USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume II > Part 66
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Treaty of Utrecht .- This treaty left Philip, the Bourbon king of Spain, on the throne of that country, but it also bound him by fresh renunciation not to lay claim to the kingdom of France. In America the effect of the treaty was to transfer from France to England the ownership of the Hudson's Bay territory, Newfound- land and Nova Scotia, and Article X provided: "But it is agreed on both sides to determine within a year by commissaries to be forthwith named by each party. the limits which are to be fixed be- tween the said bay of Hudson and the places appertaining to the French ; which limits both the British and French subjects shall be wholly forbid to pass over or thereby to go to each other by sea or land. The same commissaries shall also have orders to de- seribe and settle in like manner the boundaries between the other British and French colonies in those parts." The English acquisi- tion of Nova Scotia by this treaty culminated in 1755 in the ex- pulsion of the Acadians (q. v.), many of the exiles finding homes in Louisiana.
In accordance with the stipulations of the treaty of Utrecht, commissioners were appointed to determine the boundaries between the French and English possessions in America. As a starting point on the Atlantic coast, they fixed upon a promontory in lati- tudie 58' 30' north, from which they proceeded in a direction almost due southwest to Lake Mistassini, about 200 miles east of the most southern point of James' bay, thence in a more westerly direction until the parallel of 49° was intersected, and thence along that line westward indefinitely. This parallel afterward became the subject of some controversy in settling the boundary between the United States and the British possessions after the former had acquired title to Louisiana.
Having surrendered her northern possessions (except Canada)
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by the treaty of Utrecht, France strengthened her hold upon the country west of the Alleghany mountains, and by extending her trading posts and settlements down the Mississippi valley to the Gulf of Mexico checked the progress of the English colonies to the westward. The settlements at Kaskaskia and on the Illinois river had been established before the treaty of Utrecht was made. . \ trading post had been opened at Vincennes, on the Wabash river. in 1710, and in 1735 a settlement was founded there. In the location of settlements France paid but little attention to the upper Ohio valley. There is no question that the title of France to the region between the Alleghany mountains and the Wabash river was bet- ter than that of England, but Louis XIV died in 1715 and under the regency of Philip, Duke of Orleans, France was slow to assert her rights. This gave England an opportunity of which she was not slow to take advantage, and a few years later she gained a foothold in the upper Ohio valley by establishing settlements there that the French afterward tried to dislodge.
In 1740 Charles VI, emperor of Germany, died and was succeeded by Maria Theresa, queen of Hungary. This brought on the War of the Austrian Succession in 1741, between the allied forces of France, Spain and Prussia on one side and the armies of the new queen, aided by those of England, on the other. By the treaty of Dresden, Dec. 25, 1745. Frederick of Prussia withdrew, but the war was continued by France and Spain until 1748, when it was concluded by the treaty of Aix-la-chapelle. Neither of these treaties had any effect on American territory. This war, known in America as King George's war, claimed the attention of the French government, and dissensions among the French officials in Louisiana contributed to prevent the expansion of settlements in that province. It was under these conditions that England began pushing her settlements westward of the Alleghany mountains. In 1748 the Ohio company was formed and it received a grant of some 600,000 acres of land in the Ohio valley. George Washing- ton, then a young man, was one of the stockholders of the com- pany, and with a company of English he crossed the mountains in the spring of 1754, with the intention of forming a settlement at the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, the site of the present city of Pittsburg. An advance party began the erection of a fort, but was driven off by the French, who completed the fort and named it Fort Duquesne. Washington then constructed a fort (Fort Necessity) at Great Meadows, but he was also driven from this position on July 4, and the French remained masters of the whole Mississippi valley. The following year Gen. Braddock led an expedition against Fort Duquesne, but the French had sent reinforcements and he was ingloriously defeated. These operations were the preliminaries to the "Seven Years' War." which Larned says "raged, first and last, in all quarters of the globe."
