Thursday, May 7, 2009
"New Orleans was founded today in 1718. Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, chose a high spot in a sharp bend of the Mississippi River to begin a French colonial town. It's where the French Quarter is now. He named the place for Duke of Orleans, Phillippe II--a foppish, flamboyant guy. A joke about his personality is incorporated into the city's French name, La Nouvelle Orleans--the feminine form. Nobody questioned whether this were a good place to put a city, because it wasn't a city yet. Without a doubt, the spot was a terrific port. That remains true to this day."
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