History

The main information:

Louisiana (LA) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. The capital of the state is Baton Rouge and the largest city is New Orleans. The total area of the state is 134,182 km ², including the land which is 112 927 km ². The population is 4.469 million people. The official nickname of Louisiana is the Pelican state and there are several unofficial nicknames like Child of the Mississippi, Creole State, Sugar State, Sportsman`s Paradise, Bayou State. The state was named after King Louis XIV, meaning “Land of Louis“.

A bit of a history:

In ancient times the area of the state was inhabited by different tribes of Indians. The territory of current Louisiana was discovered by the expedition of Hernando de Soto (1539-1542) and mastered by the Spaniards.In 1680 the colonial enterprise of Cavalier de La Salle made French colonization in the region. The mouth of the Mississippi wasn’t immediately found, one ship was lost, another one was arrested by Spaniards.

Colonists who landed on the beach lived in misery. They blamed La Salle for their misfortunes and finally killed him. However, the colony gradually gained strength and in 1718 New Orleans was founded. In 1763 the eastern part of the territory of Louisiana was under the control of the British.

After founding of the U.S. the eastern part of Louisiana became a part of a new state. In 1803 was committed the largest acquisition in the history of the U.S. - the United States purchased the western Louisiana from the administration of Napoleon for $15 million U.S. dollars (Louisiana Purchase).The territory of the province was divided among the several states. In 1849 the capital of Louisiana was moved from New Orleans to Baton Rouge.

Population:

The population of Louisiana is 4.469 million inhabitants. This number consists of 63% of white, 32% of black, 5% of Asian and other races. In this case 92% speak English at home, 5% speak French, and 3% speak Spanish. Due to the fact that the territory of Louisiana at various times belonged to different states, there is a diversity of national cultures. Creole and Cajun population, African, European, Hispanic, Asian and Franco-Americans, Germans, Irish, Italians live in various parts of Louisiana. Cajuns are descendants of the French, who were evicted by the British from the territory of Nova Scotia.