Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase describes the United States acquisition of more than 529,911,680 acres (2,144,476 km2) of territory from France in 1803 for about $3/sq. mile or $11,250,000 (which, if adjusted for inflation, would equal approximately $193 million in 2005).

Conflict with Spain

The Louisiana Purchase led to a dispute between the United States and Spain over the boundaries of the area the United States had bought. According to the Spanish, Louisiana consisted roughly of the western half of what is now the states of Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri. The United States on the other hand claimed that it stretched all the way to the Rio Grande and the Rocky Mountains, a claim unacceptable for Spain, as it would mean all of Texas and half of New Mexico, both Spanish colonies, would fall under it. There was also disagreement about the ownership of West Florida, a strip of land between the Mississippi and Perdido Rivers. The United States claimed it was part of the purchase; Spain said that it was not, and east of the Mississippi only the city of New Orleans was part of the Louisiana purchase. Spain also held that the purchase was illegal; because the treaty handing Louisiana to the French had stipulated the French were not allowed to hand it over to a third power, and because Napoleon had not adhered to his part of the treaty (giving a kingdom in Italy to the brother-in-law of king Carlos IV).

Related Topics:
Spain - Louisiana - Arkansas - Missouri - Rio Grande - Rocky Mountains - Texas - New Mexico - West Florida - Mississippi - Perdido - New Orleans - Napoleon - Italy - Carlos IV

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In 1810, after a revolt in West Florida, the United States annexed the region between the Mississippi and Pearl Rivers (known today as the Florida Parishes of Louisiana). In 1812, the Mobile District was annexed (the region between the Pearl and Perdido Rivers, which now forms the panhandles of Alabama and Mississippi). The matter was not fully settled until the Adams-Onís Treaty in 1819, in which Spain ceded all of Florida to the U.S. and the boundary between the Louisiana territory and the Spanish colonies was set along the Sabine, Red and Arkansas Rivers and the 42nd parallel.

Related Topics:
1810 - Florida Parishes - 1812 - Mobile District - Alabama - Mississippi - Adams-Onís Treaty - 1819 - Sabine - Red - Arkansas

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