French Louisiana Economic Development

French Louisiana: Economics and Development

When Louisiana was first settled in 1699 by French immigrants, the colonies of the newly formed state were in an impoverished, unprofitable position. The colonies' destitution was due to the lack of resources provided by their new land and government, as well as France's political and economic negligence. However, after long years of poverty, the colony would one day turn a profit by trading their naturally occurring precious metals for paper money and land. Though the early settlers had been drawn to America with enticing tales of wealth and freedom, France was unable to finance it's settlements; the country's national bank had already been depleted by various European wars. This economic deficiency

While the Mississippi Colony was not the only settlement neglected by the French government at the time, they suffered the worst, being the newest and most unstable of the colonies. The settlers only worsened their squalid state, as they, being mislead by stories of American gold, disregarded their need to hunt and farm. The explorers mined and panned for gold, instead of planting crops or raising animals. Because of the colonials’ preoccupation with wealth, they only perpetuated their poverty. Subsequently, they were forced to trade all their remaining valuables: blankets, utensils, and other technologically advanced possessions to the nearby Native American tribes in exchange for food. Furthermore, because farms were small, scarce, and far between, and the immigrants were not adequately equipped for colonization, the settlers were forced to resort to scavenging the shores in search of small washed-up sea creatures, as well as foraging for edible naturally-occurring flora. Due to causes such as malnutrition, cold, and lack of sanitation, disease, including yellow fever, began to fester and spread like wildfire, killing many. Unfortunately, hunger and illness were only two of the many trials

It spread and evolved over time, growing in population and wealth. The colony suffered through war and unrest, and was eventually bought by the United States of America for $15 000 a century later, taking up a little less than a third of America's territory.

The Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/collections/louisiana-european-explorations-and-the-louisiana-purchase/articles-and-essays/louisiana-as-a-french-colony/

The Mississippi Historical Society:

(-Peter Garber, “Famous First Bubbles,” in Speculative Bubbles, Speculative Attacks, and Policy Switching, Robert Flood and Peter Garber, eds. (MIT Press: Cambridge MA, 1994)

-Charles Kindleberger, A Financial History of Western Europe, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press: New York 1993).

-Charles Kindleberger, Manias, Panics, and Crashes, 3rd ed. (Wiley: New York 1996).

-Charles Mackay, The Mississippi Scheme (Andrew Pub. Co.: