City History: New Orleans

The first Irish arrive in New Orleans. They’re the kind ofpeople who make bad posts on LinkedIn. We revisit Alejandro O’Reilly, who put down the 1768rebellion, and Oliver Pollock, one of the most famous Irish merchants in the Spanish period. READ MORE The Irish in New Orleans, 1800–1860 by Earl F. Niehaus The Irish in New Orleans by Laura D. Kelley The Irish in the South, 1815–1877 by David T. Gle...

Cholera strikes New Orleans. Ten percent of the city is killed. Reverend Theodore Clapp performs a minister’s duty amidst the horror. We learn about bizarre treatments. Germ theory is not yet a thing. READ MORE: Autobiographical Sketches and Recollections, during athirty-five years' residence in New Orleans by Theodore Clapp The Cholera Years by Charles E. Rosenberg “Nineteenth Century Public...

New Orleans becomes hostile to Congo Square. The African dances are banned. The space falls into disrepair, then becomes a whites-only park. Against all odds, it fights for its original identity. LEARN MORE: Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans by Freddi Williams Evans Congo Square in New Orleans by Jerah Johnson “A Window on Slave Culture: Dances at Congo Square in New Orleans, 1800-1862” b...

We explore why Congo Square existed for so long, how it retained an African character, and how its memory survived beyond New Orleans. We also talk about Louisiana Creole and some surprising aspects of this near-extinct language. LEARN MORE: Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans by Freddi Williams Evans Congo Square in New Orleans by Jerah Johnson “A Window on Slave Culture: Dances at Congo S...

The enslaved of New Orleans make music and dance together at the city's edge. This is the story of Congo Square: the people who gathered there every Sunday—and the African culture they kept alive. Listen to "Tan Patate-La Tchuite" by Adelaide Van Wey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F8jFIbCD1o LEARN MORE: Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans by Freddi Williams Evans Congo Squa...

Congo Square is often described as the “birthplace of jazz.” But its history goes far deeper—as a place where, every Sunday, the enslaved of New Orleans would practice traditional African music and dance. In this first episode of a trilogy, we examine Congo Square’s origins, its persistence across French and Spanish New Orleans, and how early American officials sought to regulate it. LEARN MORE: C...

In our final battle episode, we dispel a few historical myths, muse on alternate history scenarios, and explore not just what the American victory prevented but created . (And also discuss the TREATY OF GHENT.) LEARN MORE: The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly...

We say farewell to the folks we've gotten to know during the Battle of New Orleans. The pirates Lafitte meet their end. We assess Andrew Jackson. LEARN MORE: The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs o...

The victorious Andrew Jackson reimposes strict martial law on New Orleans. He arrests a senator and a federal judge—but soon faces justice himself. Meanwhile, diseases like typhoid and measles fell hundreds of victorious soldiers. LEARN MORE: "The Battle of New Orleans Reconsidered: Andrew Jackson and Martial Law" by Matthew Warshauer The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the...

After victory, New Orleans exhales... then throws its biggest party yet. We meet some fun characters as the British evacuate the field. Andrew Jackson is (symbolically) crowned Roman emperor. LEARN MORE: The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly The Battle of New...

An invading British army is obliterated by an unlikely coalition: American frontiersmen, French speakers, free men of color, pirates and a hundred kinds more. New Orleans is saved. LEARN MORE: The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly The Battle of New Orleans: An...

The Americans build a wall to defend New Orleans. The British army pays for it. Donate to help the victims and families of the New Year's tragedy on Bourbon Street. https://www.gnof.org/new-orleans-new-years-day-tragedy-fund-2/ https://www.unitedwaysela.org/UnitedforNOLA LEARN MORE: The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis The British at the G...

Gabriel Villeré escapes the British invaders. Jackson attacks them immediately. As a thick fog rolls in below New Orleans, both sides manage feats of strength. READ MORE: The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and Ameri...

The British take the bad route to New Orleans. It is very cold. READ MORE: The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by...

Andrew Jackson races to prepare New Orleans before the British invasion. The Lafittes cut a deal. An urgent message arrives from downriver. READ MORE: The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military...

We explore Andrew Jackson's path to New Orleans: His origins. The Creek War. Pensacola. And we see how he set up the American victory at New Orleans—before he even arrived. READ MORE: The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silv...

The War of 1812 begins! Seven weeks after Louisiana wins statehood, America declares war on Britain. It goes poorly. Britain puts New Orleans in its sights, and the militias—particularly, black militias—are, for now, its best defense. READ MORE: The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrenc...

Pirate leader Jean Lafitte has a critical decision to make. So does the U.S. Navy. Nothing less is at stake than the future of Barataria Bay—and New Orleans. READ MORE: The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf by William C. Davis "Jean Lafitte and the British Offer of 1814" by John Sugden "The Patterson and Ross Raid on Barataria, September 1814" by Robert C. Vogel Th...

Jean and Pierre Lafitte fight the law in the bays and bayous of Louisiana. The Lafittes usually win (or at least escape). But the Navy and New Orleans gear up for a big showdown with the pirates of Barataria Bay. READ MORE: The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf by William C. Davis "The Patterson and Ross Raid on Barataria, September 1814" by Robert C. Vogel The Wor...

Piracy explodes in the Gulf. Pierre and Jean Lafitte establish a pirate empire in Barataria Bay. Despite Jefferson's embargo, New Orleans residents enjoy tons of cheap, illegal goods. READ MORE: The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf by William C. Davis "The Patterson and Ross Raid on Barataria, September 1814" by Robert C. Vogel The World That Made New Orleans: Fro...

Hundreds of enslaved Louisianans rise up against the sugar plantations. Led by Charles Deslondes, this army marches on New Orleans while the U.S. military is away. READ MORE: American Uprising: The Untold Story of America's Largest Slave Revolt by Daniel Rasmussen The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Sq...

Adelaide, a Domingan refugee of color, arrives in New Orleans. She is free. And she has the proof. But people continually try to re-enslave her anyway. READ MORE: "Paper Thin: Freedom and Re-enslavement in the Diaspora of the Haitian Revolution" by Rebecca J. Scott "'She... Refuses to Deliver Up Herself as the Slave of Your Petitioner': Emigres, Enslavement and the 1808 Dige...

10,000 refugees from San-Domingue/Haiti suddenly land in New Orleans. Thousands get homes and jobs. Thousands are re-enslaved at the docks. READ MORE: The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at Year 300 by Jason Berry "The 1809 Immi...

Aaron Burr plots a conspiracy. To stop it, General Wilkinson places New Orleans under military dictatorship. French speakers prove their loyalty to the United States. READ MORE: The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis by by James E. Lewis Jr. The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Cong...

Americans believe New Orleans is ignorant, hedonistic and overly Catholic. Governor Claiborne is given near-dictatorial powers to rule. New Orleans residents get a bit too passionate about their ballroom dancing. READ MORE: "'Too ignorant to elect suitable men': Characterizations of Louisianans in Congress: 1803–1805" by Julien Vernet A Wilderness So Immense: The Louisiana Purcha...