Portable Desk - Closeup
At Fort St. Jean Baptiste, Natchitoches, Louisiana.
The 18th century saw intense competition among the Spanish, French and British empires for control of the northern Gulf of Mexico. The Spanish had been there first, but neglected the region for centuries until the French arrived. To block Spanish missionaries from Mexico from advancing further east, the Poste de Natchitoches was founded in 1714, in northwest Louisiana. Two years later, the French built there the palisade fort of St. Jean Baptiste. The original fort was abandoned and rotted long ago. The replica fort we see today was built in 1979.
Portable Desk - Closeup
At Fort St. Jean Baptiste, Natchitoches, Louisiana.
The 18th century saw intense competition among the Spanish, French and British empires for control of the northern Gulf of Mexico. The Spanish had been there first, but neglected the region for centuries until the French arrived. To block Spanish missionaries from Mexico from advancing further east, the Poste de Natchitoches was founded in 1714, in northwest Louisiana. Two years later, the French built there the palisade fort of St. Jean Baptiste. The original fort was abandoned and rotted long ago. The replica fort we see today was built in 1979.