Schmap New Orleans Historical Background

New Orleans - Historical Background
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Rene Cavelier Sieur de la Salle, a French explorer, was the first European to explore the lower Mississippi River, and subsequently he claimed the entire river and its basin, a substantially larger plot than the modern state of Louisiana, for France. The immense area was named in honor of King Louis XIV and his wife Anne. Phillipe, Duc d'Orleans, then Regent of France, gave his name to New Orleans, but it was Sieur d'Iberville who founded the actual city some twenty years later. A port city that united the Mississippi with the Gulf of Mexico had been a strategic dream, but the site's physical landscape, an improbable fifteen feet below sea level, was a nightmare. Most of the lands surrounding the river were swamps and wetlands intermittently covered by water and dense woody vegetation, so the French had their work cut out. In addition, malaria, spread by Louisiana's most prolific resident, the mosquito, presented a lethal risk to any worker.

Gold and Coffins

It turned out to be a Scotsman, royal counselor John Law, who stimulated interest in France's newest colonial addition. Law mounted an Eighteenth century equivalent to a modern day PR campaign, complete with phony eyewitness accounts of gold-rich lands. When hopeful, and oftentimes poor, immigrants arrived and saw none of the promised gold prospects, they had little choice than to stay and make the best of it. The deceived immigrants also found that New Orleans was a deadly place with its humid and unsanitary conditions. Those who died were buried in the swampy land, but residents soon discovered that coffins had the unpleasant propensity to pop out of the ground with every hard rain. Aboveground tombs and mausoleums were the only recourse.

The Vieux Carre

Most residents built houses in a square-like grid, now called the Vieux Carre, and centered around an open area known as the Place d'Armes, today known as Jackson Square. The societal make-up of this Creole society was a mix of French aristocrats, merchants, farmers, soldiers, indentured servants and both slaves and free-people of color. It soon became fashionable for male Creole aristocrats to have black or mulatto mistresses. Children sired from these unions were often treated well and sometimes given valuable property and European educations. This generous attitude towards minorities set New Orleans apart from all other major North American colonial cities.

Acadian and Spanish Immigrants

In the 1760s, New Orleans underwent its first major social transformation with the arrival of two new groups, the Acadians and the Spanish. The Acadian immigrants, or Cajuns, who were ousted from their native Nova Scotia by the British, traversed the entire United States, and settled in the bayous west of New Orleans. The Spanish arrived in the city prodded by the transfer of the Louisiana Territory to Spanish King Charles III, royal cousin to King Louis XV of France. The Spanish reign, however, was short and most notable only for the building codes enacted to spare the Vieux Carre from the devastating fires that swept the city in 1788 and 1794. The architecture of the area is frequently attributed to the French, including rear courtyards and elaborate wrought iron balconies, but was actually a Spanish contribution.

Louisiana Purchase

Despite the prosperity that developed during Spanish occupation, New Orleans remained predisposed to its French heritage. The city happily reunited with its original founders in 1800, when the Louisiana Territory was returned to France. However, the reunion was short-lived. War debts forced Napoleon to sell the territory to the United States for a mere $15 million in the famous Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Louisiana later achieved statehood in 1812.

Once Louisiana was officially named an American state, American settlers, and Irish and Italian immigrants rushed into the city of New Orleans. Rebuffed by the city's Creole society, the Americans settled upriver from the Vieux Carre (French Quarter) in what are now the Central Business District and the Irish Channel. Skirmishes between the old and new residents occurred frequently. The dividing line, an empty canal, between the French Quarter and the American sector, became known as "the neutral ground" and then, Canal Street.

Mardi Gras – The Beginning

In the years leading up to the Civil War, New Orleans became a prosperous port city. Cotton, tobacco and sugarcane plantations produced goods at full throttle. Steamboats along the Mississippi transferred the goods to the rest of country. During this economically comfortable period, New Orleans developed its festive reputation. By 1823, costume balls commemorated Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday," the celebration that precedes Lent. Secret aristocratic groups, known as Mardi Gras Krewes, offered structure to the loose, sometimes violent, holiday season. In 1857, the first established Krewe, the Mystick Krewe of Comus, debuted a horse-drawn, decorated float, which soon became a prominent constituent of the annual festivities. Some years later, the Comus Krewe introduced the role of Mardi Gras Queen, bestowing the premier honor on Mildred Lee, daughter of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

Civil War and Aftermath

New Orleans, loyal to the Confederacy, fell quickly to Union forces in the early years of the Civil War. City morale suffered, but the French Quarter continued to thrive because of saloons, gambling parlors and bordellos. The party atmosphere became somewhat regulated toward the turn of the century when alderman Sidney Story proposed setting up a red-light district along Basin Street, just to the north of the French Quarter. The district soon became known as Storyville. Resident entertainers there, most notably "King" Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton, would later contribute to the birth of the national musical art form known as jazz.

