SPANISHNATCHEZ@BELLSOUTH.NET
Official tourism literature about Natchez describes it as "Natchez, Mississippi, perched 200 feet above the Mississippi River on the highest promontory north of the Gulf of Mexico, is the oldest civilized settlement on the river - older by two years than New Orleans."
Natchez was inhabited for centuries by prehistoric Indians and later by the Natchez Indians. It was settled first by the French in 1716, later by the British in 1763, the Spanish in 1779, and finally by the Americans in 1798. This section presents information on the period of Spanish presence in Natchez.