Colonial Natchitoches

the long version

"Strategically located at the western edge of the Atlantic World, the French post of Natchitoches thrived during the eighteenth century as a trade hub between the well-supplied settlers and the isolated Spaniards and Indians of Texas. Its critical economic and diplomatic role made it the most important community on the Louisiana-Texas frontier during the colonial era and one of a triad of key towns in the colonial Southewest (along with San Antonio and Santa Fe)." -- inside cover.