Louisiana (New France)

Louisiana (French language: La Louisiane) was the name of an administrative district of New France in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was essentially the area of North America under French colonial control that lay within the basin of the Mississippi River within the present-day United States. Named by explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle in 1682 in honour of King Louis XIV, it grew to encompass an expansive area of lands along both sides of the Mississippi between the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains, including the Ohio Country and the Illinois Country. The present-day U.S. state of Louisiana is named for the historical region, occupying a small portion of the original region at the mouth of Mississippi River.

Notable figures in the history of Louisiana

• Jacques Marquette
• Louis Joliet
• Robert Cavelier de La Salle
• Julien Dubuque
• Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville
• Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
• Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac