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 2
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
"Therefore, in order to establish between the Spanish and French nations the same spirit of union and friendship which should subsist as they do in the hearts of their sovereigns, I, therefore, take pleasure in accepting, as I do accept in proper form, the said act of cession, promising also to accept those which may hereafter be judged necessary for carrying it into entire and formal execution and authorizing the said Marquis de Grimaldi to treat, conclude and sign them. Given at San Lorenzo el Real on the thirteenth of November, 1762."
"THE KING."*
"The said acceptation and ratification having been approved by us, and regarded as a strong evidence of the friendship and good will of our very dear and well-beloved cousin, the Catholic King, we renew and confirm by these presents the cession of Louisiana and of New Orleans, with the island in which that city stands, promising immediately to conclude with our said brother and cousin a convention in which the measures to be taken in concert for executing and consumiating this cession to our mutual satis- faction will be fixed by common accord. Given at Versailles on the twenty-third day of the mouth of November, 1762."
"LOUIS."
-
. Annual Register (English): Vol. VI.
-
25
EARLY NAVIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
"Sir :
"Versailles, April 21, 1764."
The King has caused the necessary orders to be issued for the surrender of the country of Louisiana, with New Orleans and the island in which that city stands, into the hands of the commissioner whom his Catholic Majesty may appoint to receive them. I have sent the same papers to the Marquis de Ossum, who will have the honor to present them to his Catholic Majesty. Your Excellency will see that the King's orders are entirely con- formable with the acts signed in 1762, and that his Majesty has caused some articles to be inserted, equally conducive to the tran- quillity of the country after it is in the possession of his Catholic Majesty, and to the happiness of its inhabitants. I have the honor to be, with great esteem, your Excellency's most humble and obedient servant." "THE DUKE DE CHOISEUL .. "
"To THE CONDE DE FUENTES."
The following articles from those treaties explain themselves : "Article VII. In order to reestablish peace on solid and durable foundations, and to remove forever all subjects of dis- pute with regards to the limits of the British and French terri- tories 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 river Mississippi, from its source to the river lber- ville, and from thence by a line drawn along the middle of this river, and the lake Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the sea ; and for this purpose the most Christian 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 the river Mississippi, except the town of New Orleans and the island in which it is situated, which shall remain to France; provided that the river Mississippi 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 stipulations inserted in the IVth article in favor of the inhabitants of Canada, shall also take place with regard to the inhabitants of the countries ceded by this article."+
* Anual Register (English) . Vol. VI.
1
THE PROVINCE AND THE ST.ITES.
The stipulations referred to in the last sentence of this article extended to the inhabitants of the territory ceded the right to pro- fess and exercise the Catholic religion and to remove from the territory with their effects should they so desire.
"AArticle XX. In consequence of the restitution stipulated in the preceding article ( Artich XIX concerning Hlavana, etc. ), his Catholic Majesty codes and guarantees, in full right, to his Britan- nic Majesty, Florida, with Fort St. Augustine and the Bay of l'ensacola, as well as all that Spain possesses on the continent of North America, to the cast, or to the southeast of the river Mis- sissippi ; and in general everything that depends on the said coun- tries and lands, with the sovereignty, property, possession and all right acquired by treaties or otherwise, which the Catholic King and the crown of Spain have had till now over the said countries, lands, places and other inhabitants; so that the Catholic King codes and makes over the whole to the said King and to the crown of Great Britain, and that in the most ample manner and: form."
"Article XXII. All the papers, letters, documents and archives which were found in the countries, territories, towns, and places that are restored, and those belonging to the countries ceded, shall be respectively and bona fide delivered or furnished at the same time, if possible, that possession is taken, or at latest four months ! ! after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty in whatever places the said papers or documents may be found."
"Article XXIII. All the countries and territories which may have been conquered in whatsoever part of the world by the arms of their Britannic and Most Faithful ( Portugal) Majesties, as well as by those of their Most Christian ( France) and Most Catholic ( Spain ) Majesties, which are not included in the present treaty, either under the title of cessions, or under the title of restitutions, shall be restored without difficulty and without requir- ing any compensation."
"Article XXIV. It is agreed that the British and French troops shall complete before the 15th of March next, all that shall remain to be executed of the 12th and 13th articles of the preliminaries, signed the 3d day of November last (1762), with regard to the evacuation to be made in the empire or else- where. Great Britain shall likewise, at the end of three months after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, or sooner if it can be done, enter into the possession of the river and port of the Mobile, and of all that is to form the limits of the territory of Great Britain on the side of the river Misis- sippi as they are specified in the seventh article. The full -
27
EARLY N.IFIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
ress of the Hlavana with all that has been conquered in the island of Cuba shall be restored three months after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, or sooner if it can be done; and at the same time Great Britain shall enter into possession of the country ceded by Spain according to the twentieth article."*
From Article VII above, it will be seen that France caled the river and port of Mobile to Great Britain, and therefore must have possessed them prior to the cession. This cession confirms the prior ownership by France of the country eastward to the Perdido. From article XX above, it will be seen that Spain ceded to Great Britain the Bay of Pensacola and the country castward to St. Augustine. This cession still further confirms the fact that the territory of Spain extended no farther westward than the Perdido, and that the French Louisiana did extend eastward to the Perdido. As Spain had engaged in the war merely to assist France, and as in so doing had lost Florida, France compensated her with what may be called "the Spanish Louisiana." ..
