Mobile, Alabama

Pronounced MOE-BEEL. City with a population of 198,185 at the 2000 census; third largest city in Alabama. County seat of Mobile County. The French settled here in 1702, making the settlement the capital of Louisiana. The French built a city here and imported African slaves. The capital of Louisiana was moved to Biloxi in 1720 but Mobile remained a military fort. In 1763 the city was granted to the United Kingdom as part of West Florida. During the Revolution it became a haven for loyalists until it was captured by the Spanish in 1780. It remained Spanish until 1813 when the American army seized it and incorporated it into the Mississippi Territory. It was made part of Alabama in 1819. It was a slave trade center throughout the Antebellum period. The first submarine to sink an enemy ship in battle was built here during the Civil War. Union forces occupied it after Lee's surrender. Mobile grew during World War Two due to the nearby naval construction yard.

www.cityofmobile.org