Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville and his crew, who took notice of its rare natural higher ground along the flood-prone banks of the Mississippi. At that time, its location was also deemed ideal because it was adjacent to trading routes and was strategically located between ports. In fact, even before its founding, a lot of traders and merchants had already settled on the banks of the city, which may have been a sign of promise that New Orleans would become a successful trading center.

New Orleans was relinquished to the Spanish Empire and remained under its rule for forty years starting in 1763. Due to the lengthy Spanish regime, Spanish influence has left its mark on architecture, which is especially evident in, surprisingly enough, the French Quarter. In 1788, New Orleans was ravaged by fire that destroyed at least 800 of its houses and a lot of other larger structures in the city. If it weren't enough, another fire devastated New Orleans that claimed 200 houses in 1795.

Louisiana reverted to French control in 1801 upon Napoleon's re-acquisition of the territory from Spain by treaty but was sold to the United States after only two years in 1803.

As early as the 19th century, New Orleans has been known to be a melting pot of cultures. The War of 1812 particularly saw the coming of British conquerors that were eventually defeated by American troops after a three-year war. In 1840, New Orleans was the sight of a population in-surge that sharply decreased in 1853 when yellow fever plagued the city and killed nearly 10,000 people. Although it used to be North America's largest community of free persons of color in the 19th century, New Orleans also acted as a principal port in the slave trade eminent at that time.

Because of its location, New Orleans has been subjected to quite a few hurricanes, leaving the city in rubbles, notably the 1909 and 1975 Atlantic hurricane seasons, as well as Hurricane Katrina just recently. The 1920s saw more modernizing transformations in the city and are still under way.