The Natchez District was one of two areas established in the Kingdom of Great Britain's West Florida colony during the 1770sthe other being the Tombigbee District. The first Anglo settlers in the district came primarily from other parts of British America. The district was recognized to be the area east of the Mississippi River from Bayou Sara in the south (presently St. Francisville, Louisiana) and Bayou Pierre in the north (presently Port Gibson, Mississippi). It became a center of wealth in the antebellum years, as a trading center for slaves and cotton, and the center of cotton culture in the Old Southwest. Today, this area corresponds roughly with and includes most of the lands south of Interstate 20 and west of Interstate 55 in the state of Mississippi, in the southwest corner of the state. After the United States made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 of large territories formerly controlled by France west of the Mississippi River, the lowlying delta area on the west side of the river became considered part of the Natchez District. Several parishes were developed for plantation cotton cultivation here in the antebellum era, unlike southern Louisiana, where sugar cane was the dominant commodity crop. The Louisiana Natchez District included the parishes of Carroll (split between East Carroll and West Carroll in 1877), Concordia, Madison and Tensas. History Origins The district was the home of the Natchez and other people, before Europeans arrived. Prior to its development in the late 18th century, this area had been known to Europeans for many years, primarily French explorers and colonists. The French explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville had passed through the area in 1699 and had christened both the Amité and the Tangipahoa rivers. In the early 18th century, settlers from Louisiana began to introduce African slaves and the plantation system to the area. The first important plantation crop was tobacco. In 1774, Great Britain enlarged the boundaries of the West Florida colony—established in 1763 from territory along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast taken from France and Spain following the French and Indian War (the Seven Years' War)—from the 31st parallel north to 32° 22′ north. By 1776, a sizable colony of English-speaking planters had settled there. The area nearest the Mississippi River was developed first, as it had important transportation access via the river. Later, as a riverport, cotton and slave market, it became the wealthiest area