Complex sentence: Established by French colonists in 1716, Natchez is one of the oldest and most important European settlements in the lower Mississippi River Valley; it later served as the capital of the American Mississippi Territory and then of the state of Mississippi.
Split into simpler sentences: Established by French colonists in 1716, Natchez is one of the oldest and most important European settlements in the lower Mississippi River Valley. It later served as the capital of the American Mississippi Territory and then of the state of Mississippi.