Bienville's Dilemma and the Founding of New Orleans - Episode #53
Beyond Bourbon Street, an Insider's Guide to New Orleans
Mark Bologna
4.9 • 916 Ratings
🗓️ 20 December 2017
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Bienville's Dilemma and the Founding of New Orleans
In the Spring of 1718, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville presided over a small ceremony on the banks of the Mississippi River and officially founded what we know today as the City of New Orleans.
How did Bienville come to choose this site for New Orleans? What were the other options and how do those decisions impact New Orleanians today?
In today's episode we explore Bienville's Dilemma with noted author and geographer Richard Campanella. In Richard's book, Bienville's Dilemma, he explains the factors that led to the decision to place New Orleans at its present site, rather than at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
You'll learn the important differences between a good site and a good situation, and why that mattered to the French. We also settle the question of whether New Orleans is predominantly above or below sea level.
As we move forward in time, Richard and I discuss how decisions made at the very beginning of New Orleans continue to impact the city today. Richard also explains how even today you can use subtle clues to retrace the past, including the former boundaries of the plantations that lined the Riverfront from below the French Quarter all the way Uptown to present-day Riverbend in the Carrollton neighborhood.
Join us for a nearly 300 year journey from Bienville to post Katrina New Orleans. You'll be rewarded with a new understanding and appreciation for the Crescent City.
All this and more on today's show!
Time Stamps
Resources
You can find Richard on line at richcampanella.com. You'll find excerpts from all of his books, as well as a wonderful collection of images of New Orleans.
Richard's books are available at local New Orleans booksellers, including Octavia Books, Garden District Book Shop and Maple Street Book Shop. You can also purchase an autographed copy of Bienville's Dilemma directly from Richard. Send him an email at: rcampane@tulane.edu
For scenes of New Orleans life as well as a steady stream of articles about the city, be sure to follow Richard on Twitter (@nolacampanella).
Want to Make Your Trip to New Orleans the Best Ever?
Of course you do!
If you're planning a trip to New Orleans and want to cut through all the research we're here to help. We offer a personalized travel consult. Here's how it works:
You complete a brief questionnaire to help us get to know you and the experience you want to have in New Orleans. Next, we set up a 20-30 minute phone or video call. During the call, we get to know you a little better. We can clarify any questions and bounce a few ideas off of you to make sure we 're on the right track.
Finally, we prepare and deliver a pdf document with our recommendations for your trip. Depending on your needs the report will contain specific places to stay, eat and drink. It will also offer suggestions on things to do and see, all based on your budget and interests.
Sound good? Just go to http://www.beyondbourbonst.com/travel for all the details and a link to order the service.
Thank You
Thanks to Richard Campanella for joining me on the podcast. His lens as a geographer helps me see New Orleans in an entirely different light. I'll never wander the streets of Uptown New Orleans again without appreciating the subtle curves, the slices of green space, and the streets that sometime jog left or right when you least expect them.
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Contact Us
Got an idea for an episode, have some feedback or just want to say hi?
Leave us a message at 504-475-7632 or send an email to mark@beyondbourbonst.com
Thanks for listening!
Mark
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hmm. Society's Guide to New Orleans. Beyond Bourbon Street is the podcast where we explore |
| 0:14.6 | the food, music, culture, places, and people that make New Orleans unique. |
| 0:19.7 | Whether you are planning a trip, living in New Orleans, or simply wanting a taste to the Crescent City from wherever you are. |
| 0:25.8 | You've come to the right place. |
| 0:29.1 | And now, your host, Mark Bologna. |
| 0:37.0 | Hey all, this is Mark. Welcome to episode 53. |
| 0:39.0 | The last show was all about Preservation Hall in New Orleans. In that one I sat down with Ben Jaffy. |
| 0:45.0 | Ben is the band leader of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. We talked about his parents |
| 0:49.9 | who founded Preservation Hall back in 1961. |
| 0:53.2 | And we also talked about blending the past |
| 0:55.0 | with new sounds, collaborations with people |
| 0:57.6 | like Dave Krollo of the Foo Fighters. |
| 0:59.9 | We also talked about the work of the Preservation Hall Foundation and all the things they do to teach kids about music and education. |
| 1:06.7 | We did that in a whole lot more. |
| 1:08.4 | If you missed it, go back and give it a listen. |
| 1:10.8 | It was our 50 second show, which marks two years of episodes. I enjoyed the discussion with Ben and I think you'll love it too. |
| 1:17.0 | On today's episode, I get to share a discussion I had recently with noted New Orleans author and geographer Richard Campanella. |
| 1:25.2 | We talk about his book Bienville's Dilemma as a prelude to the 300th anniversary of |
| 1:29.6 | the founding of New Orleans in 1718. |
| 1:32.4 | Throughout 2018, the city of New Orleans is going to be |
| 1:34.9 | celebrating the Tricentennial so I thought a discussion about the founding of |
| 1:38.6 | the city would be a good way to end 2017 on the show. This is the third appearance on the podcast by Richard. In episode |
... |
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