Untangling the web of war, family ties, and secret pacts that brought Louisiana under Spanish control.
Earlier historians called Alejandro O’Reilly an “executioner” because of his role in quelling the 1768 rebellion against Spanish rule. THNOC reevaluates the infamous governor’s legacy.
An iconic character's World War II service and its meaning to postwar audiences.
Ever wanted to take New Orleans History 101? While no intro course can be comprehensive, we've assembled 13 summaries of major themes, events, people, and places, with lots of links to further reading.
A mysterious illness took the life of Oscar Dunn, the first Black man to serve as a lieutenant governor in US history. Now, 150 years later, we look back at the circumstances of his death and whether is was murder.
The full extent of the storm’s impact on coastal demographics remains to be seen, but for Louisiana’s indigenous people, it’s another wave in a long saga of forced migration and environmental adaptation going back hundreds of years.
Life in the colony of Mobile was precious, so why did Bienville, the de facto ruler, slash the salary of the only Midwife?
In the spring of 1942, Hitler brought World War II to Louisiana’s shores, and ships sailing in the Gulf of Mexico paid the price.
Today, the term “filibuster” refers to the obstruction of legislative process through long speeches and other delay tactics. For most of the 19th century, however, filibusters were men who engaged in unsanctioned warfare in foreign countries—and a number of their campaigns were planned and set sail from New Orleans.
By appealing to the highest court in the land, the men behind Plessy v. Ferguson sought to halt the rolling back of major civil rights gains Black people achieved during Reconstruction. Their defeat in 1896 marked the end of an era of radical Black activism in New Orleans that began with the Civil War.
