| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Republic of Louisiana (French: Republique de la Louisiane), commonly referred to as Louisiana, was a nation that existed between 1821 and 1830 after fighting for independence. Following the Napoleonic Wars, the Louisianians began to rebel against French rule due to heavy taxation and inspiration from various rebellions in Central and South America. The Louisianian Revolution, as it would be known, was soon supported by the nearby United States with funding and supplies.
By 1821, the first shots of the Louisianian Revolutionary War were fired in New Orleans, triggering the war. The Americans promptly entered the revolution, with several hundred soldiers invading the northern sections of the territory. Within two years, the French gave up as troops began dying from the lack of food and the government began to lose interest in American colonies, allowing for the independence of Louisiana. General Jacques Villeré, who was once the governor of the former colony and a former French military officer, was praised by his people and became the republic's first president.
Not long after achieving independence, Louisiana soon found itself in conflict with the British and the Mexicans over territorial disputes. The British attempted to annex lands north of the 46th parallel, while the Mexicans were trying to expand north into Louisianian lands. In 1829, the nation entered a constitution crisis with heated debates over the power of the President and the National Assembly, along with the constant refusal to compromise. Along with the crisis came economic depression and war debt to the United States, adding more fuel to the fire. By 1830, with the crisis only getting worse, the government turned to the United States for annexation, ending Louisiana's sovereignty as a nation.