Spanish New Orleans & the Caribbean

New Orleans—from its cuisine and culture to its names and heritage—is widely recognized as one of America’s “Frenchest” cities. Yet, for four decades from 1762 to 1803, “Nueva Orleans” was under Spanish rule. The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) aims to shed new light on this often overlooked period of Crescent City history through a groundbreaking exhibition, Spanish New Orleans and the Caribbean / La Nueva Orleans y el Caribe españoles, on view October 20, 2022–January 22, 2023.

An era plagued by numerous challenges ranging from natural disaster to diplomatic tensions and demographic transformation, this Spanish age also saw New Orleans evolve from a poorly managed outpost on the edge of an empire, to a highly urbanized colonial capital—one enriched by the racial and cultural diversity for which it is celebrated today. 

Led by Spanish governors intent on establishing order, the city’s population, infrastructure, and economy all experienced sizeable growth. The already present Indigenous residents, earlier French colonists, and enslaved and free people of African descent became interconnected with new settlers from Spain and the Caribbean as well as Canada, Ireland, and England. The Spanish period saw significant cultural contributions, from the first opera performed in New Orleans—Sylvain by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry—to the country’s first Spanish-language newspaper, El Misisipi, published in New Orleans in 1808. 

Spanish New Orleans and the Caribbean chronicles the history of this era through 125 rarely seen items from the holdings of THNOC and on loan from institutions across Spain, Mexico, and the United States. They include original documents, maps and plans, furniture, paintings, books, and religious objects. Items range from exquisite watercolor plans depicting the Spanish crown’s buildings in New Orleans, to church records chronicling marriages between Black and Native American enslaved people.

Spanish New Orleans and the Caribbean / La Nueva Orleans y el Caribe españoles will be on exhibit October 20, 2022, through January 22, 2023, in the Tricentennial Wing of THNOC’s 520 Royal Street building. In a first for THNOC, gallery text for Spanish New Orleans and the Caribbean / La Nueva Orleans y el Caribe españoles, as well as the exhibition catalog, will be presented in both English and Spanish. Admission is free. www.hnoc.org/exhibitions/spanishNOLA