12 Incredible Facts About The Louisiana Purchase

12 Incredible Facts About The Louisiana Purchase — page 3
LOUIS XIV CALLS LOUISIANA QUITE USELESS On April 9 1682 French explorer impressed He called the discovery quite useless René Robert Cavelier de La Salle reached the mouth of the It wasn't until 1699 that the French Mississippi River La Salle claimed set up a colony in the territory Settlers from France and Germany the land west of the Mississippi for France even though American Indian tribes had been living there came to live there They cleared the land and built farms Not long for centuries He named the land after French speakers from Canada Louisiana after the King of France Louis XIV But the king wasn't moved there too Later people in Africa and the West Indies a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea were captured and brought in to work the land as slaves In 1754 fighting began between Great Britain and France It is known as the French and Indian War 1754 1763 During the war France gave up Louisiana to its ally Spain Under Spanish control commerce in René Robert Cavelier de La Salle Louisiana