“Rescue” of the Crescent City

The beginning of the Twentieth century was a difficult period for New Orleans. A series of natural disasters, including a hurricane in 1915, a flu epidemic in 1918, and a flood in 1927 devastated the city. Legendary governor and beloved scoundrel Huey P. Long rescued the Crescent City with successful bids to the state legislature for the expansion of public works and services. Long's legally questionable, but ultimately successful methods also put a corrupt stamp on both city and state politics. The famous line, "Folks have a certain way of doing things 'round here," from the movie The Big Easy, is a fairly accurate assessment of the local bureaucratic mindset over the past century.

Modern Era

Oil, natural gas and tourism have become New Orleans' largest post-Depression industries. In 1969, the first Jazz Fest, a 10-day festival and one of the world's largest musical celebrations, attracted the biggest names in jazz and blues to its outdoor stages. The festival continues to draw impossibly large numbers of visitors to the city each year. The 1984 World's Fair Exhibit was a less successful commercial venture, but led to the development of the Warehouse District wharves, now site of the ever-expanding Convention Center.

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French Quarter

The French Quarter, or Vieux Carre in French, is the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans. It lies in the crescent of the Mississippi River and consists of fairly narrow streets, reminiscent of European city planning, that reveal hidden courtyards and look up to wrought iron balconies. The architecture in the Quarter typically dates to the late 18th- and early 19th-centuries, and draws on French and Spanish influences. In daytime, the French Quarter, especially the area around Jackson Square, is filled with tourists, street performers, and the occasional conman. At night, the French Quarter transforms into the stereotypical party scene. Barhopping college students, adventurous suburbanites, tourists, and practitioners of the world's oldest profession all populate the area until the wee hours.

Review © 2007, Wcities

Photo: Steve

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French Quarter photo by david hornbuckle

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French Quarter photo by Amanda L. Caskey

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Mardi Gras

City-Wide Party 1 Poydras Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
http://www.mardigrasneworleans... Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, the following description may no longer be accurate. Please consider this when making your travel plans.

This carnival is the Crescent City's biggest party of the year and one of the best-known celebrations in the world. Taking place annually on Fat Tuesday (the day before Lent on the Christian calendar) and the days leading up to it, parties begin in the morning and last until midnight. The parades are put on by social clubs called Krewes. Beautiful floats with costumed Krewe members roll down the streets all day long for a week, throwing all kinds of things from the floats to the watching crowds. The most cherished of the "throws" is a golden coconut, which can be had at the Zulu parade on Mardi Gras day. Mardi Gras is also knowned for drunken revelry and streets overflowing with people. If you want to avoid some of the worst of it, make sure you go to some of the uptown parades instead. Please note that prices for everything from hotel rooms to food go through the roof, so bring lots of money and make reservations up to a year in advance.

Review © 2007, Wcities

Photo: Blake Leyh
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New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

One of the world's largest jazz festivals 1205 North Rampart St
New Orleans, LA 70116
+1 504 522 4786
http://www.nojazzfest.com Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, the following description may no longer be accurate. Please consider this when making your travel plans.

Considered one of the world's greatest cultural celebrations, this annual 10-day event draws more than 300,000 people to listen to thousands of well-known musicians, such as Fats Domino and Willie Nelson. Also scheduled is an annual gala held at the Sheraton of New Orleans Grand Ballroom, as well as workshops, creative craft fairs and much more. Festivities that take place on the fairgrounds. Public transportation is available to and from all events.

Review © 2007, Wcities

Photo: Christian Crumlish
Photo: Jürgen Fauth
Photo: Ronald Weinstock

Warehouse District

Having outgrown the once-appropriate title, this historic New Orleans' neighborhood is no longer frequented by blue-collar factory workers. Instead, it is now a vibrant arts district populated by the city's young professionals. Some of the best art galleries in the city sit beside restaurants that offer excellent cuisine. In addition, locals and tourists crowd into the streets of the district during festivals such as Art for Art's Sake, when plenty of wine, cheese, gumbo, and art clutter the sidewalks and the shops.

Review © 2007, Wcities

Photo: Tony Seneadza
Photo: Hamutal Davidi
Photo: Allen Frost
Photo: Joel Mann
Photo: Christina L. Jacobs
Photo: anilinet2k
Photo: Catherine R. Wygal

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