USA > Louisiana > The province and the states, a history of the province of Louisiana under France and Spain, and of the territories and states of the United States formed therefrom, Vol. II > Part 10
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48
* Ellicott's Journal.
102
THE PROVINCE AND THE STATES.
United States, because the latter had seemingly favored the com- merce of Great Britain rather than that of France. She who had been the essential instrument which enabled the American colonies to gain their independence, was now obliged not only to suffer actual and serious injury to her commerce by the acts of the United States, but to witness the ingratitude shown in the favors granted to Great Britain, the former enemy of both. Such was the view of France. When the war of 1793 burst forth in all its fury, France grew still more bitter because the United States would not consent to become her active ally against Great Britain. The proceedings of Mr. Genet were instigated by the French government ; and when his course was checked and his recall was requested, the resentment of France found abundant fuel in privateering on American commerce and in humiliating the American envoys. The similar acts of Spain were due to French influence. While the war, begun in 1793, between France and Great Britain continued, there was no like- lihood that the former would molest the United States; but should she succeed in regaining Canada by conquering Great Britain, Louisiana was certain to pass to her possession, and, if she could browbeat or whip the United States, all the Upper Mississippi valley would share the same lot. This was well known to American statesmen, and, therefore, they preferred that Louisiana should remain in the possession of Spain rather than pass to France. The latter was a neighbor to'be dreaded, while Spain was weak and yielding.
But France could not crush Great Britain nor regain Canada in the war of 1793, and her disappointment was reflected in her treatment of the United States. Her privateers ravaged Ameri- can commerce until in 1707-98 war was imminent and seemed inevitable. Spain was completely under the domination of France. and the latter was no doubt responsible for the Spanish reten- tion of the American posts on the Mississippi .* An intima- tion even for their retention, from France to Spain, was all the inducement needed. Either preferred the other to hold Lonisi- ana rather than the United States. Their retention, in case of a war between Spain and the United States, not only meant immense carly advantage to the former, but assured her of the active and potential assistance of France. Therefore, the posts were held until France had definitely decided to settle without .
. Montoe's Memoirs.
103
LATER NAVIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
a war her disputes with the United States. Spain, having already ceded all of the country above the thirty-first degree to the United States by the treaty of 1795, had no other motive in retaining the American posts than to aid France. In fact, having thus ceded the country, it was to her advantage, omit- ting the considerations of France, to surrender the posts and thus retain the good will of her neighbor, the United States. But the will of France prevailed, and the diplomacy of the Louisiana authorities enabled Spain to retain, without war with the United States, the entire Natchez district for about a year and a half beyond the expiration of the treaty limits.
.
1
1 1
104
THE PROVINCE IND THE STATES.
CHAPTER HI
The Treaty of Retrocession, 1800
T HE republic of France had scarcely become firmly estab- lished before the directory began to consider the question of securing the retrocession of Louisiana from Spain. The confidence with which France pursued this object indicates that owing to some secret understanding at the date of the ces- sion of Louisiana to Spain in 1763, or at some subsequent date, the latter was under obligations to retrocede the province to the French government, either upon demand, or upon the ful- fillment of certain conditions or agreements. As early as 1794 the French ambassador to the court of Spain, Citizen Perignon, was instructed to sound that goverment in regard to the retro- cession of louisiana; and it was amounced in the ambassador's dispatches that Spain seemed to acquiesce in the demand, in order to secure for the Duke of Parma, as France proposed, an enlargement of his states in Italy .* It should be particu- larly noted that France demanded at this time West Florida also, taking the position that, under Spain, Louisiana embraced West Florida as it did previous to 1763 under France. But the French government could not yet deliver the territory in Italy desired, therefore negotiations were interrupted and delayed. In 1797, Delacroix, the French minister on exterior relations, wrote to General Bonaparte that "This treaty ought to have as basis the cession of Louisiana and of West Florida to the repub- lic, upon the supposition that events permit the French govern- ment to procure for the Duke of Parma an augmentation of territory, such as Romagna or any other part."; Accordingly,
* History of France: Wright.
{ Napoleon Correspondence.
