(KPLC) - For the next year, KPLC will be looking back at significant people and milestones that helped shape our communities leading up to our country’s 250th birthday.

Browse through significant events in Southwest Louisiana history below.

Oct. 1, 1800: The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed, giving Louisiana back to France from Spain. Spain secretly traded New Orleans and territory West of the Mississippi River in exchange for an Italian kingdom. This trade was a significant part of the chain of events leading to the Louisiana Purchase just three years later.

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