The name of the Alabama River and state is derived from the Alabama people, a Muskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived just below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers on the upper reaches of the river.

The first European settlement in Alabama was founded by the French at Old Mobile in 1702. The city was moved to the current site of Mobile in 1711.

Originally, many native tribes inhabited present-day Alabama.

Alabama was a Spanish territory in the sixteenth century until the French acquired it in the early eighteenth century. The British won the territory in 1763, and Spain held Mobile as part of Spanish West Florida until 1813.

Alabama’s economy in the 21st century is based on automotive, finance, tourism, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral extraction, healthcare, education, retail, and technology.

Alabama was recognized as a state in December 1819.

During and after World War II, Alabama’s economy diversified with new industries, leading to economic growth.

In 1960, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center was established in Huntsville, boosting Alabama’s economic growth by developing a local aerospace industry.

American football, particularly at the college level, plays a major part in Alabama’s culture.

Alabama is nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, after the state bird. It is also known as the “Heart of Dixie” and the “Cotton State.”