why did france sell louisiana why did france sell louisiana

That, in turn, would have meant our ideas on freedom and democracy would have carried less weight with the rest of the world. Negotiating with French Treasury Minister Franois Barb-Marbois, the American representatives quickly agreed to purchase the entire territory of Louisiana after it was offered. They burned cities, used guerrilla warfare and killed thousands. What was known at the time as the Louisiana Territory stretched from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west and from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to the Canadian border in the north. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for SIGNED Roughneck Daddy: A Memoir by Donna F. Orchard, Paperback Louisiana Oil at the best online prices at eBay! It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to think you can establish a global empire, and Napoleon Bonaparte is no exception. Reports of the retrocession caused considerable unease in the United States. French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle first claimed the Louisiana Territory, which he named for King Louis XIV, during a. And the price, $15 million, or about four cents an acre, was a breathtaking bargain. In 1800, Napoleon, the First Consul of the French Republic, regained ownership of Louisiana as part of a broader effort to re-establish a French colonial empire in North America. How did the French Own Louisiana? The House called for a vote to deny the request for the purchase, but it failed by two votes, 5957. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million and nearly doubled the size of the U.S. [citation needed], Governing the Louisiana Territory was more difficult than acquiring it. Thomas Jeffersonand his cabinet, themselves terrified of a French presence so close to the United States, used this conundrum as an opening. The Louisiana Purchase was the start of the United States' incredible expansion from a group of Eastern Seaboard states on the North American continent. Intent on avoiding possible war with France, Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris in 1803 to negotiate a settlement, with instructions to go to London to negotiate an alliance if the talks in Paris failed. Pakenham was ordered to conduct the New Orleans/Mobile campaign even in the middle of the peace negotiations in late 1814. The purchase included land from fifteen present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, including the entirety of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska; large portions of North Dakota and South Dakota; the area of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado east of the Continental Divide; the portion of Minnesota west of the Mississippi River; the northeastern section of New Mexico; northern portions of Texas; New Orleans and the portions of the present state of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River; and small portions of land within Alberta and Saskatchewan. What we wanted to do was enrich peoples understanding of the significance of this moment, says Gail Feigenbaum, lead curator of the show. Saint-Domingue was a powder keg, ready to explode. The acquisition of the Louisiana Territory for the bargain price of less than three cents an acre was among Jeffersons most notable achievements as president. Out of anger towards Spain and the unique opportunity to sell something that was useless and not truly his yet, Napoleon decided to sell the entire territory. What if France did not sell Louisiana? But when French forces invaded Haiti in an attempt to restore the original order, the slave rebellion refused to budge. Start your free trial today. Twelve years before, he had returned from a five-year stint as American minister to Paris, shipping home 86 cases of furnishings and books he had picked up there. However, France only controlled a small fraction of this area, most of which was inhabited by Native Americans; effectively, for the majority of the area, the United States bought the "preemptive" right to obtain "Indian" lands by treaty or by conquest, to the exclusion of other colonial powers.[1][2]. Spain turned the territory over to France in a ceremony in New Orleans on November 30, a month before France turned it over to American officials. He was compelled to do so primarily because France urgently needed funds for an imminent war with Britain. First, an empowered United States could effectively act as a formidable rival to Britain. (Livingston) Napoleon intended to gain money by selling Louisiana. I renounce Louisiana. Napoleon may have sought to liberate Quebec from British rule, attacking the British in Upper Canada (modern Ontario). The rest was history. The land which was bought from France, virtually doubled the area of the United States, cost only 15 million dollars and gave the US security against development by the French. 20 Why did France no longer need Louisiana quizlet? Its European peoples, of ethnic French, Spanish and Mexican descent, were largely Catholic; in addition, there was a large population of enslaved Africans made up of a high proportion of recent arrivals, as Spain had continued the transatlantic slave trade. In a way, this almost came to pass in the War of 1812. Who was president of the U.S. at the time of the Louisiana purchase? The final price after the 15-year bonds were paid was $27 million, still a very good deal for the United States, and not really a bad one for Napoleon, considering the pressure he was under to dump the territory. Learn more about Erin and her work at erinblakemore.com. [5], In 1798, Spain revoked the treaty allowing American use of New Orleans, greatly upsetting Americans. Yet each also is navigating a fine line on how to address election fraud conspiracies as they gear up campaigns for U.S. Senate or governor in 2024. This was emphasized when in the memoir of Franois Barb-Marbois, Napoleon gave up his claim to the territory saying, "Irresolution and deliberation are no longer in season. See chapter iii, "Treaty Ceding Louisiana to the United States" (1803 ff.). [citation needed], After the early explorations, the U.S. government sought to establish control of the region, since trade along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers was still dominated by British and French traders from Canada and allied Indians, especially the Sauk and Fox. