In 1803, the North Americans did the most important business in history by purchasing the Territory of Louisiana from Napoleon. The price they paid for the territory was US$ 15,000,000, or about 220 million today. It is larger than Mexico and has a river, the Mississippi. It is also fed by a 3 million km2 basin. It was the perfect place for someone looking for a vast land that could be used to grow and rear livestock. The quality is similar to the black lands in Ukraine, but it is 5 times greater. The Americans became scared of the enormous lottery and started to accept their fate.
The US territory’s mainland is roughly a rectangle. This rectangle is larger than its height. There is a tail 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. It was called the Louisiana Territory. The Mississippi was its right limit, while the Rocallosas was to the 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 3700 km. It is not the river’s length, but its water flow. On a day with low flow, the river can throw 4502m3/second into the ocean, while on a good day, it can throw 86719m3/second. 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 is the Mississippi’s nearly zero slope, at 3700km, which is 450m shorter than the average Mexican river. This means that water has a slow, flat movement and can be used for navigation. English, Dutch, German, and Dutch settlers arrived at the site in 17th-century. There was only a small area between the Appalachian Mountains (and the Atlantic Ocean), but from the beginning, there had been explorers that traveled west across the Appalachians to reach Mississippi River. England granted them the right to colonize the entire south, including the region between Mississippi and 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”. Spaniards might have tried to aggressively colonize this area. However, it proved more profitable to extract silver mines from New Spain. This led to the discovery that territories to the north were unexplored, or not exploited. 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. It was Spanish Louisiana in French Louisiana 40 years later. This was in law and name (though the Europeans were allowed to divide the globe), but not in practice. This is how Napoleon, the First Consul at the time, forced the Spaniards back to France in 1800 to see if the pieces would fit into their plan to create the World French Empire.
The president of the United States at that time was Thomas Jefferson. He was the creator of the Declaration of Independence, and was well-informed about what was going on in Europe. He was horrified to learn of the Spanish treaty that ceded French Louisiana to France.
The Americans won again because geography ruled. Because it was too far away, Napoleon couldn’t launch directly to move troops and people to the Mississippi. However, he could use as a base a French-owned island in the West Indies, which had just gained independence from the United States through a slave rebellion. It was Haiti. Napoleon was able send 20,000 men and retake control of the island. This made it easy to establish America’s base of operations. 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.
The Mississippi was already an important river in America’s commercial life by 1800. It was used by the cities to transport goods to New Orleans, and then to distribute them. The Spanish had control of this city, and there was a treaty allowing merchants to use it as a warehouse. However, the Spanish governor banned American goods deposit in 1801.
Jefferson came up with a brilliant and simple solution. He was capable of making a geopolitical assessment and accurately estimating its possibilities. He proposed that the port be purchased or rented to solve the problem, which was the transit of merchandise. He would need to send his agents to France to make the purchase. Napoleon had already looked into the matter and came up with the following conclusion:
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. Although they were powerless to make that offer, the representatives felt trapped and decided to negotiate and sign the purchase for 15 million.
After receiving this news, the president realized that he had accomplished a great deal. But he was willing to accept the challenge and work with the Federalist Party. It was an extraordinary deal from all points of view for the United States. However, Jefferson’s opposition fell on him accusing his of violating Constitution. Because there was no law authorizing President Trump to buy territory in another country, they labeled him hypocritical.
The United States acquired large amounts of land, which they were able to use for farming, livestock, manufacturing, and commerce. Psychologically, it was the removal of a wall that had stopped them from going westward. The Americans felt that they had transformed themselves from a nation founded by European settlers to a continent power. Although there are many factors, I believe that the purchase was the single most important factor in the United States’ greatness. Napoleon, a brilliant man who could see far into the future made the comment that “With this sale, we have created a nation which will sooner or later shame Great Britain.” Although the United States is an allies with England, it’s not true in other aspects. However, even a mere comparison of power can be humiliating.
Jurists reviewed the purchase from multiple perspectives and concluded that it wasn’t legal. Napoleon forced Spain to hand over the territory. There is also a problem, as if Napoleon is allowed to sell any of Spain’s remaining territories, 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. Despite many differences, this operation was ultimately successful. There were no countries that could speak up, support it with their weapons, or show better rights.