The Seven Years' war. sometimes called the French and Indian war, began in 1756, and for two years the French held their mas- tery in America. Then William Pitt became a power in the English
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ministry, the colonial army was strengthened and encouraged, and the British assumed the offensive. Louisburg, which had been captured during the War of the Austrian Succession, but which had been restored to the French by the treaty of Aix-la-chapelle, was again taken; Fort Frontenac, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, was destroyed ; Fort Duquesne, Crown Point, Niagara and Ticon- deroga were captured; Quebec, the Canadian citadel, capitulated on Sept. 13, 1759, and a year later the surrender of Montreal com- pleted the disaster to the French arms.
On Aug. 15, 1761, the Duke de Choiseul concluded the "Family Compact," which was intended to unite all branches of the house of Bourbon in opposition to England's growing maritime power. By this compact Spain promised to declare war against England on May 1, 1762, if the war was not ended by that time. England. however, continued the war beyond that date and several of the West India islands were captured. The Seven Years' war was finally brought to a close by the
Treaty of Fontainebleau .- Preliminaries of peace were signed at Fontainebleau on Nov. 3, 1762, between France and Spain on one side and England and Portugal on the other. On the same day the Duke de Choiseul, acting for France, and the Marquis de Grimaldi, on the part of Spain, entered into a treaty by which "the country known by the name of Louisiana, as well as New Orleans and the island in which that city is situated," was presented by Louis XV of France, "by the pure effect of the generosity of his heart, and on account of the affection and friendship," etc., to Charles III of Spain, as a token of his regard for the sacrifices made by His Catholic Majesty to bring about peace, and as "a proof of the great interest he took in his satisfaction and in the ad- vantages of his crown." This treaty of Choiseul and Grimaldi was ratified by the king of Spain on Nov. 13, 1762, and by Louis XV ten days later, and was kept secret. While it is possible that some of the nations of Europe may have known of its nature, it was not printed in the United States until 1834, when an official copy was obtained by Congress from the French archives for the purpose of adjusting controversies over the titles to Florida lands. Its provisions were not carried out until April 21, 1764, when Choiseul notified the Conde de Fuentes that: "The king has caused the necessary orders to be issued for the surrender of Louisiana, with New Orleans and the island in which that city stands, into the hands of the commissioner whom His Catholic Majesty may ap- point to receive them." The people of Louisiana were not offi- cially notified of the transfer until the following October. (See Revolution of 1768.)
Treaty of Paris .- As above stated, the preliminaries of peace were arranged at Fontainebleau on Nov. 3, 1762, and the peace was concluded by the treaty of Paris, Feb. 10, 1763. By this treaty the king of France ceded and guaranteed to Great Britain, Nova Scotia and Canada. with all their dependencies; the island of Cape Breton, and "all the other islands and coasts in the river and gulf
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of St. Lawrence." Havana was returned to Spain, and the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique to France. Article VII, the most important of the treaty so far as Louisiana was concerned, was as follows: "In order to reestablish peace on solid and durable foun- dations, and to remove forever all subjects of dispute with regard to the limits of the British and French territories on the continent of America, that for the future the confines between the dominions of his Britannic Majesty, in that part of the world, shall be fixed irrevocably by a line drawn along the middle of the Mississippi river from its source to the river Iberville, and from thence by a line drawn along the middle of this river, and the lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the sea : and for this purpose the most Chris- tian King cedes, in full right, and guarantees to his Britannic Majesty, the river and port of Mobile, and everything which he possesses, or ought to possess on the left side of the Mississippi, except the town of New Orleans and the island in which it is sitt- ated, which shall remain to France : provided that the river Missis- sippi shall be equally free as well to the subjects of Great Britain as to those of France in its whole breadth and length, from its source to the sea, and expressly that part which is between the said island of New Orleans and the right bank of that river, as well as the passage both in and out of its mouth. It is further stipulated that the vessels belonging to the subjects of either nation shall not be stopped, visited, or subjected to the payment of any duty what- soever.'
The king of England agreed to allow the inhabitants of Canada and Louisiana the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion. and to give orders to that effect. He further agreed to allow the said inhabitants 18 months in which to dispose of their property to British subjects and withdraw from the country if they preferred to do so. The king of Spain ceded to Great Britain the province of Florida, as well as all the country he possessed on the continent of North America to the east and southeast of the Mississippi. As the French territory west of the Mississippi had been previously ceded to Spain by the secret treaty of Fontainblean, the treaty of Paris left France without "one inch of ground in North America."
