Memphis history

The first inhabitants of Memphis were Native American Indians who lived along the Mississippi River for 10,000 years. The first European to arrive were the Spanish in the 1540s, followed by the French and English. There were skirmishes between the Indians and the settlers until Tennessee became a US territory in 1790, and then a state in 1796. Although the land legally belonged to the Chickasaw Indians, the new settlers eventually took control. In 1818 the Chickasaws have up control of the northern territory, including the land that would become the city of Memphis.

The first Memphis immigrants were German and Irish, and from the outset, Memphis was an important location for trading and travel. Before the Civil War, Memphis' rich economy was cotton-based underpinned by West Africans slaves. The cotton trade tied Memphis to northern industry so many did not wish to secede to the Union at the start of the Civil War. However, the plantation owners were dependent on slave labour, so loyalties were split.

Eventually, Memphis became part of Union territory. Its African-American population quadrupled in a decade from1860. After the war, Black Memphians made progress in their social, political and economic lives. Black activism continued into the early 20th century. Robert Church founded the NAACP here in 1917 and built the first public recreation facilities for blacks. Despite segregation and poverty, Memphis nevertheless prospered. By the mid-20th Century, with a huge, rich delta hinterland, Memphis became one of the busiest cities in the South and the capital of the Mid-South, with the world's largest cotton market.

In 1968 Memphis became the focus for an important civil rights struggle, which brought Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Martin Luther King to Memphis. Dr. King was subsequently killed on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis in 1968. Riots ensued in cities all over the nation.

In 1991, the National Civil Rights Museum was opened at the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was assassinated.