Mobile, Alabama

History

The settlement was first established in 1702, at Twenty-seven Mile Bluff on the Mobile River, as the capital of the French colony of Louisiana. Following a series of floods, the town was relocated downriver to its present location near the head of Mobile Bay in 1711. The capital of Louisiana was moved to Biloxi in 1720 and to New Orleans in 1723 and Mobile was relegated to the role of frontier town and trading post.

Related Topics:
1702 - Mobile River - Louisiana - Mobile Bay - 1711 - 1720 - 1723

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Mobile was transferred to the British in 1763 as a result of the Treaty of Paris. The immediate British enforcement of race codes threw the denizens of the French-derived culture into chaos. The French Creole world was noted for its laissez-faire attitude to racial matters and the stringent English codes chased many of Mobile's Creole residents westward into Louisiana. It also marked a slight cultural division point between Mobile and the rest of the French-founded coast.

Related Topics:
1763 - Treaty of Paris

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The port town was captured by the Spanish in 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. The Spanish held Mobile until 1814 when it was captured by the American General Wilkinson; by then it was the second largest seaport on the Gulf Coast.

Related Topics:
Captured by the Spanish - 1780 - American Revolutionary War - 1814

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The Cotton Boom of the early 19th century brought an explosion of commerce to what had been a sleepy frontier town. By the 1850s, Mobile was one of the 4 busiest ports in the United States.

Related Topics:
19th century - 1850s

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In another note of differentiation between the somewhat cosmopolitan port and the hinterlands of predominantly Protestant Alabama, Mobile was declared an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in this same period. In 1830, the Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church founded Spring Hill College, one of the oldest Catholic schools in the country.

Related Topics:
1830 - Jesuit Order - Catholic Church - Spring Hill College

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One incident of some historical interest occurred in 1860, when the Clotilde, the last known ship to arrive in the Americas with a cargo of slaves, was abandoned by its captain near Mobile. A number of the slaves escaped and formed their own community on the banks of the Mobile River, which became known as Africatown. The inhabitants of this community retained their African customs and language well into the 20th century.

Related Topics:
1860 - Africatown - Africa - 20th century

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Mobile grew substantially in the period leading up to the American Civil War when it was heavily fortified and held by the Confederates. Union naval forces established a blockade under the command of Admiral David Farragut. Farragut did not attack the city until August 1864. The ensuing Battle of Mobile Bay was a Union victory but the city held out for another nine months. During the later federal occupation of the city, in May, 1865, an ammunition depot explosion -- called the great Mobile magazine explosion -- killed some 300 people.

Related Topics:
American Civil War - Confederates - Blockade - Admiral - David Farragut - 1864 - Battle of Mobile Bay - 1865 - Mobile magazine explosion

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After the war, the harbor was substantially improved and deepened, and ship-building became a notable industry.

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During World War II, the port town predictably livened up. Industry accelerated with the increase in ship-building. Workers from outlying areas moved into Mobile to fill jobs on the waterfront and many stayed after the war's conclusion.

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In the post-War years, the Brookley Air Base was built in Mobile. The phenomenal influx of workers from the surrounding rural areas expanded the population in leaps and bounds. By 1956, Mobile's square mileage had tripled to accommodate the growth. Brookley's closure in the mid-1960s sent economic tremors through the area which took many years to absorb.

Related Topics:
1956 - Brookley - 1960s

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In 1964, the University of South Alabama opened its doors and its tremendous impact on the community and economy was deeply felt in a variety of sectors.

Related Topics:
1964 - University of South Alabama

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Mobile's seafood industry rose to a position of note for a while, with Mobile Bay oysters acclaimed far and wide, but this waned almost to the point of extinction in the last quarter of the 20th century. A few shrimpers still hang on in the South Mobile County fishing village of Bayou La Batre, immortalized in the book and film Forrest Gump, but their future appears uncertain.

Related Topics:
Oyster - Forrest Gump

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Four members of the Baseball Hall of Fame were born in Mobile: Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey, Satchel Paige and Ozzie Smith.

Related Topics:
Baseball Hall of Fame - Hank Aaron - Willie McCovey - Satchel Paige - Ozzie Smith

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Notable yearly activities that take place in Mobile include the Senior Bowl, Mardi Gras (the oldest in the country), the GMAC Bowl, the Azalea Trail Run, and the Junior Miss Pageant. In addition, the Mobile BayBears baseball team play in the Double A Southern League (baseball).

Related Topics:
Senior Bowl - Mardi Gras - GMAC Bowl - Azalea Trail Run - Junior Miss Pageant - Mobile BayBears - Southern League (baseball)

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The eastern shore of Mobile Bay periodically experiences an unusual phenomenon called a Jubilee. A jubilee, which usually takes place in the wee hours of warm nights, describes a massive upsurge of sea life from the bottom of the bay. This phenomenon has also been observed in a similar bay in Japan and is believed to be caused by low oxygen levels in the water. This upsurge to the surface usually consists of crabs, shrimp, flounder and other sea delicacies. Needless to say, a jubilee, when first realized, is quickly spread by word of mouth along the coast, providing an impromptu fishing party in the middle of the night.

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On 10 November 1993 the city formally twinned with the Japanese city of Ichihara, Chiba prefecture.

Related Topics:
10 November - 1993 - City - Japan - City of Ichihara - Chiba prefecture

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Mobile and its suburbs suffered considerable damage when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. Most of the city survived relatively intact compared to New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi, but the high winds and flooding destroyed homes in coastal areas and damaged some parts of the downtown area, and at least two people died in hurricane-related car accidents.

Related Topics:
Hurricane Katrina - August 29 - Biloxi, Mississippi - Flood

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