Treaty of Alliance .- Great Britain did not long retain peaceable possession of her territory east of the Mississippi acquired by the treaty of Paris. With the accession of George III to the throne in 1760 a colonial policy was adopted that culminated in the Revo- lutionary war. The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, and on Sept. 17 a treaty was prepared for submission to France, in which was the follow- ing clause : "Should Spain be disinclined to our canse from any apprehension of danger to his dominions in South America, you are empowered to give the strongest assurances that that crown will receive no molestation from the United States in the possession of these territories." On Dec. 30 the Continental Congress submitted the following proposition through the French ambassador to the court of Spain : "That if His Catholic Majesty will join with the
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United States in war against Great Britain, they will assist in re- ducing to the possession of Spain the town and harbor of Pensa- cola; provided that the citizens and inhabitants of the United States shall have the free and uninterrupted navigation of the Mississippi river and use of the harbor of Pensacola ; and will, provided it be true that his Portuguese Majesty has insultingly expelled the ves- sels of these states from his ports, or hath confiscated any such ves- sels, declare war against said king, if that measure will be agree- able to, and supported by, the courts of France and Spain." A copy of this act, with a treaty to be submitted to Spain, was sent to the American commissioners in Europe, Franklin, Deane and Lee, who were also instructed to exhaust all their efforts to secure the adop- tion of the treaty by that nation.
On Feb. 6, 1778, France signed a treaty of open alliance with the United States. Article VIII of this treaty was as follows: "Neither of the two parties shall conclude either truce or peace with Great Britain without the formal consent of the other first obtained; and they mutually engage not to lay down their arms until the inde- pendence of the United States shall have been formally or tacitly assured by the treaty or treaties that shall terminate the war." On the same date the following separate and secret understanding be- tween France and the United States was entered into: "The Most Christian King (of France) declares, in consequence of the intimate union which subsists between him and the king of Spain, that in concluding with the United States of America this treaty of amity and commerce, and that of eventual and defensive alliance, his Majesty hath intended, and intends, to reserve expressly, as he re- serves by this present separate and secret act, to his said Catholic Majesty (the king of Spain) the power of acceding to the said treaties, and to participate in their stipulations at such times as he shall judge proper. It being well understood, nevertheless, that if any of the stipulations of the said treaties are not agreeable to the King of Spain, his Catholic Majesty may propose other conditions analagous to the principal aim of the alliance and conformable to the rules of equity, reciprocity and friendship."
Two days later the commissioners wrote: "We have now the great satisfaction of acquainting you and Congress that the treaties with France are at length completed and signed. * * * Spain being slow, there is a separate and secret clause, by which she is to be received into the alliance upon requisition, and there is no doubt of the event." But Spain was loath to enter into a treaty of open alliance. At the beginning of the Revolution she recognized that it was to her interest, as a protection to the province of Louisiana, to encourage the disaffection of the colonies, and accordingly gave her moral support to the revolt, as well as 1,000,000 francs to the American commissioners. Subsequently, when it became clear that the issue was independence and wide claims of territory, she re- gretted her previous action, but was prevented from taking sides with Great Britain by the treaty of Feb. 6, 1778, between France and the United States, and by the expectation of gaining the Flori-
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das. Late in the year 1778 Count de Florida Blanca, acting for Spain, proposed to Lord Grantham, the British prime minister, the following terms of a settlement of the American situation: 1- The absolute independence of the colonies. 2-The preservation of Canada and Acadia to England. 3-The cession of all of Florida to the colonies except what was necessary for the protection of Spanish commerce in the Gulf of Mexico. These propositions were rejected and Spain's efforts as a mediator failed. France took ad- vantage of the failure to secure the active assistance of Spain against England and hence resulted the secret treaty between France and Spain, rendered possible only by the "Family Com- pact." This treaty was concluded in the early part of 1779, and on May 8 Charles III of Spain made a formal declaration of war against Great Britain. Up to this time the province of Louisiana had not been directly affected by the Revolution, but as soon as the news of Spain's declaration of war reached New Orleans Gov. Galvez began the organization of a force for the reduction of the British posts in West Florida (See Spanish Conquest), and on July 8, 1779, the Spanish colonists in America were granted leave to take part in the hostilities.
