Mississippi History Refresher

When I began this search for my ancestors who settled in the State of Mississippi, I needed a reminder of the different groups of people who lived and governed the Mississippi Territory and subsequently the portion of it that later became a state. Below is a brief outline of activities and developments that resulted in the formation of the area that was ultimately admitted to the union in 1817 as the State of Mississippi.

1541 - Hernando DeSoto discovers the Mississippi River

1541-1699 - Spain controls the area known as Mississippi

1699- France begins colonization with the founding of Fort Maurepas at Biloxi

1699-1716 - Settlements increase along the Gulf Coast and the Mississippi River

1716 - Ft. Rosalie is established on the Natchez bluffs

1718- French land grants encouraged settlements on the Yazoo River, Bay St. Louis, Pascagoula Bay, and at Natchez

1721 - John Law's Mississippi Bubble Scheme results in the immigration of 300 colonists to Natchez

1722 - Law's Plan settles about 300 colonists at Pascagoula

1762 - France cedes territory east of the Mississippi River to Spain

1763 - France cedes area to Great Britain at the end of the French and Indian War. British colonization attempts begin.

1776-83 - Americans migrate into Mississippi to escape involvement in the Revolutionary War

1779-81 - Spanish control the Natchez District

1798 - American troops occupy Natchez and claim all the territory including present-day Alabama. Congress subsequently creates Mississippi Territory with its capitol at Natchez

1803 - Louisiana Purchase encourages land boom in MS

1804 - Georgia relinquishes its claim to Mississippi western land

1804-12 - Mississippi Territory includes all of present-day Mississippi and Alabama

1817 - Mississippi becomes the twentieth state

1861 - Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union

1865 - 70 - Mississippi under Federal Military Occupation

1870 - Mississippi is readmitted to the Union