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 brought into the United States about 828,000 square miles of territory from France, thereby doubling the size of the young republic. Or, as Jefferson put it in his usual understated way, The fertility of thecountry, its climate and extent, promise in due season importantaids to our treasury, an ample provision for our posterity, and a wide-spread field for the blessings of freedom., American historians today are more outspoken in their enthusiasm for the acquisition. The British would have likely garrisoned New Orleans and would have occupied it for a very long time because they and their ally Spain did not recognize any treaties and land deals conducted by Napoleon since 1800, especially the Louisiana Purchase. He also realized that with Britain's superior naval power, it would be relatively easy for them to take Louisiana at will. Monroe, along with the minister to France, Robert Livingston, made the inquiry. As explained by Medium, in 1803, even before final Haitian independence, it had dawned on Napoleon that his prospects for developing an American empire were growing increasingly faint. In 1802 Bonaparte forced Spain to return Louisiana to France in the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso. ", This page was last edited on 16 April 2023, at 22:34. When Livingston tried to discuss the territory, Talleyrand simply denied that there was any treaty between France and Spain. The U.S. claimed that Louisiana included the entire western portion of the Mississippi River drainage basin to the crest of the Rocky Mountains and land extending to the Rio Grande and West Florida. In exchange, the United States acquired the vast domain of Louisiana Territory, some 828,000 square miles of land. The jewel of the French overseas empire was Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean, which is today's Haiti on the large island of Hispaniola. How the Louisiana Purchase Changed the World | History| Smithsonian In the end, Barings and Hopes acquired the $11.25 million in bonds for just $9.44 million. As Napolons foreign minister, Talleyrand customarily demanded outrageous bribes for diplomatic results. According to the Library of Congress, the Louisiana Territory was mainly ignored by the French government and remained unprofitable. The First Consul happened to be sitting in his bath when his brothers arrived. That same month Jefferson asked James Monroe, a former member of Congress and former governor of Virginia, to join Livingston in Paris as minister extraordinary with discretionary powers to spend $9,375,000 to secure New Orleans and parts of the Floridas (to consolidate the U.S. position in the southeastern part of the continent). 3 Reply frenchchevalierblanc 5 yr. ago France had lost Louisiana in the 1760s to Spain. Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault. Besides, we may hereafter expect rivalries among the members of the Union. If Napoleon's designs had succeeded, perhaps his decision to abandon Louisiana would be looked at in history as a bit more shrewd than it seemed at first blush. Napoleon Bonaparte sold the land because he needed money for the Great French War. Before the revolution, France had derived enormous wealth from St. Domingue at the cost of the lives and freedom of the slaves. Erin Blakemore is a journalist from Boulder, Colorado. As discussed in the Journal of Economic History, France had a historically bad reputation for credit and finance due to the upheavals of the French Revolution. It was the first and only time that a slave revolt had seen such success, and this epochal event in San-Domingue is linked with the Louisiana Purchase. In legislation enacted on October 31, Congress made temporary provisions for local civil government to continue as it had under French and Spanish rule and authorized the President to use military forces to maintain order. Why did . The Louisiana Purchase was an incredible deal for the United States, the final cost totaling less than five cents per acre at $15 million (about $283 million in today's dollars). Bruce Kauffmann is a historian, syndicated columnist, author, and speaker. "[19] On July 4, 1803, the treaty was announced,[20] but the documents did not arrive in Washington, D.C. until July 14. But in 1800, the region again changed hands, when Napolon negotiated the clandestine Treaty of San Ildefonso with Spains Charles IV. Meanwhile, Haitis free black people were organizing. This deal between the United States and France sold over 500 million acres at a bargain price of fewer than . Louverture, as a French general, had fended off incursions from other European powers, but had also begun to consolidate power for himself on the island. In 1718, French explorer Jean-Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, founded a settlement near the site of La Salles proclamation, and named it la Nouvelle Orlans for Philippe, Duke of Orlans and Regent of France. While this was just a rumor, he had made up his mind to sell the territory. [17] The signers were Robert Livingston, James Monroe, and Franois Barb-Marbois. The Louisiana Purchase Was Driven by a Slave Rebellion. I renounce it with the greatest regret. Jefferson confronted questions of presidential authority in deciding whether or not to acquire the territory, since the US Constitution does not explicitly give the president the power to purchase territory. The Real Reason France Sold The Louisiana Territory To The United Just three weeks earlier, on November 30, 1803, Spanish officials had formally conveyed the colonial lands and their administration to France. Under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture, slaves took over the entire