History of St. Louis (1763–1803) History of St. Louis (1763–1803) The history of St. Louis, Missouri from 1763 to 1803 was marked by the transfer of French Louisiana to Spanish control, the founding of the city of St. Louis, its slow growth and role in the American Revolution under the rule of the Spanish, the transfer of the area to American control in the Louisiana Purchase, and its steady growth and prominence since then. In mid-1763, French Governor Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie granted a trade monopoly over the west upper Mississippi region to Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent, a New Orleans merchant. Maxent quickly engaged the
Social situation in the French suburbs repatriated to France, as well as most of the 91,000 Harkis (native Algerians who fought with the French army during the war). The latter were put in internment camps, while the pieds-noirs settled mainly in the south of France. For example, the city of Montpellier experienced population growth of 94% between 1954 and 1975 (97,501 to 191,354). Harkis were not officially given permission to migrate, but some French military officers helped facilitate their migration to France in order to save them from certain reprisals in Algeria. After being freed from the internment camps, many harkis went on to live alongside