Treaty of 1783 .- It was this treaty that established peace be- tween the United States and Great Britain at the close of the Revo- lutionary war. Preliminary articles of peace were signed at Paris on Nov. 30, 1782, but under the treaty of alliance with France a definitive treaty could not be concluded until "terms of a peace shall be agreed upon between Great Britain and France and his Britannic Majesty shall be ready to conclude such treaty accord- ingly." Terms of a peace between these two nations were agreed upon at Versailles on Jan. 20, 1783, and on Sept. 3 the definitive treaty between England and the United States was concluded at Paris by David Hartley on the part of Great Britain and John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay as the American commis- sioners. By this treaty the independence of the United States was assured and the western boundary fixed at the Mississippi river. Article VIII provided that "The navigation of the river Mississippi. from its source to the ocean, shall forever remain free and open to the subjects of Great Britain and the citizens of the United States."
On the same date a treaty was concluded between Great Britain and Spain, in which "His Britannic Majesty likewise cedes and guarantees, in full right, to His Catholic Majesty East Florida as also West Florida," but no mention was made of the free navigation of the Mississippi. As that stream south of the parallel of 31° north latitude ran through Spanish territory, some controversy en- sued over its free navigation by other powers. (See Spanish Domi- nation.)
Concerning the treaty of Sept. 3, 1783, between England and the United States, Count de Aranda, the Spanish minister, addressed a private memoir to the king, in which he said: "This Federal Re- public is born a pigmy, if I may be allowed so to express myself.
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It has required the support of two such powerful states as France and Spain to obtain its independence. The day will come when she will be a giant, a colossus, formidable even in these countries. She will forget the services she has received from the two powers and will think only of her own aggrandizement. *
* The first step of this nation after it has become powerful will be to take possession of the Floridas in order to have command of the Gulf of Mexico, and after having rendered difficult our commerce with New Spain she will aspire to the conquest of that vast empire, which it will be impossible for us to defend against a formidable power established on the same continent and in its immediate neigh- borhood. These fears are well founded; they must be realized in a few years if some greater revolution even more fatal does not sooner take place in our Americas."
In the light of subsequent events these words seem prophetic. The pigmy republic has grown into a colossus that now exercises dominion over most of the territory in North America that was then held by Spain. Aranda suggested, as the best means of avert- ing the danger he pointed out, that Spain should surrender her pos- sessions in the Mississippi valley, retain Cuba and Porto Rico, and establish three of the infantas-one as king of Mexico, one of Costa Firme, and the other of Peru.
Jay-Grenville Treaty .- This treaty, concluded by Chief Justice John Jay and Baron Grenville on Nov. 19, 1794, was one of "amity, commerce and navigation" between England and the United States. With regard to Louisiana history, the treaty is of interest in a gen- eral way, because the opposition to it in the western country en- couraged the Spanish in their efforts to bring about the secession of Kentucky and Tennessee. Article 11I, however, has some direct bearing upon Louisiana, as it provided that "The river Mississippi shall, however, according to the treaty of peace, be entirely open to both parties; and it is further agreed that all the ports and places on its eastern side, to whichsoever of the parties belonging. may freely be resorted to and used by both parties." The treaty was ratified by the U. S. senate on June 24, 1795, and was signed by Washington on Aug. 15, following.
Treaty of Madrid .- The disagreement that arose soon after the conclusion of the treaties of 1783 regarding the free navigation of the Mississippi continued for more than ten years, and formed the subject of extensive diplomatic negotiation and correspondence. As early as June 3, 1784, the Congress of the United States passed the following resolution : "That the ministers plenipotentiary of the United States, for negotiating commercial treaties with foreign powers, be and they are hereby instructed, in any negotiations they may enter upon with the court of Spain, not to relinquish or cede, in any event whatsoever, the right of the citizens of these United States, to the free navigation of the river Mississippi, from its source to the ocean."
