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revised 9/20/2003

MISSISSIPPI

The earliest known explorers in the Mississippi area came from France and Spain.  These were more interested in taking riches back to their homeland than in staying.  Hernando de Soto of Spain explored the Mississippi region in 1540.  In 1699, he French established colonies on the Gulf Coast (Old Biloxi) and on the Mississippi River at Natchez in 1716.    IN 1763, as a result of the French and Indian Wars, the lands were ceded to Britain and British settlers quickly moved into the area to establish permanent homes.  In the Revolutionary War, Mississippi primarily remained loyal to the British crown.  In the area of Natchez, retired English army and Naval officers were given land grants in reward for their service to the crown.  Those from the French period were primarily Roman Catholic.  Many Tories of the seaboard colonies, who were unwilling to participate in the resistance forces, moved their families to this area.  

    Between 1779 and 1781, Spain claimed authority and took over the government of the Natchez District.  By 1798, the pro-American sentiments had overthrown the rule of Spain and on 7 April of that year, the Mississippi Territory was created by act of Congress with Natchez as its territorial capital.  Mississippi was finally admitted to statehood on 10 December of 1817 and became our 20th state.

    Mississippi was primarily a state of dense woods and snake-infested swamps.  In 1868, Mississippi undertook a major project to convert the delta swamps into useable farmland.  It is credited with two major inventions worth note, those being the steamboat and the cotton gin, both of which had an impact on the state's history.  From the outset, Mississippi was a slave state.  By the 1840s, more than half of Mississippi's population consisted of slaves.  When the issues of the slave/states vs individual rights finally came to a head, Mississippi seceded from the Union on 1861 and joined the Confederacy. 

    In the time frame of the Civil War, Mississippi took some of the hardest fought battles o the war.  They were the focus of Union campaigns in the west and saw much violent fighting, including the sieges of Vicksburg, Corinth and Jackson.  The Federal troops crossed Mississippi repeatedly and each time, destroyed everything in their path.  By the end of the war, Mississippi lay pretty much in ruins.  Mississippi rejoined the Union in 1870, but the race wars continued on into present days and became one of the focal points of Civil Rights activity as we know it.

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