1541 - Hernando de Soto explores the region searching for gold.
1682 - Robert de La Salle claims the Louisiana Territory for France.
1714 - Natchitoches is established as the first permanent settlement.
1718 - The city of New Orleans is founded.
1763 - Spain gains control of Louisiana.
Louisiana is the only state in the union that does not have counties. Its political subdivisions are called parishes. Louisiana is the only state with a large population of Cajuns, descendants of the Acadians who were driven out of Canada in the 1700s because they wouldn’t pledge allegiance to the King of England.
