Custom «The Louisiana Purchase» Essay Paper

France owned Louisiana until 1763, while King Louis XV did not gave it to the young Spanish King Charles III, in the form of compensation for the loss of a total war against England. Americans were given the right of navigation on the Mississippi River and duty-free port of New Orleans to use. From the port in Louisiana depended on the welfare of farmers in Ohio Valley. They carried down the Mississippi many products. All this went by water to the eastern shore and thence to Europe. The fate of Louisiana changed when Napoleon came to power. He hatched plans to rebuild the French colonial empire and decided to start with the return of the American province. A secret agreement was signed in connection with which Louisiana passed to France. Though negotiations were held in strict secrecy, rumors of them reached the United States. Napoleon’s plans to extend the French dominion in America raised concerns in the USA. Country’s leaders understood that while Louisiana owned by Spain was not a threat to the USA. The situation would be different if Louisiana came under the power of England or France. The Spanish governor suddenly deprived granted the right to use the port of New Orleans. Farmers and hunters were in a difficult situation that some were ready to take New Orleans by storm, while others move to a foreign citizenship. Then Jefferson came up with a rather unusual way to resolve territorial conflicts. He decided to buy New Orleans. By the beginning of 1803 the tension between Britain and France increased. It was clear, that a new war was inevitable among them. Napoleon came to the conclusion that with the transition of New Orleans to the USA, the territory adjacent to the Mississippi lost its value. These circumstances led to Napoleon’s final decision to sell Louisiana. On April 30, the administration’s representative in Paris, Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe, had signed a treaty with Napoleon’s minister of France (Lewis, 2003). It was the largest and most profitable real estate transaction in history. 2, 4 million square kilometers were purchased for $ 15 million. Due to the Louisiana Purchase territory of the U.S. doubled. Gradually, 15 states were located on that territory.