French Louisiana French Louisiana The term French Louisiana refers to two distinct regions: Each term has been in use for many years. Colonial French Louisiana was a part of New France. Beginning in 1682 this region, known in French as "la Louisiane française", functioned as an administrative district of New France. It extended from the Gulf of Mexico to Vincennes, now in Indiana. France ceded the region to Spain and Britain in 1763 after the French and Indian War, regained it by treaty in 1800, and sold it to the United States in 1803 through the Louisiana Purchase. Greater New Orleans and
Enlightenment in Spain Menorca and Trinidad were occupied. In 1800, the Spanish returned Louisiana to France, which had been given to them in compensation for their losses at the end of the Seven Years' War. The Portuguese, who opposed the French, continued to trade with the British in spite of a series of French demands that they close their ports to British ships. In 1801, the Spanish delivered an ultimatum on behalf of France, and in the following border war, occupied the town of Olivenza (Olivença) before the Portuguese agreed to the Spanish and French demands. The town – which is disputed to