This treaty fixed the western limits of the Atlantic colonies in the middle of the Mississipi the Iberville and the lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain. This was the first time the Mississippi was made the boundary between the possessions of any two or more nations. It was likewise the date when the province of Louisiana as possessed by France was divided, all that portion eastward of the Mississippi and the Iberville never afterward receiving the appellation of "Louisiana." The English maps from this time forward show the Atlantic colonies extended westward to the Mississippi. England secured all the country to the east of the Mississippi except the island of New Orleans. Particular atten- tion is called to the cession of the right to the free navigation of the Mississippi from its source to the sea, particularly to that por- tion between the right bank of the river and the Island of New Orleans. As will be seen, the right to this navigation was ceded absolutely and without reservation from the source of the river to. the Gulf of Mexico. Within a short time after this cession, Great Britain divided Florida into the two sections-East and West- the latter being bounded on the west by lakes Pantchartrain and Maurepas, the river Iberville and the river Mississippi as far north as the thirty-first degree of north latitude. Thus it was that Eng- land created West Florida and extended it to the Mississippi. In the organization of the territory thus secured by conquest, Great Britain purposely omitted the upper Mississippi country, in order
* Annual Register (English) : Vol. VI.
.
28
THE PROVINCE AND THE ST.ITES.
not to give offense to the Indians there, who, no doubt, would object to have their lands parceled out, subdivided and governed without their consent and without payment therefor.
"The reader will observe, and possibly with some surprise,* that in this distribution much the largest and perhaps the most valuable part of our conquests does not fall into any of these gov- ernments : that the environs of the great lakes, the fine countries on the whole course of the Ohio and Onabache (Wabash ), and almost all that tract of Louisiana which lies in the hither branch of the Mississippi, are none of them comprehended in the distribu- tion. The government of West Florida extends in no part mich above half a degree from the sea. Many reasons may be assigned for this apparent omission. A consideration of the Indians was, we presume, the principal, because it might have given a sensible alarm to that people if they had seen us formally cantoning out their whole country into regular establishments."
In his proclamation of October 7, 1763, King George of Eng land spoke of the western boundary of West Florida, "to the westward by lake Pontchartrain, the lake Maurepas and the river Mississippi."f The treaty of 1763 attached definitely the island and town of New Orleans to the country west of the Mississippi, and in all subsequent designation that assignment and boundary were followed. The line was referred to at first as "the river Iberville, the lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain," and spoken of as "one of the mouths of the Mississippi." Later it was psoken of as "the bayon Manshac and the lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain." In early times, no doubt, asmuch greater volume of water found its way through this outkt from the Mississippi to the Gulf than in later times; and hence the Island of New Orleans was usually spoken of as part of the country west of the Mississippi.
No other changes were made until the conclusion of the Revo- lutionary war; but as the right to navigate the Mississippi river became one of the most serious questions of contention during the progress of the war and as such contention shaped to a con- siderable extent the attitude of Spain and France, and perhaps England, toward the United States and promised to affect the welfare and destiny of Louisiana, the subject will be followed closely in these pages.
The English board of trade, by recommendation dated March
· Annual Register English) : Vol. VI.
+ Annual Register (English): Vol, VI.
2)
E.IRLY N.IFIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
23d, 1764, asked for a provision altering the boundary of West Florida on the north from the thirty-first degree to the mouth of the Yazoo river. The reason given for the recommendation was the fact that a strong settlement had been made on the east side of the Mississippi above the thirty first degree, and the fact that the bay and town of Mobile were presumed to be above that par- allel. In accordance with this recommendation, the English gov- ernment under date of June 6, 1764, extended the northern boundary of West Florida up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Yazoo river, thence eastward to the Apalachicola river. This line was still the boundary in 1770, as shown by the following mandate :+
"George the Third, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland King, defender of the faith and so forth, to our trusty and well beloved Peter Chester, esquire, greeting :
"We, reposing especial trust and confidence in the prudence, courage and loyalty of you, the said Peter Chester, of our especial grace, certain knowledge and more motion, have thought fit to constitute and appoint you the said Peter Chester to be our cap- tain general and governor in chief in and over our province of West Florida in America bounded to the southward by the Gulf of Mexico, including all the islands within six leagues of the coast, from the Apalachicola river to lake Pontchartrain; to the westward by the said lake and the Lake Maurepas and the river Mississippi ; to the northward by a line drawn from the mouth of the river Yasons where it unites with the Mississippi due cast to the river Apalachicola : and to the eastward by the said river."
