Louisiana: Colonial Era

French administrators sought to turn Louisiana into a plantation society in the mode of their Caribbean possessions, such as Martinique and Saint-Domingue. Yet few Frenchmen settled in the new colony and many who did created smaller family farms or traded furs with the numerous Indigenous nations of the region. Much of the documentary record of the French Period focuses on Franco-Indian diplomacy. Major events include the Natchez Revolt (1729), the Chickasaw Wars (1736-1739), the Choctaw Civil War (1746-1759), and the transfer of Louisiana to the Spanish after the Seven Years War (1762). 
    The most voluminous collection that the library holds on French Period is a complete microfilm collection (68 reels) of correspondence between French officials in Louisiana and in France (the C13 series of the Archives Nationales in Paris). A limited number of these documents have been translated and republished. See Mississippi Provincial Archives: French Dominion (4 vols) and also older issues of The Louisiana Historical Quarterly.  

     The library holds other collections with documents and rare books highlighting this formative period in Louisiana history. In addition to these materials, LSU also has a collection of early Louisiana maps. Note that most of these are reproductions. 

French -- Louisiana.

Louisiana -- History -- To 1803.

Louisiana -- Politics and government -- To 1803.

Indians of North America – Louisiana.

Choctaw Indians.

Natchez Indians.

Chickasaw Indians.