105
THE TREATY OF RETROCESSION.
full powers were sent to Mr. Perignon to conchide the treaty on this basis ; but Spain was not satisfied with the assurance that France could deliver the desired territory in Italy, and there- fore delayed reaching an agreement. In 1800 Mr. Berthier was sent as an envoy extraordinary to Madrid to resume the nego- tiations, and was instructed by the consular government to demand Louisiana and the two Floridas. But an agreement with Spain on this basis could not be reached. The ambassador said, in his dispatches of August 25, 1800, "The answer of the king to the minister of foreign affairs of France was, that he would perform the promise which he had given for the retro- cession of Louisiana, as it had been ceded by the treaty of 1763; that he would never consent to cede the Floridas, and that he was surprised that, after having yielded that which was so long solicited, new demands should be made upon him."*
At the same time, he communicated that the Spanish minis- ter, Mr. Urquijo, "allowed him to understand that, at a general peace, the king might cede half of West Florida, situated between the left bank of the Mississippi and the river Mobile." France, at this date, was engaged in the war with England, and Spain desired a general peace before ceding any part of Flor- ida. The king of Spain having thus signified his willingness, agreeably to promise, to retrocede Louisiana to France, the trans- fer was secretly made October 1, 1800, while the war was still in progress. After the treaty of Amiens, which was concluded March 25, 1802, the consular government instructed General Beurnonville, French ambassador to Madrid, to effect the follow- ing objects: "The most important affair with which you will; occupy yourself is to facilitate this last delivery (of Louisiana), which ought to take place before the end of the season, by obtain- ing from the Spanish government, that it give to the governor of Louisiana, if not already done, specific orders to deliver it to the captain general which the consul sends there. . The retrocession made by Spain only extends from the east of the Mississippi, but the secretary of state, M. Urquijo, had given hopes to General Bertrand, charge of this negotiation, and who insisted on the cession of one of the Floridas, that at the gen- eral peace, he did not doubt that the king would consent to code all that part of the Floridas which extends to Mobile, if the premier consul asked for it. The difficulties which Spain afterward threw in the way of completing the cession of Louisi-
. Napoleon Correspondence.
! 1 -- 1 1
-
1
.
.
.
106
THE PROVINCE AND THE STATES.
ana caused the French government to think, hitherto, that the moment was not yet arrived to ask an extension of territory; but peace has placed France in such a favorable position, that it does not seem necessary to adjourn any longer the necessary steps to obtain the aggrandizemem with which the minister of the king of Spain flattered the French charge d'affairs. The part of Florida which you have to lay claim to, belonged to France before the peace of 1703. It is evident she wishes to reacquire this former possession where there are doubtless a great number of French families". General Beurnonville was given elaborate instructions and full powers to treat for the possession of the two Floridas, and was anthorized to cede therefor the duchy of Parma. He took with him complete plans for the treaty, prepared by Napoleon, one article reading as follows :**
"Article IV. Spain, in compensation for the advantages guaranteed to her by the present treaty, retrocedes to France the river and port of Mobile, and the territory which belonged to it before 1763, to the west of that river only, from the most northern point of the thirty-first degree of north latitude to the river of Iberville and the Gulf of Mexico. Further, she cedes to France the other part of West Florida and all East Flor- ida, with the rivers, lakes, ports, bays, isles and straights, depend- ent on each several territory, and extending to the north into the line of demarcation traced in Article HI of the treaty of friendship, of limits, and of navigation, concluided the 27th Octo- ber, 1795, between His Catholic Majesty and the United States of America."
But despite the inducements and the pressure brought to bear upon Spain, the French government was unable to obtain the two Floridas, or any part of either. The efforts to secure them were continued persistently for nearly a decade, first by the French directory and then by the consular government; but, as Spain was under no obligations to return them, though she had promised to return Louisiana ; she refused to do so, even though threatened by the first consul. There can be no doubt that the consular government fully realized the vast importance of possessing Louisiana, the two Floridas, the control of navi- gation on the Mississippi, and, therefore, to a pre-eminent degree,
. Sende Documents 56, 20 Session, 2d Congress,
1 Spain seemed to have been under an agreement contained in a secret article of the secret treaty of 1762, or of the "Family Compact" of 1761, to retrocede Louisi- ana to France upon conditions not wholly understood.
