New Iberia

City and seat of Iberia Parish, southern Louisiana; population (2000) 32,600. It is located 31 km/19 mi southeast of Lafayette on the Bayou Teche, and connected via canal with the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

New Iberia was settled in the 17th century by French refugees from Acadia (Nova Scotia), who were joined in the following century by Spanish immigrants from the Canary Islands. The settlement was incorporated in 1836. During the Civil War, in 1863, the city and local salt mines were occupied by Union troops. New Iberia developed as a processing and distribution centre for regional sugar cane, rice, salt, vegetables, and, most recently, petroleum. It is one of several cities in the area that are now service centres for offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival is held here annually. The town of Avery Island is situated 14 km/9 mi southwest.