France 1848

     In 1682 the Chevalier de La Salle passed down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. He laid claim to the Mississippi and all of its tributaries for the King of France on April 9, 1682, and named the area Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV of France.
     The map on the stamp, issued in 1982 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of La Salle’s claim, is based on Henri de Tonti’s map of Louisiana in 1685.