107
THE TREATY OF RETROCESSION.
the commercial supremacy of the Gulf. The old monarchy of France had been rent asunder, the new citizens' government was alert and ambitions, and cared nothing for the sacredness of the "family compact" except as it enabled them to demand the retrocession of Louisiana according to the promise of the Spanish monarch, and to secure, if possible, by cajolery or threats, a part or the whole of the two Floridas. Napoleon saw the golden opportunity of establishing on the Gulf a magnificent empire of the French people, with the beautiful capital at New Orleans, with the commerce of the world on the Gulf under French tribute and domination, and with a prodigious demand for all the products of the French manufactories. It meant the enrichment and glori- fication of France far beyond anything yet conjectured or dreamed of. It meant the practical enslavement of the Western states of America, or the purchase by them of French condescension upon terms wholly at the pleasure and under the dictum of France. It meant the absolute exclusion of Great Britain from the Missis- sippi and from the Gulf and the ultimate loss of her West India possessions. It meant the probable extension of Louisiana into Mexico and perhaps into Central America. It was a splendid conception -- a magnificent dream of conquest, dominion and power; but like many other dreams of empire during that vol- canic period was short-sighted, illogical and impossible of execu- tion.
The failure of France to comply with the stipulations contained in the treaties with Spain concerning the retrocession of Louisiana, caused the latter to withhold the orders for the delivery of the machinery of government at New Orleans until the conditions agreed upon had been wholly fulfilled. As soon as the consider- ations had passed, the Spanish monarch, at Barcelona, on October 15, 1802, issued the following royal order : "Whereas, I have judged it proper to retrocede to the French republic the colony and province of Louisiana, I command you, as soon as these pres- ents are exhibited to you by General Victor, or any other officer duly authorized by said republic to receive the same, to put him in possession of the colony of Louisiana and its dependencies, together with the city and island of New Orleans, with the same limits it has at present, which it had whilst it belonged to France, and at the same time she ceded it to my royal crown, and as such it ought to be found after the treaties successfully concluded between my states and those of other powers, in order that hence- forth the same may belong to said republic, and that she may cause
-
1
108
THE PROVINCE AND THE STATES.
it to be administered and governed by her own officers and gover- nors, as her own possession without any exception whatever."*
The Spanish commissioners, Manuel Salcedo and Sebastian Calvo, appointed by the Spanish crown to deliver Louisiana to the French anthorities, issued the following proclamation to the inhabitants of the Province :
"We make it known to all the vassals of the king, our master of all classes and conditions whatsoever, that his Majesty has resolved to make a retrocession of the Province of Louisiana, for the mutual satisfaction of both powers ; and continuing to give the same proofs of protection and affection which the inhabitants of this province have always received, he has thought fit to settle among other things certain points which we deem it our duty publicly to make known for the particular government and dis- position of all whom it may concern :
"His Majesty in considerations of the obligations imposed by the treaties and wishing to avoid the differences which might arise, has been pleased to resolve, that the delivery of the colony and Island of New Orleans, which is to be made to General Victor, or other officer, lawfully authorized by the Government of the French Republic, shall be made in the same manner that it was ceded by France to his Majesty, by virtue of which the limits of both shores of the River St. Louis or Mississippi shall remain as irrevocably fixed by the seventh article of the definitive treaty of peace, concluded at Paris on the 10th of February, 1763; and consequently the settlements from the river Manshack or Ther- ville, to the line which divides the American territory from the dominions of the King, shall remain in the possession of Spain and annexed to West Florida."t
ACT OF DELIVERY OF THE PROVINCE OF LOUISIANA HY SPAIN TO FRANCE.
"The undersigned, citizen Pierre Clement Laussat, Colonial prefect, commissioner on the part of the French government, to receive possession in the name of the French Republic of the Colony or Province of Louisiana, from the hands of the officers and other agents of His Catholic Majesty, agreeably to the full powers which he has received, in the name of the French people, from Citizen Bonaparte, First Consul, under date of the 17th
. History of france: Wright.
