Mississippi

There are more detailed timelines for Mississippi in the links below

1540 – 1540 to 1541: Spanish explorer, Spanish Hernando de Soto (1500-1542) becomes the first European to enter Mississippi and discovers the Mississippi River

1673 – The Jesuit priest Jacques Marquette (1637-1675) and the French Explorer and fur trader Louis Jolliet (1645-1700) explore the Mississippi

1680 – Father Louis Hennepin (1626-1705), the Flemish Recollect friar and explorer, sees the Falls of St. Anthony, future site of Minneapolis

1682 РFrench explorer Ren̩-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1643-1687) navigates the Mississippi River to its mouth and claims it for France

1699 – Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d’Iberville (1661 – 1706) and his brother Jean Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur D’Bienville (1680-1768), establish the first capital of the French colonies

1700s – French fur trading era begins

1729 – French settlers at Fort Rosalie are massacred by Natchez Indians

1732 – The French retaliate for the massacre at Fort Rosalie decimating the Natchez Indians

1756 – 1756 to 1763: The Seven Years War (French and Indian War) due to disputes over land is won by Great Britain. France gives England all French territory east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans. The Spanish give up east and west Florida to the English in return for Cuba.

1763 – 1763 to 1767 Legal battles were settled by a survey — which resulted in the Mason-Dixon line, surveyed by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, establishing Maryland’s northern boundary

1775 – 1775 to 1783 – The American Revolution creates the United States of America. The Revolution was due to the British burden of taxes and total power to legislate any laws governing the American colonies. George Washington led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War (American War of Independence)

1776 – July 4, 1776 – United States Declaration of Independence

1778 – July 10, 1778 – France declares war against Britain and makes an alliance with the American revolutionary forces

1779 – Bernardo Galvez (1746-1786) captures Natchez but the area is reclaimed by America

1783 – September 3, 1783: The Treaty of Paris is signed by the victorious United States and the defeated Great Britain

1803 – The Louisiana Purchase – In 1803, the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France. The U.S. Secretary of State, James Madison paid 15 million dollars for the land

1805 – By the Treaty of Mount Dexter, the Choctaws sell 4.5 million acres of land to the U.S. government and this opens up land to white settlement

1805 – Zebulon M. Pike (1779-1813), a native of New Jersey, explores Upper Mississippi

1812 – 1812 to 1815: The War of 1812 between U.S. and Great Britain, ended in a stalemate but confirmed America’s Independence

1817 – Statehood – The Date that Mississippi was admitted to the Union – December 10, 1817. Constitution – Mississippi was the 20th State to be admitted to the Union. State Motto – ” Virtute et armis ” the State Motto is translated as ” By Valor and Arms “.

1822 – Jackson becomes the capital.

1830 – The Choctaw give up their land in the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. They are forced to move to Indian Territory in the coming years.

1861 – 1861 to 1865: The American Civil War. Mississippi secedes from the Union and joins the Confederacy.

1863 – The Battle of Vicksburg is fought. The Union wins and gains control of the Mississippi River.          

1865 – The surrender of Robert E. Lee on April 9 1865 signaled the end of the Confederacy. 

1865 – 1865 December 6 1865: The Abolishment of Slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, thus officially abolishing slavery.

1870 – Mississippi is readmitted into the Union.

1898 – 1898 to 1901 The Spanish American War. On December 10, 1898 the Treaty of Paris the US annexes Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines.

1907 – Boll weevils appear and destroy much of the cotton crop

1969 – The segregation of public schools ends.

2005 – Hurricane Katrina strikes the coast causing severe damage.