Multinational Settlements and French Colonization along the Gulf Coast with Elizabeth Ellis 

Before the establishment of New Orleans, the small colonial towns of Biloxi and Mobile were the centers of the French empire in the Lower Mississippi Valley. However, these were not powerful and independent imperial settlements. Instead, Mobile and Biloxi were both situated within clusters of Native American towns, and the close relationships between these small Native nations and their newly arrived French neighbors meant that Indigenous people critically shaped many of the early political and economic developments of Louisiana colony. 

Professor Elizabeth Ellis will explore this legacy as part of the May Second Thursday lecture, sponsored by the Friends of the Cabildo. The event will take place Thursday, May 13 at 6:00 p.m. CDT over Zoom and is free and open to the public. Advanced registration is required, and a Zoom link will be sent to registrants the day of the program. Please register here: https://forms.gle/U591xubeTtRNFDy3A