E 



uropean entrenchment 



The land acquisitions made by explorer Robert de 

 La Salle for France in 1682 gave that country a power- 

 ful position in the "New World." For La Salle claimed 

 for France all the land drained by the mighty Missis- 

 sippi River and its tributaries. 



La Salle's dreams of a French empire in the lower 

 Mississippi region were taken up by two brothers, 

 Pierre Le Moyne d'lberville and Jean Baptiste Le 

 Moyne, in 1699 when they established a settlement at 

 Biloxi, now in the state of Mississippi. In 1712, Louis 

 XIV of France granted the territory of Louisiana to 

 Antoine Crozat, a wealthy French merchant who con- 

 trolled the area for five years. 



In 1717, Crozat surrendered his charter and Phillipe 

 II, who was Duke of Orleans and the regent of France, 

 granted Louisiana to John Law's Company of the West 

 for an intended 25 years. (Law, a famous Scottish 

 financier and speculator was a close friend of the 

 regent. ) Although the territory failed to prosper under 

 the Company of the West, New Orleans was founded 

 during this time and became the territorial capital. 

 In 1733, Louisiana became a French Crown Colony 

 and remained so until 1765 when it was taken by Spain 

 as a Spanish Royal Colony. 



.n competition with the British 



The tobacco industry got its start in Louisiana under 

 the reins of the Company of the West. In 1719, 30 



18 



