BILOXI

city, coseat (with nearby Gulfport) of Harrison county, southeastern Mississippi, U.S. The city lies on a narrow Gulf Coast peninsula. In 1699 Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville planted the French flag across Biloxi Bay at Old Biloxi (now Ocean Springs; q.v.). The settlement there, at Fort Maurepas, was the first capital (16991702) of the Louisiana Territory. Fort Louis, the site of present-day Biloxi, was founded in 1719 and was the territorial capital in 172022. Since its founding, Biloxi has been under the flags of France, Spain, Great Britain, the West Florida Republic, the Confederacy, and the United States. During the American Civil War, it submitted to Union forces from Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island (12 miles offshore and now part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore). By the late 20th century, casino gambling had become Biloxi's chief industry, augmented by fishing, seafood processing, and boatbuilding. Annual festivals include the blessing of the shrimp fleet and the Biloxi Mardi Gras. Beauvoir, the home of former Confederate president Jefferson Davis for the last 12 years of his life, is 5 miles (8 km) west. Inc. village, 1872; city, 1896. Pop. (1990) city, 46,319; Biloxi-Gulfport MSA, 197,125; (1994 est.) city, 47,832; (1995 est.) Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula MSA, 341,548.