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Every person has a story to tell. By extension, so does every city that exists in every country. America has been host to many amazing and fascinating stories of colonial expansion. Through the years we have learned not to focus only on the collective America, but the individual. The history of Mobile Alabama will certainly show this.

1702 was when French Colonists began their settlement there. They did not know it then, but this place that they called Mobile would soon be tossed around to four different countries within two centuries. The name came from the population of Mobilian Indians who were also living in that area. There was not a very high population in the colony itself. Everyone living there was male.

The French originally decided to settle this place so that they could keep a firm grip on their Louisiana territories, named after their King, Louis. A physical presence, they thought, would ensure solidification. In time, this turned out to do relatively little good. In 1723, the first women and children arrived at the colony. With them came Yellow Fever that they had contracted in Havana, and although most Colonists survived, many Native Americans did not.

At this time some early slaves were brought to American on French trading vessels. The colony had the misfortune of experiencing repeated bouts of diseases and sicknesses which made would whittle the population down every time it began to climb upward. Perhaps it was this reason that drove the French colonists to relocate to the Mobile River.

The British brought in their own colonists and, to encourage more settlement, removed France’s Zero-Religious Tolerance Policy, which forbade anyone to practice a religion besides Catholicism. During the American War for Independence many British Loyalists fled here because they would find a safe haven. But even this didn’t last for long. When American won the War, British was subjected to give the Louisiana Territory to the American’s ally, Spain. They then too control and established a Fort.

This little city grew to become a center for trade and activity on their river. They were a strong producer of cotton and their navigable river made transportation of this good very convenient. During the Civil War they fought as Confederates and were subject to governmental Reconstruction afterwards. They began to thrive once again in the twentieth century as a producer of quality steel and shipbuilding.

It was not to last, however. Spain soon took hold of Louisiana Territory and the British was left to lick their wounds, losing not only their American territory but the American Colonies as well. The United States was becoming a thorn in their side, especially after a ragtag group of volunteer armies had whipped the “Redcoats.” Since Spain was an American ally, their slice of the deal was to inherit Louisiana.

In time, African Americans started to fight for more rights within this city especially. Alabama suddenly became a leader in anti-segregation policies and movements. And to this day, the little city that started as a French Colony plagued with Yellow Fever is a prominent leader in shipbuilding and holds a fascinating part of America’s diverse heritage.

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