Witness ourself at Westminster the 25th day of January, and the tenth year of our reign ( 1770)."
"THE KING."
The loss to France in 1763 of Canada, Louisiana and all of the Mississippi valley rendered possible the condition by which the colonies were enabled to free themselves from Great Britain. Had France retained possession, the colonies would certainly not have secured the Mississippi valley, and would probably not have secured their independence, even with their western boundaries in the Alleghany mountains. They would not have had the assist- ance of France in their struggle. Her enormous losses in 1763, kindled the resentment of France against Great Britain, from which the colonies were benefited. The Bourbon family compact
· Annual Register (inglish): Vol VI.
i
.
1 .
:
1
1
THE PROVINCE AND THE STATES.
and a unity of interests made Spain the ally of France. Even before the commencement of the Revolution, France had begun to advise and assist the colonies, and even to intimate to them, it not plainly to promise, that she would sustain their revolt against the mother country. But at this time the Mississippi country was not taken into consideration except remotely, and the fear of Spain of future danger from the English colonies was not yet kindled. Every process that weakened England strengthened France as well as Spain. The fate of Louisiana depended upon the course pursued by France as well as upon that pursued by Spain.
By the act of the continental congress, approved December 30, 1776. the following proposition was made through the French am! assador to the court of Spain: "That if His Catholic Majesty will join with the United States in war against Great Britain, they will assist in reducing to the possession of Spain the town and harber of Pensacola ; provided that the citizens and inhabitants of the United States shall have the free and uninterrupted naviga- tion of the Mississippi and use of the harbor of Pensacola ; and will, provrled it be true that His Portuguese Majesty has insult- ingly expelled the vessels of these States from his ports, or hath confiscated any such vessels, declare war against the said King, if that measure will be agreeable to, and supported by, the courts of !'rance and Spain."! This act was one of the clauses in the letter of instructions sent to the American commissioners in Europe, in which a treaty was drawn up to be submitted to Spain similar to the one prepared for submission to France. The latter had been previously prepared September 17, 1776, in which was the following clause: "Should Spain be disinclined to our couse from any apprehension of danger to his dominions in South Amer- ica 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." These were the instructions given to the minister to France before a special envoy was sent to the court of Spain. From the above it will be observed that thms early in its career the government of the United States ching to the right of the navigation of the Mississippi and hence to the extension to the states westward to that river.
At the commencement of the revolution Spain saw that it was to her interest as a guard against the encroachments of the inhab- itants of the colonies on her Louisiana possessions to encourage
. Diplomatic Correspondence: Secret Journals of Foreign Affairs, Congress.
31
EARLY N.IFIG.ITION OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
the disaffection of the colonies with the mother country ; accord- ingly she gave her moral support to the revolt, as well as one million francs to be handed to the American commissioners. Later, when it became clear that the issue was independence and wide claims of territory, she regretted her previous course, but was prevented from taking extreme action in favor of Great Brit- ain by the promises and entreaty of France and by the expectation of gaming the Floridas. From possible future entanglements and dangers with the colonies she sought first to free herself by media- tion with England. Late in 1778, Count de Florida Blanca pro- posed to Lord Grantham, the British prime minister, the follow- ing terms of a settlement with the colonies :*
"1. The absolute independence of the colonies.
"2. The preservation of Canada and Acadia by England.
"3. The cession of all of Florida to the colonies except what is necessary for the protection of Spanish commerce in the Gulf of Mexico."
But this proposition, made before Spain had begun to fear the colonies, came to naught. In October, 1778, the Count de Ver- gennes, in speaking of the free navigation of the Mississippi, main- tained there would be no difficulty over that question when terms of peace were discussed, and observed that he would he astonished if Spain made any opposition to it. But it is clear that at this time Spain had already conceived her plan for the rehabilitation of her decaying monarchy by the conquest of the Gulf and the possible establishment of a trans- Atlantic throne at New Orleans or Mexico.
As early as 1777, it became the settled conviction of the nations of Europe that the independence of the British American colonies meant their eventual absorption of the valley of the Mississippi. S In 1778 it was impressed upon France that without the help of the Spanish navy success on the ocean against Great Britain was a question of grave doubt. Therefore, France, for her own protec- tion, endeavored to allay the misgivings of Spain as to future dissensions with the United States and to secure her active assist- ance against Great Britain and hence resulted the secret treaty of 1779 between France and Spain, rendered possibile only by the "Family Compact."t As the war progressed the United States were given to understand by France that they could not make the
* Diplomatic Affairs, seerel.
