Louisiana (New Spain)
Louisiana (Spanish: Luisiana) was an administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1763 to 1801. It included the area west of the Mississippi River basin, plus New Orleans. Spain got the territory from France, which had named it La Louisiane after King Louis XIV in 1682. It is sometimes called Spanish Louisiana. The district was given back to France, under the terms of the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso (1800) and the Treaty of Aranjuez (1801). In 1802, King Charles IV of Spain wrote a royal bill on 14 October. This changed the transfer and outlined the conditions.
| Spanish colonial Louisiana Luisiana | |||||||||
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| District of New Spain | |||||||||
| 1763–1801 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms
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_orthographic_projection.svg) Spanish Louisana in 1762 | |||||||||
| Capital | Nueva Orleans | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| 10 February 1763 | |||||||||
| 21 March 1801 | |||||||||
| Political subdivisions | Upper Louisiana; Lower Louisiana | ||||||||
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| Today part of |  Canada United States | ||||||||
However, Spain agreed to still run the colony until French officials came and made the transfer official (1803). The ceremony happened at the Cabildo in New Orleans on 30 November 1803. This was just three weeks before the formalities of cession from France to the United States pursuant to the Louisiana Purchase.