Origin of state's name: Named in honor of France's King Louis XIV
The design consists of the pelican group from the state seal, in
white and gold, and a white ribbon bearing the state motto,
'Union, Justice, and Confidence', on a field of a solid blue.
{A Brief History of Louisiana Under 10 Flags}
Entered Union: April 30, 1812; 18th State
Capital: Baton Rouge
Motto: Union, justice and confidence
Flower: Magnolia
Bird: Eastern brown pelican
Tree: Cypress
Song: Give Me Louisiana
ADD SOME SPICE TO THOSE RECIPES
A LITTLE HISTORY
The area was first visited in 1530 by Cabeza de Vaca and Panfilo de Narvaez. The region was claimed for France by La Salle in 1682. First permanent settlement was by the French at Biloxi, now in Mississippi, in 1699. France ceded the region to Spain in 1762, then took it back in 1800, and sold it to the U.S in 1803 in the Louisiana Purchase. During the American Revolution, Spanish Louisiana aided the Americans. Admitted to statehood in 1812, Louisiana was the scene of the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.
Louisiana Creoles are descendants of early French and/or Spanish settlers. About 4,000 Acadians, French settlers in Nova Scotia, Canada, were forcibly transported by the British to Louisiana in 1755 (an event commemorated in Longfellow's Evangeline) and settled near Bayou Teche; their descendants became known as Cajuns. Another group, the Islenos, were descendants of Canary Islanders brought to Louisiana by a Spanish governor in 1770. Traces of Spanish and French survive in local dialects.
FACTS AND TRIVIA ABOUT LOUISIANA
The original Dixie was New Orleans.
Baton Rouge came from the French for red stick.
Mardi Gras is a celebration that is known world wide. It is an ancient custom
that originated in southern Europe. It celebrates food and fun just before the 40
days of Lent: a Catholic time of prayer and sacrifice. This custom was brought to
Louisiana by the French.
Louisiana marshes supply most of the nation's muskrat fur as well as that of
opossum, raccoon, mink, and otter, and large numbers of game birds.
The state tree is the Bald cypress, state insect is the Honeybee, state dog is the
Catahoula Leopard Dog, state gemstone is Agate, state fossil is Petrified
palmwood, and the state colors are gold, white, and blue.
Planters initially produced indigo and tobacco, but these crops were replaced by
cotton in north Louisiana and sugar cane in the more tropical southern Louisiana.
Today, Louisiana is among the top ten states in the production of sugar cane (2nd),
sweet potatoes (2nd), rice (3rd), cotton (5th) and pecans (5th).
Louisiana has the greatest concentration of crude oil refineries, natural gas
processing plants and petrochemical production facilities in the Western
Hemisphere.
Louisiana is the nation's largest handler of grain for export to world markets.
More than 40 percent of the U.S. grain exports move through Louisiana ports.
Because of its many bays and sounds, Louisiana has the longest coastline (15,000
miles) of any state and 41 percent of the nation's wetlands.
