New Orleans: The French Quarter, broken levees , home of the reigning Superbowl Champs, and makers of some of the best jambalaya in the south. But if that's the "new" Orleans, where/who was the old one that the city was named after?
The old Orleans (or original I should say) was Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, who took over the throne of France in 1715 as Regent, because the next king Louie the XV was still a child.
Philippe relieved much of the oppression and religious intollerence forced on the French people by the previous king (good ol' Louis XIV, know for his enjoyment of high heels and appalling taste in furniture) and abolished censorship of reading materials going so far as to re-publish many works banned by the old king. He made the Sorbonne into a public institution and opened the Royal Library of France to the public. He was openly athiest, and I can't help but think he was one of the biggest influence in early 18th century France. He opened up stage for philosophers like Rousseau and Voltaire, who would been oppressed by earlier regimes. (That didn't stop them from criticizing Phillipe though.) Not that I am keeping score or anything but religion:0, athiests: 1.
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