Louisiana’s French History

1605
La Cadie, later called Acadie, is founded by the French in Nova Scotia

1682
Robert Cavelier de La Salle claims Louisiana for France

1699
First permanent French settlement in Louisiana is established in Biloxi.

1713
Acadie is ceded to Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht

1714
City of Natchitoches is founded

1718
City of New Orleans is founded

1719
First shiploads of enslaved African arrive in New Orleans. They were brought to Louisiana to work in the rice, indigo and cane fields. They were men and women primarily from Dahomey ( present-day Benin) and Senegal.

1721
First German, Swiss and Alsatian colonists begin arriving in Louisiana.

1755
The governor Charles Lawrence orders the deportation of the Acadians. La Cadie becomes Nova Scotia.

1756
Poste des Attakapas is founded in south central Louisiana

1762
France cedes Louisiana to Spain

1764
First documented arrival of Acadians in Louisiana

1765
Acadians settle at the Poste des Attakapas

1773
First Spanish colonists begin to settle Louisiana, as well as Irish Catholic refugees.

1776
United States of America declares its independence from Britain.

1785
Final Acadian migrations: Seven shiploads of almost 1,600 arrive in New Orleans from France

1789
French Revolution brings waves of French immigrants to Louisiana

1791
Revolt of enslaved Africans in Haiti brings more than 10,000 Creoles of French, African, and mixed descent to Louisiana

1800
Spain cedes Louisiana to France

1803
Napoleon Bonaparte sells Louisiana to the U.S. for $15 million

1808
The first Louisiana Civil Code is adopted by the legislature.

1812
Louisiana acquires U.S. statehood

1836
Vermilionville, later named Lafayette, is incorporated

1860's
Louisiana lay in ruins after the Civil War. The use of French in public activities is interdicted by General Butler to punish Louisiana for being allied with the Confederate States.

1861
Civil War begins

1864
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation which liberated the enslaved Africans.

1882
Railroad crosses Louisiana prairie, bringing in more settlers and increasing the area's contact with the outside world

1901
Oil is discovered in Louisiana near Jennings

1905
Thousands die in yellow fever epidemic

1906
Plaquemine lock completed, allowing continuous navigation between the Mississippi River and the Atchafalaya Basin

1914
World War I begins; many young Creole and Cajun men serve as interpreters in Europe

1915
Suppression of the French language in the schools by the State Board of Education; Children are punished when they speak French.

1916
The Mandatory Attendance Act obligates parents to send their children to school.

1921
The Louisiana Constitution prohibits the use of any language other than English in the public school system.

1927
President Coolidge visits a Louisiana ravaged by flooding

1928
Louisiana Governor Huey Long begins extensive road-paving project; Joe Falcon and Cléoma Breaux make first recording of a Cajun song, "Allons à Lafayette"

1929
Stock market crash, beginning of Depression

1941
World War II begins; many young Creole and Cajun men again serve as interpreters in Europe

1947
First offshore oil well in the Gulf of Mexico

1955
Bicentennial of the Acadian Genocide

1964
Congress passes the Civil Rights Act which forbid discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or nationality.

1968
CODOFIL is created

1969
With the support of CODOFIL, Louisiana elementary schools begin offering 30 minutes of French per day.

Arrival of the first CODOFIL teachers from France and Quebec.

1971
Louisiana elects its first French-speaking governor of the 20th century, Edwin Edwards

1974
First Hommage à la musique acadienne, later to become part of Festivals Acadiens

1976
Publication of "Lâche pas la patate" by Revon Reed, first book in Cajun French.

Arrival of the first Belgian teachers.

1977
First Cajun French course offered at LSU by Ulysse Ricard.

1980's
Cajun music and food gains international recognition; It's cool to be Cajun.

1980
Federal judge Hunter declared the Cajuns a minority protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the lawsuit of James Roach vs. Dresser Industries, Valve and Industries Division.

1981
First French immersion program introduced at La Belle Aire School in East Baton Rouge Parish

The first Zydeco Festival takes place in Plaisance.

1983
Calcasieu Parish introduces French immersion program

1984
The first accords are signed between Louisiana and the French Community of Belgium.

1988
The opening of the Louisiana Creole Heritage Center at Northwestern State University, sponsored by the St. Augustine Historical Society.

1989
Assumption and St. Martin Parishes introduce French immersion programs

1990
Census reports 668,271 Acadians/Cajuns residing in the U.S.; 61 percent are Louisiana residents. Also reports 262,000 French-speakers in the state, the largest in the USA.

Arrival of the first African teacher from the Ivory Coast.

1991
Arrival of the first Acadian teachers.

1992
Lafayette Parish introduces French immersion program

1994
Acadia Parish introduces French immersion program

The University of Southwestern Louisiana begins North America's first Francophone Studies Ph.D. program.

First World Acadian Congress is held in New Brunswick, Canada.

1995
Creation of Consortium of French Immersion Schools

1996
Orleans Parish introduces French immersion program

French immersion programs expanded in Lafayette and Assumption Parishes

St. Landry Parish introduces French Immersion

1997
For the first time, Louisiana participates in the World Francophone Summit in Vietnam as an observer.

1998
East Baton Rouge Parish reintroduces French Immersion

Louisiana State University begins a program in Cajun French Studies.

The Louisiana Creole dictionary is published.

1999
The first course in Louisiana Creole is offered at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

La Francofête- A year-long celebration of three hundred years of French heritage in Louisiana