French claims to French Louisiana stretched thousands of miles from modern Louisiana north to the largely unexplored Midwest, and west to the Rocky Mountains. It was generally divided into Upper and Lower Louisiana.

New Orleans was established in early 1718 by French colonists under Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, who chose the location for its strategic and practical advantages, such as its relative elevation, natural levee formation by the Mississippi River, and proximity to trade routes between the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain. Named after Philip II, Duke of Orléans, the city aimed to be a key colonial center. An initial population increase was driven by John Law's financial schemes, which ultimately failed in 1720, but New Orleans still became the capital of French Louisiana in 1722, replacing Biloxi. Despite its challenging start, including being described as a collection of modest shelters in a swampy area and suffering a destructive hurricane in 1722, the city's layout was organized into a grid pattern, notably in what is now known as the French Quarter. The early population included a mix of forced laborers, trappers, and adventurers, with slaves being utilized for public works after harvest seasons. New Orleans became an important port as the gateway to the Mississippi River, but there was little other economic development because the city lacked a prosperous hinterland.