In 1803, the North Americans did the most important business in history by purchasing the Territory of Louisiana from Napoleon. US $ 15,000,000 (or 220 millions today) was paid for a territory bigger than Mexico. This territory is fed by a more than 3,000,000 km2 basin and is almost entirely flat. It was the perfect place for someone looking for a vast area with huge potential to grow and rear livestock. The quality is similar to that of the Ukraine’s black land, but it is 5 times greater. The Americans became scared of the enormous lottery and started to accept their fate.
The US continental territory is roughly a rectangle that is longer than it is wide. A tail can be found in the lower left corner. It is crossed by two mountain ranges: the Rockies on one side and the Appalachian Mountains the other. The Mississippi River basin is a huge extension that is almost flat and has a lot of water. It is located near New Orleans and is almost at the border with Canada. There was also the Louisiana Territory. Its right limit was the Mississippi. The Rocallosas was to its left. Maybe you’ve traveled to Mexico and seen miles and kilometers of cultivated land. This is possible because the water from the Calles Dam in our state can be used. However, most crops are grown with water. Sinaloa has seen the Sierra Madre Occidental rains used, and a series dams have been built to turn the area green. Google Earth lets you view the entire Mississippi region from the sky. Aguascalientes’ taste lasts approximately 40 km, Sinaloa’s tastes last about 400 km, while the Mississippi’s lasts for 3700km. It is simply the river’s width and water volume. The river throws 4502m3/second into a sea on a day of low flows, and 86719m3/second on a good one. The capacity of the Calles Dam is 340 million cubic meters. It has never been fully filled. The dam would fill in in just 21 hours if the Mississippi water was used to flood the sea. It would then fill in in approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes if the dam were filled with good days. These parameters are why the US was chosen to be the country that bought Louisiana. Another factor, not yet discovered in Mexico, is that the Mississippi has a near-zero slope. Its 3700 km length means that it moves on a nearly flat terrain. English, Dutch, German and Dutch settlers arrived in this area from the 17th Century. But, there was a small region between the Appalachian Mountains & the Atlantic Ocean. From the beginning of the colony, explorers traveled west to cross the Appalachians, reaching the Mississippi River. They were granted the responsibility of colonizing the south (towards Florida) as well as the portion of land between Mississippi and the Appalachians. Because the land was not well-known or could be identified, this river became the natural border between the United States of America and “other countries”. The Spaniards might have tried to aggressively colonize this area. However, it proved more profitable to extract silver mines from New Spain. In the end, the territories to their north were left unexplored. They were still present in Florida, New Orleans and other upstream areas. Instead, the French took over North America, Canada.
They were very fortunate indeed. The end of any European war results in a new distribution of spoils. France gives Spain the West Bank of the Mississippi, while France gives England the lands on the East side of the Mississippi. Everything that was English on the eastern border became part United States once Independence was completed in 1783. However, the West Bank of the Mississippi was given by France to Spain, who was already in decline and could not control the region. The United States received the area as a gift in the future. They had a few years to enjoy the territory without any European powers. Meanwhile, the United States grew and advanced in colonization, reaching the Mississippi. French Louisiana was Spanish for 40 years. This is how it came to be in 1800. Napoleon was the First Consul and forced the Spaniards into returning Louisiana to France.
Thomas Jefferson was then the president of America. He was the author of the Declaration of Independence and was a diplomat to France. He also had strong friendships with France so was well-informed about European affairs. He was horrified to learn of the Spanish treaty that ceded French Louisiana from Spain to France. He and his associates realized that the situation would be completely different if France had Canadian interests and began to explore what they could do.
The Americans were again favored by geography. Napoleon couldn’t directly launch troops or people to the Mississippi. This was because the Mississippi was far away. But the United States could use as a base a French-owned island in the West Indies. It had only recently been freed from slave revolt. It was Haiti. Napoleon was able send a force containing 20,000 men and retake it as its base for operations in America. The French soldiers were unable to confront the militia of the black inhabitants, and things started to go according to Napoleon’s plan until the yellow fever erupted and destroyed the French army. France was at war against England by the time it was over. Napoleon started to lose sight of his worldly dreams and begin to think about Louisiana.
In 1800, the Mississippi was already an important part of American commerce. The Mississippi channel carried merchandise to New Orleans from its cities. This city was Spanish and had a treaty that permitted merchants to use the port of the Mississippi as a warehouse. However, the Spanish governor banned American goods deposit in 1801.
Jefferson found a simple solution to the problem. He would need to make the purchase to France. His agents were to negotiate with Napoleon. Napoleon had already looked into the matter and came up with the following conclusions.
France couldn’t colonize or defend Louisiana.
It was therefore a wasteful property
You needed to get rid it as soon as possible
It would be best to sell it the United States, as they are a friend of the country, and not England, who were at war with them.
The French counterproposal to acquire all of Louisiana was presented by Jefferson’s envoys when they tried to purchase New Orleans. The representatives were caught in a dilemma because they didn’t have the power. But they reasoned they wouldn’t get another chance.
After receiving this news, the president realized that he had accomplished a great deal. He chose to accept it and was ready to deal with his Federalist Party opponents. The United States made an incredible deal. Jefferson’s opposition fell on him and accused him of violating Constitution. He had no law authorizing the president of buying territory from another nation. Jefferson was already hypocritical that he supported strict adherence with the Constitution. This meant that the entire operation would be stuck in Congress. It was approved by 2 votes.
The United States acquired land with enormous potential for agriculture. Psychologically, it was the removal of a barrier that stopped them moving westward. It also convinced the Americans that they were no longer a nation founded by European settlers and that they are now a continental force. Although there are many factors, I believe that the purchase was the single most important factor in the United States’ greatness. Napoleon, a brilliant thinker who could see the future, stated that the sale had created a nation, which would eventually be humiliated by Great Britain. However, because the United States works as allies with England, this comparison of power is embarrassing for the small of the two.
Jurists examined this purchase from many angles and concluded it was illegal. Napoleon did in fact force Spain to hand over the territory. There is also a problem, as if Napoleon is allowed to sell any Spanish territories that are still under his control, it would be illegal. However, considering that Louisiana is French, Napoleon in 1803 was not more than a First Consul. He had no power to sell any parts of France and Jefferson was not authorized to purchase it. While there were many disputes about the operation, no country was able to raise its voice, show greater rights, or support the other with its weapons. My harvest raises the legal question: Did Europeans have the right to win New World?
