Louisiana

LouisianaState located in the southern region of

USA. Its capital is Baton Rouge and the largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties.

Louisiana• Official languages: English and

French• Total area: 135,382 km2

• Population density: 40.65/km2

• Governor: Bobby Jindal• U.S. senators: Mary Landrieu, David

Vitter

Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana - HistoryExploration and colonization by Europeans

• The first European explorers to visit Louisiana came in 1528 when a Spanish expedition led by Panfilo de Narvaez located the mouth of the Mississippi River. In 1542, Hernando de Soto's expedition skirted to the north and west of the state (encountering Caddo and Tunica groups) and then followed the Mississippi River down to the Gulf of Mexicoin 1543. Then Spanish interest in Louisiana lay dormant. In the late 17th century, French expeditions, which included sovereign, religious and commercial aims, established a foothold on the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast. With its first settlements, France lay claim to a vast region of North America and set out to establish a commercial empire and French nation stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada.

Louisiana-HistoryPurchase by the United States• When the United States won its independence from

Great Britain in 1783, one of its major concerns was having a European power on its western boundary, and the need for unrestricted access to the Mississippi River. As American settlers pushed west, they found that the Appalachian Mountains provided a barrier to shipping goods eastward. The easiest way to ship produce was to use a flatboat to float it down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the port of New Orleans, from whence goods could be put on ocean-going vessels.

LouisianaAfrican Americans• Louisiana's population has the second largest

proportion of black Americans (32.1% according to 2010 census) in the United States, behind neighboring Mississipi (36.3%). Official census statistics do not distinguish among people of African ancestry. Consequently, no distinction is made between those in Louisiana of English-speaking heritage and those of French-speaking heritage.

LouisianaEuropean Americans• Whites of Southern U.S. background predominate in northern

Louisiana. These people are predominantly of English, French, Welsh, and Scots Irishbackgrounds, and share a common, mostly Protestant culture with Americans of neighboring states. In 1840 New Orleans was the third largest and most wealthy city in the nation and the largest city in the South. Its bustling port and trade economy attracted numerous Irish, Italian, Portuguese and German immigrants, of which the first three groups were totally Catholic, with some Germans also being Catholic, thus adding to the Catholic culture in southern Louisiana. New Orleans is also home to sizable Dutch, Greek and Polish communities, and Jewish populations of various nationalities.

Louisiana-Animals• State Animal: Louisiana Black Bear• State Insect: Honey bee• State Dog: Catahoula Leopard Dog • State Fish: White Perch• State Bird: Brown Pelican• State Crustacean: Crawfish • State Reptile: American Alligator• State Saltwater Fish: Spotted Seatrout • State Amphibian: Green Tree frog

Louisiana-Animals

Louisiana-Animals

New Orleans

New Orleans

New Orleans

• Bibliography:• http://en.wikipedia.org • http://www.louisiana.gov/

• Basia Niezbecka 2e