island of Hispaniola, including St. Domingue and its neighbor Santo Domingo. The Louisiana Purchase extended United States sovereignty across the Mississippi River, nearly doubling the nominal size of the country. [42] In the final agreement, the value of the U.S. currency was set at .mw-parser-output .sfrac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .sfrac.tion,.mw-parser-output .sfrac .tion{display:inline-block;vertical-align:-0.5em;font-size:85%;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .sfrac .num,.mw-parser-output .sfrac .den{display:block;line-height:1em;margin:0 0.1em}.mw-parser-output .sfrac .den{border-top:1px solid}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}5+3333/10000 francs per U.S. Fashion-conscious American ladies reportedly imitated Rcamiers attire, but not her custom of receiving visitors in her bedroom. Watch: Elon Musk Comes Clean on Why He Bought Twitter At the time of the purchase, the territory of Louisiana's non-native population was around 60,000 inhabitants, of whom half were enslaved Africans. The Kingdom of France had controlled the Louisiana territory from 1699 until it was ceded to Spain in 1762. Lucien said that the legislative chambers of the French government would not approve it, to which Napoleon replied that he would do it without their consent. [31], Madison (the "Father of the Constitution") assured Jefferson that the Louisiana Purchase was well within even the strictest interpretation of the Constitution. Acquisition of Louisiana was a long-term goal of President Thomas Jefferson, who was especially eager to gain control of the crucial Mississippi River port of New Orleans. The Real Reason France Sold The Louisiana Territory To The United States, National Museum of American History/Wikimedia Commons, National Archives and Records Administration/Wikimedia Commons. . [18] After the signing Livingston famously stated, "We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole lives From this day the United States take their place among the powers of the first rank. [3] The western borders of the purchase were later settled by the 1819 AdamsOns Treaty with Spain, while the northern borders of the purchase were adjusted by the Treaty of 1818 with Britain. . When word got around that Napoleon was giving up Louisiana to the Americans, not everybody agreed. As quoted by Smithsonian Magazine, historian Charles A. Cerami said, "If we had not made this purchase, it would have pinched off the possibility of our becoming a continental power." France needed money to finance wars. France worried about an alliance between America and England. The U.S. adapted the former Spanish facility at Fort Bellefontaine as a fur trading post near St. Louis in 1804 for business with the Sauk and Fox. Albany, GA (31701) Today. As a result, Napoleon's view of Louisiana transformed from that of an outpost to that of a poker chip, ready to cash in. As a result of its defeat in the Seven Years' War, France was forced to cede the east part of the territory in 1763 to the victorious British, and the west part to Spain as compensation for Spain losing Florida. The Louisiana Purchase was the latter, a treaty. Manifest destiny was in full effect. Why Did Spain Give Louisiana Back To France? - CLJ By early 1803, Napoleon decided to abandon his plans to rebuild France's New World empire. Without sufficient revenues from sugar colonies in the Caribbean, Louisiana had little value to him. But Napolons mind was already made up. [10], In 1803, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, a French nobleman, began to help negotiate with France at the request of Jefferson. It remained in Spanish hands until 1800, when Napoleon Bonaparte negotiated a secret treaty with Spain and took the vast holding back in exchange for tiny Etruria in Northern Italy. The French government replied that these objections were baseless since the promise not to alienate Louisiana was not in the treaty of San Ildefonso itself and therefore had no legal force, and the Spanish government had ordered Louisiana to be transferred in October 1802 despite knowing for months that Britain had not recognized the King of Etruria in the Treaty of Amiens. Napoleon Bonaparte sold the land because he needed money for the Great French War. In response, Jefferson sent future U.S. president James Monroe to Paris to aid Livingston in the New Orleans purchase talks. Brown University explains that Saint-Domingue created a tax revenue base of 1 billion livres and exported up to 170 million livres into France on an annual basis. The treaty was signed by Barb-Marbois, Livingston and Monroe on May 2 and backdated to April 30. Terms of Use A slaves life in Haiti was usually short and miserable. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. France wanted to sell the Louisiana Territory to raise funds for Napoleon Bonaparte's war effortsin Europe and to cut its losses in the Americas after losing its colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti). This made it difficult, when compared to Britain, to obtain the necessary money to wage large-scale wars. The remaining 60 million francs ($11.25 million) were financed through U.S. government bonds carrying 6% interest, redeemable between 1819 and 1822. Spain had not yet completed the transfer of Louisiana to France, and war between France and the UK was imminent. According to the memoirs of Franois Barb-Marbois, in what was a prophetic statement foreshadowing the American Civil War, Napoleon said, "Perhaps it will also be objected to me, that the Americans may be found too powerful for Europe in two or three centuries: but my foresight does not embrace such remote fears. It is not only New Orleans that I will cede, it is the whole colony without reservation. At the time, Britain and France were at war in Europe, and if France had not sold Louisiana that war would most likely have spread to North America .The emergence of a vastly larger British North America might also have made it easier to confine slavery within the southern states. [33] The fledgling