Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama Biloxi became the second capital of Louisiana, and also celebrated French customs. Due to fear of tides and hurricanes, in 1723, the capital was moved to New Orleans, founded in 1718. That city also later started a Mardi Gras celebration. In 1763, Mobile came under British control. Its restrictions on free blacks and racial segregation caused many Creoles to leave Mobile and move west towards New Orleans. In 1780, Spain took control of the Mobile area in the aftermath of the American Revolution. The Carnival celebration incorporated the Spanish custom of torch-lit parades on Twelfth Night (January 6, also known
History of St. Louis (1763–1803) Louisiana to an egalitarian French government. In a show of strength, the Spanish governor sent a fleet of galleys and soldiers with military supplies to reinforce Spanish control of St. Louis. However, even while the Spanish colonial officials were trying to maintain control of Louisiana, the Spanish government was attempting to transfer the territory to France. The Spanish government secretly returned the unprofitable Louisiana territory to France in October 1800 in the Treaty of San Ildefonso. After a promise by French leader Napoleon Bonaparte not to sell Louisiana without giving Spain the right of first refusal, the Spanish officially transferred