American State Papers.
109
THE TREATY OF RETROCESSION.
Prairial year 11 (oth June, 1803), countersigned by Hugues Maret, secretary of state, and by his excellency Decres, minister of marine and of the colonies, and recently delivered in person to the commissioners of his said Catholic Majesty, together with the royal order, dated from Barcelona, 15th October, 1802.
"And the said commissioners of his Catholic Majesty, Don Manuel de Salcedo, brigadier in the King's armies, military and political governor of the provinces of Louisiana and West Flor- ida, inspector of the veteran troops and militia of said provinces, royal vice patron, sub-delegate, judge of the superintendence of the post-office department, &c., and Don Sebastian Calvo de la Puerta y O'Farrell Marquis Casa Calvo, knight of the order of St James, brigadier in the King's armies and colonel of the infantry regiment of the Havana, appointed commissioner of his Catholic Majesty, for the delivery of this Province to the French Republic, according to the royal order of the 18th February, 1803 :
"CERTIFY by these presents that on this eighth day of Fri- maire, in the twelfth year of the French Republic and thirtieth November, 1803, having assembled in the hall of the hotel of the city of New Orleans, accompanied on either part by the chiefs and officers of the armies of land and sea, the secular and eccle- . siastical cabildo, the administration of finances of the King of Spain, the civil administration, and by other distinguished persons of their respective nations, said Citizen Laussat delivered to the said commissioners of his Catholic Majesty the above mentioned full powers from citizen Bonaparte, First Consul of the French republic ; and immediately after the said Manuel de Salcedo and the Marquis of Casa Calvo declared that by virtue of, and in con- formity to, the terms of the order of the King of Spain, dated from Barcelona the 15th of October, 1802, and countersigned by Don Pedro Cervallos, first secretary and counsellor of state, they from that moment did put the French commissioner, Citizen Laussat, in possession of the Colony of Louisiana and its depend- encies, as also of the city and island of New Orleans, with the same extent which they have on this day, and which they had while in the hands of France when she ceded the same to the royal crown of Spain, and such as they ought to have been since the treaties successively concluded between the States of his Cath- olic Majesty and those of other Powers, in order that the same may henceforth belong to the French Republic and be governed and administered by its officers and governors, in such manner as will best suit its interests; and they have accordingly solemnly
-
IIO
THE PROVINCE AND THE STATES.
delivered to him the keys of this place, declaring that they absolve from the oath of fidelity to his said Majesty, all such inhabitants as may choose to continue in the service of dependence of the French Republic.
"And to the end that the same may forever hereafter appear by this solen act, the undersigned have signed these presents in the French and Spanish languages, have hereto affixed their seals, and caused the same to be countersigned by the secretaries of the respective commissions, the day, month and year above written.
"LAUSSAT."
"By the colonial prefect and commissioner on the part of the French Government.
"DAUGEROT, "Secretary of the Commission.
"Andres Lopez Armisto, "So del Gobo. "MANUEL DE SALCEDO,
"y de la Comm'on. "Et. MARQUEZ DE CASA CALVO."
Below is written :
"Deposited in the archives of the city hall of this commune, New Orleans, the 6th Ariose, year 12 of the French Republic, and 28th December, A. D. 1803."
. "LAUSSAT." :
"By the colonial prefect aud commissioner on the part of the French Government."
"DAUGEROT, "Secretary of the Commission.
The following is in full the text of the treaty of retrocession, concluded October 1, 1800, by which Louisiana was returned to France, according to the promises of the king of Spain, contained in a secret article of the secret treaty of 1762, by which Louisiana passed to the crown of Spain. Though this secret treaty was made public in the United States in 1834, the secret article of this secret treaty seems never to have been printed or circulated in this country. The double secrecy has thus proved an effectnal bar to publicity :*
· Trenties of the United States.
-
111
THE TREATY OF RETROCESSION.
"PRELIMINARY AND SECRET TREATY BETWEEN THE FRENCH REPUB- LIC AND HUIS CATHOLIC MAJESTY, THE KING OF SPAIN, RELAT- ING TO THE ACCRANDIZEMENT OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, THE INFANT DUKE OF PARMA IN ITALY, AND TO THE RETROCESSION OF LOUISIANA.