United States did not have $15 million in its treasury; it borrowed the sum from Great Britain, at an annual interest rate of six percent. Having arrived in New Orleans from Paris with his wife and three daughters just nine months earlier, in March 1803, the cultivated, worldly French functionary had expected to reign for six or eight years as colonial prefect over the vast territory of Louisiana, which was to be Frances North American empire. Without the profits from Saint-Domingue, it did not make sense to try to defend the sprawling Louisiana Territory, and Napoleon was worried about the British. While this strategy was successful at first, by 1803, disease and heavy casualties forced the French to withdraw. Napoleon saw in the sale of Louisiana something he needed more than anything else cold, hard cash. While the concept of "manifest destiny" would not make it into the American lexicon until 1845, the idea that the United States had a divine mission to expand had been in place since the earliest colonial times. Despite a clubfoot and what contemporaries called his dead eyes, he could be charming and witty when he wantedwhich helped camouflage his basic negotiating tactic of delay. Why did France agree to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United The French loss of Saint-Domingue sent a shudder through the world. This must have been a wrenching moment for Jefferson, who had long been a Francophile. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. dollar. [58] The institutionalization of slavery under U.S. law in the Louisiana Territory contributed to the American Civil War a half century later. Alain Chappet, Roger Martin, Alain Pigeard. Claiborne and Gen. James Wilkinson, the new commissioners of the territory, officially took possession of it in the name of the United States, assuring all residents that their property, rights and religion would be respected, celebratory salvos boomed from the forts around the city. The British had re-entered the war and France was losing the Haitian Revolution and could not defend Louisiana. He was in a hurry to get some money for the depleted French treasury, although the relatively modest price shows that he was had in that deal. In the meeting, he said that Napoleon had read an account in the London press that 50,000 British troops might be sent to New Orleans. For another, Britain had unofficially offered Joseph a bribe of 100,000 to persuade Napolon not to let the Americans have Louisiana. The difficulties and risks . So while a slave rebellion helped drive the Louisiana Purchase, the new territory was destined to become a place of suffering and exploitation for the thousands of slaves forced to work there. By 1860, there weremore than100,000 slaves in Missouri, and slaves were valued at over $44 million (about $112 billion today). Why did France sell Louisiana? Get the latest History stories in your inbox? At this, Barb-Marbois pretended Napolon had lost interest. Napoleonic France Acquires Louisiana Cookie Policy By the middle of the 18th century, France controlled more of the present-day United States than any other European power: from New Orleans northeast to the Great Lakes and northwest to modern-day Montana. French policy makers had felt for some time that Frances possessions in the Antilles would inevitably be contaminated by Americas idea of freedom and would eventually take their own independence. Who bought the Louisiana Purchase? - TimesMojo In 1762, during the French and Indian War, France ceded French Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to Spain and in 1763 transferred nearly all of its remaining North American holdings to Great Britain. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. [30], Other historians counter the above arguments regarding Jefferson's alleged hypocrisy by asserting that countries change their borders in two ways: (1) conquest, or (2) an agreement between nations, otherwise known as a treaty. The lack of instructions and the necessity of consulting ones government are always legitimate excuses in order to obtain delays in political affairs, he once wrote. When Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, he altered the shape of a nation and the course of history. As part of the deal, the U.S. assumed responsibility for 20 million francs ($3.75 million) of French debts owed to U.S. citizens. Though Jefferson urged moderation, Federalists sought to use this against Jefferson and called for hostilities against France. What was the most important effect of the Louisiana Purchase? In June, Napolon ordered Gen. Claude Victor to set out for New Orleans from the French controlled Netherlands. [55], Because the western boundary was contested at the time of the purchase, President Jefferson immediately began to organize four missions to explore and map the new territory. Why Did France Sell Louisiana? - CLJ . In a letter to U.S. minister to France Robert Livingston, President Thomas Jefferson stated, The day that France takes possession of New Orleanswe must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation.. [8] In 1801, Jefferson supported France in its plan to take back Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti), which was then under control of Toussaint Louverture after a slave rebellion. He could not or did not see the value in sending troops to defend worthless Louisiana, not with Saint-Domingue out of the equation. The Lewis and Clark expedition followed shortly thereafter. Why did France sell the Louisiana Territory? As slaves killed their masters and occupied and burned their plantations, white people defended themselves, then fled. Nobody really knows what post-victory plans for New Orleans and Upper Louisiana were given by the British government to Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and his second-in-command Major General Samuel Gibbs because both generals were killed in action at the Battle of New Orleans. Livingston and Monroe were only authorized to spend up to $10 million for the purchase of New Orleans and West Florida.