation life before the Civil War (1861-1865) ended slavery. Cotton
and
sugarcane are still grown in Louisiana, but not on plantations. Cotton
is grown
mainly in the northern part of the state, and sugarcane in the delta.
Oil refineries now stand
along the Mississippi
River where cotton and sugarcane once grew. Louisiana is a leading
producer of petrochemicals
(chemicals from oil) and natural gas. The discovery of oil in Louisiana
in 1901
helped the state’s economy recover after the Civil War.
NEW
ORLEANS
New Orleans was the main
reason for the
Louisiana Purchase. Its port controlled traffic on the Mississippi
River. The river
was the main trade route to the Midwest. Today, the enormous Port of
South
Louisiana extends 54 miles (87 kilometers) along the Mississippi, from
New
Orleans to Baton Rouge. It handles more cargo than any other port in the
United
States.
New Orleans became a great
city because of its
port. Tourists came to see the city’s picturesque French Quarter, enjoy
its
fine food, and listen to jazz. New Orleans is considered the birthplace
of
jazz. After Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in 2005, the people
who lived
in the city were forced to leave. But many areas, such as the French
Quarter,
were not damaged by the flooding. The rest of the city is now slowly
rebuilding.
HONORING A
PIRATE
Not many pirates have
parks named after them. The
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve honors a pirate’s
role in
the history of Louisiana.
French pirate Jean Laffite
(also spelled Lafitte)
attacked and robbed Spanish ships from his base in New Orleans. During
the War
of 1812 between Britain and the United States, the British offered
Laffite
money if he would help them capture New Orleans. Laffite refused. He
helped the
United States defend New Orleans and defeat the British in the Battle of
New
Orleans in 1815.
Tags
United States