"Ilis Catholic Majesty having always manifested the most anx- ions desire to procure for his Royal Highness, the Duke of Parma, an aggrandizement which might place him on a footing corre- sponding with his dignity ; and the French Republic having long since given to his Catholic Majesty, the king of Spain, to under- stand 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 circumstances permitting them to enter into engagements in this particular 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 Ill and of St. John of Jerusalem, counselor of state, his envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary, near the Batavian Republic, and his provisional first secretary of state; who after having exchanged their powers have agreed, saving the ratification, upon the following articles :
"Article 1. The French Republic engages-to procure for Ilis Royal Highness, the Infant Duke of Parma, an augmentation of territory which shall raise the population of his estates to one mil- lion of inhabitants, with the title of king and all the rights annexed to royal dignity; and to this effect the French repub- lic engages to obtain the consent of his Majesty, the Emperor and King, and of the other states interested, so that His Royal Iligh- ness, the Infant Duke of Parma, may, without opposition, enter into possession of said territories at the time of the confirmation of the peace between the French Republic and his Imperial Majesty.
"Article 2. The augmentation to be given to His Royal Iligh- ness, the Duke of Parma, may consist of Tuscany, in case the present negotiations of the Grench Government with His Impe- rial Majesty shall permit them to dispose of that country, or of the three Roman ecclesiastical provinces, or any other continental provinces of Italy that may form a rounded estate.
"Article 3. His Catholic Majesty promises and engages on his part to retrocede to the French Republic, six months after the
---
+
112
THE PROVINCE IND THE STATES.
full and entire execution of the conditions and stipulations herein expressed in relation to His Royal Highness, the Duke of Parma, the colony or province of Louisiana, with the same extent that it now has in the hands of Spam, and had while in the possession of France, and such as it ought to be in conformity with the trea- ties subsequently concluded between Spain and other states.
"Article 4. His Catholic Majesty will give the necessary orders for the occupation of Louisiana by France the moment the estates designed for his aggrandizement shall be placed in the hands of His Royal Highness, the Duke of Parma. The French may according to its convenience defer the taking possession; and when this is to be done the States directly or indirectly interested shall agree upon the ulterior conditions which their common interests and that of their inhabitants may demand.
"Article 5. His Catholic Majesty engages to deliver to the French Republic in the ports of Spain in Europe, one month after the execution of the stipulation with regard to the Duke of Parifia, six ships of war in good condition, of seventy-four guns, armed and equipped, and in a state to receive the French crews and supplies.
"Article 6. The stipulations of the present treaty having no prejudicial object, but on the contrary preserving untouched the rights of every one, is not to be presumed they can excite the sus- picions of any power. But if the contrary should happen and the result of their execution should be that the two estates are attacked or threatened, both powers to engage to make common cause as to repel aggression as also to take those conciliatory measures proper to maintain peace with all their neighbors.
"Article 7. The obligations contained in the present treaty in nothing annul those which are expressed in the treaty of alliance signed at St. Ildefonso on the second Fructidor, year 4 (18th August, 1796) ; on the contrary, they unite with new ties the interests of the two Powers, and confirm the stipulations of the treaty of alliance in all the cases in which they can be applied.
"Article 8. The ratifications of the present preliminary arti- cles shall be completed and exchanged in the period of one month, . or sooner if possible, counting from the date of the signing of the present treaty.
"In faith of which we the undersigned ministers plenipotentiary of the French Republic and of Ilis Catholic Majesty by virtue of our respective powers have signed the present preliminary arti- cles and have affixed our seals.
-
.10 30
105
Sanfte
35
2750
Gulf of Mexico.
NON
Amsterdam Before, 1730
No.V
105°
cid Maps Showing the Extent of Louisiana Il
Gulf of Mexico. No.5. 1733. London H. Popple. Under Patronage of Land of Trade & Plantations CH Maps of America Volz. No 17
THE TRE.ITY OF RETROCESSION. 113
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.