Several times the dispute was on the point of being settled, when something would intervene to cause further delay. Finally, early
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in Aug., 1795, the Spanish minister notified the American commis- sioners that their business "shall be very speedily settled to their satisfaction, as His Majesty is determined to sacrifice something of what he considers his right to testify his good will to the United States." The long delayed treaty was eventually concluded at Madrid on Oct. 27, 1795. It provided for the settlement of the boundary between the United States and the Floridas on the line of 31º north latitude and the appointment of commissioners and surveyors to run and mark the line; fixed the western boundary of the United States as "the middle of the channel or bed of the river Mississippi, from the northern boundary of the said states to the completion of the 31st degree of latitude north of the equa- tor ;" guaranteed the free navigation of the river to the citizens of the United States and Spanish subjects, unless the king of Spain "should extend this privilege to the subjects of other powers by special convention": and gave to the people of the United States the right of deposit at New Orleans for the space of three years without payment of duty. Or, in the event the Spanish authorities found that this right of deposit was prejudicial to the interests of Spain, another depot on the banks of the Mississippi should be designated. This treaty, also called the treaty of San Lorenzo el Real, was executed by Thomas Pinckney, United States envoy extraordinary, and Manuel de Godoy, the Spanish secretary of state. The concessions on the part of Spain as to the rights of navigation and deposit did much to quiet the western people and to advance the prosperity of Louisiana.
Treaty of St. Ildefonso .- This treaty, sometimes called "The Treaty of Retrocession." was concluded on Oct. 1, 1800. As early as 1794 Citizen Perignon, the ambassador of the newly established French republic at the court of Spain, was instructed to open ne- gotiations for the retrocession of Louisiana to France by Spain, proposing as an inducement therefor the enlargement of the Duke of Parma's estates in Italy. But France was unable at that time to deliver the desired territory in Italy and the negotiations were delayed. Two years later Delacroix, the French minister on for- eign relations, wrote to Napoleon: "This treaty ought to have as a basis the cession of Louisiana and of West Florida to the republic. upon the supposition that events permit the French government to . procure for the Duke of Parma an augmentation of territory, such as Romagna or any other part." Perignon was then directed to conclude the treaty on this basis, but Spain was not yet satisfied that France could deliver the territory in Italy, and a further delay ensued. In 1800 France sent Alexander Berthier as an envoy: extraordinary to Madrid, with instructions to resume negotiations and to secure if possible Louisiana and the Floridas. On Aug. 25.
1800, he wrote: "The answer of the king * * * was, that he would perform the promise which he had given for the retrocession of Louisiana, as it had been ceded by the treaty of 1763; that lie would never consent to cede the Floridas, and that he was sur- prised that, after having yielded that which was so long solicited,
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new demands should be made upon him." France then abandoned the request for the cession of the Floridas, and the treaty was con- cluded by M. Berthier and Urquijo, the Spanish secretary of state, as above stated. The full text of the treaty was as follows:
"PRELIMINARY AND SECRET TREATY BETWEEN THE FRENCH REPUBLIC AND HIS CATHOLIC MAJESTY. THE KING OF SPAIN, RELATING TO THE AGGRANDIZEMENT OF ILIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, THIE INFANT DUKE OF PARMA IN ITALY, AND TO THE RETROCESSION OF LOUISIANA.
"His Catholic Majesty having always manifested the most anxious desire to procure for his Royal Highness, the Duke of Parma, an aggrandizement which might place him on a footing corresponding with his dignity ; and the French Republic having long since given to His Catholic Majesty, the king of Spain, to understand the desire which they feel to recover possession of the colony of Louisiana, both governments having interchanged their views upon these two subjects of common interest and circum- stances permitting them to enter into engagements in this particu- lar which, as far as it depends on them, may assure reciprocal satis- faction, have authorized for this purpose, that is to say, the French Republic. the citizen Alexander Berthier, general-in-chief: and His Catholic Majesty, Don Mariano Luis de Urquijo, chevalier of the order of Charles III and of St. John of Jerusalem, counselor of state, his envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary, near the Ba- tavian Republic, and his provisional first secretary of state; who after having exchanged their powers have agreed, saving the rati- fication, upon the following articles :
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