Dispatch of Luzerne to Vergennes.
t DebreH's Collection of Treaties.
1
-- 1
1
:
1
.
32
THE PROVINCE AND THE STATES.
surrender of the Mississippi by Spain one of the conditions of peace ; but at the conclusion she endeavored to satisfy Spain with the conditions, though the latter was made to suffer thereby. As a matter of fact, much was left to the drift of events, the only stipulation back of all negotiations being the independence of the colonies, to which finality Spain was never reconciled.
On the 3d of June, 1776, Arthur L,ce wrote to the committee of Secret Correspondence of Congress, "The desire of the Court of france to assist may be depended on ; but they are yet timid and the ministry msettled. . . . Spain is more reserved, her minister here an old woman, but assuredly when France moves Spain will co-operate." At this time Spain and Portugal were on the brink of war, the former being supported by France and the latter by England. In order to gain the assistanace of Spain, Beaumarchais, in September, 1776, advised the United States to declare war against Portugal as well as against Great Britain. Soon after an official copy of the Declaration of Independence was received by Silas Deane, the American ambassador to France, he prepared a plan to be used as a basis for an active alliance between the United States and France and Spain. This plan embraced the following points :
The independence of the United States should be recognized by France and Spain, and the young republic should be guaran- teed "the possession of all that part of the continent of North America which by the last treaty of peace was coded and con- firmed to the Crown of Great Britain (the treaty of 1703) ; the United States should guarantee to France and Spain "all and singular their possessions and claims in every other part of Amer- ica, whether north of south of the equator, and of the islands possessed by them in the American seas ; should France or Spain, during the progress of the war, secure possession of the British islands in the West Indies, the United States should agree to assist in confirming such possession : the three nations should sus- tain one another's rights to free commerce in the cod fishery on the banks of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, etc. ; any British ship found on the coasts of North or South America should "forever hereafter" be considered as a law ful prize in peace or in war and no British ship should ever be admitted into the ports of either of the three countries during the present war; France and Spain should send fleets to the American coasts to defend and protect the commerce of the United States and the United States, in return, should defend the French and Spanish possessions in America ; "no peace of accommodation should be made with Great
1 1
33
FAIRLY NAVIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
Britain to the infringement or violation of any one of these articles."}
This plan was presented by Mr. Deane to the Count de Vergen- nes, in his private capacity, as early as November 23, 1776; but seems to have been thought too severe, as nothing further was heard of the plan. When the Declaration of Independence was made public in Paris, it created unbounded joy among the violent enemies of Great Britain. The arrival of "Doctor" Franklin also occasioned the most pleasurable anticipations, because it was seen that his coming meant the rejection by the United States of the overtures of Great Britain. In London the publication of the Dec- laration caused corresponding depression; it meant the end of peace negotiations and war to the finish. Everything American at Paris was prized and admired. Mr. Deane wrote on December 3 1776, "I must mention some trilles. The queen is fond of parade, and I believe wishes a war, and is our friend. She loves riding on horseback. Could you send me a Narrowhegansett horse or two? The present might be money exceedingly well laid out. Rittenhouse's orrery, or Arnold's collection of insects, a phaeton of American make and a pair of bay horses, a few barrels of apples, of walnuts, of butterits, etc., would be great curiosities here, where everything American is gazed at, and where the American contest engages the attention of all ages, ranks and sexes."
-
In a letter of January 4, 1777, Doctor Franklin wrote to con- gress that the plan of the treaty with France had been laid before the Count de Vergennes and that "by his advice we have had an interview with the Spanish ambassador, Count de Aranda, who seems well disposed towards us, and will forward copies of our memorials to his court, which will act, he says, in perfect concert with this." The American agents made a powerful appeal for assistance and for an alliance with both France and Spain. Doc- tor Franklin wrote on January 17, "We are promised an answer from this court as soon as they can know the determination of Spain, with which they mean to act in perfect unanimity." On February 2, the three American commissioners, Messrs, Franklin, Deane and Lee, gave their personal pledge to the court of France and Spain "that the United States shall not separately conclude a peace, nor aid Great Britain against France or Spain, nor intermit their best exertions against Great Britain during the continuance of such war : provided always that France and Spain
i
1 1
. Diplomatte Corespondence, secret.
11-3
1
1
3-4
THE PROVINCE AND THE STATES.
1
do on their part enter into a similar stipulation with our States." Early in February, the commissioners agreed among themselves that it would be better for them to separate and reside in three different countries, whereupon Mr. Lee started for Madrid and later Mr. Deane for The Hague, while Mr. Franklin remained in Paris. Mr. Lee was stopped by Spain, for prudential reasons, before he reached Madrid. That court did not deem it advisable at that juncture to receive a minister from the United States, or in a public capacity any other representative.
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.