New Orleans

New Orleans is a major city in Louisiana along the banks of the Mississippi river.  The city is named after Orleans a city located in the Loire River in France.  It was founded by the French, in 1718 and ceded to the Spanish in 1763.  During the American War of Independence, New Orleans was an important port to smuggle aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi river.  New Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1801, when it reverted to the French.  Napoleon sold the territory to the United States in 1803. Thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles, Irish, Germans and Africans. 

New Orleans is known for its distinct French and Creole architecture as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage.

 New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine with dishes such as gumbo, crawfish etouffee and jambalaya.  

It is also know for its music particularly as the birthplace of jazz.   Its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras make it the most unique city in the United States.

New Orleans handled huge quantities of commodities for export from the interior and imported goods from other countries, which were warehoused and then transferred to other cities in the antebellum south.  New Orleans had the largest slave market in the domestic slave trade.  Today the steamboats of yesteryear are used as tourist attractions, and New Orleans has evolved into a modern thriving metropolis while maintaining its unique features.