Existing comment:
The Right of Deposit Withdrawn at New Orleans, October 18, 1802:
During the Napoleonic period, control of the Louisiana Territory continued to be bound to European politics. France wanted to maintain a strong maritime power in the New World to oppose Great Britain. Spain wanted to restrict the expansion of the United States. The Louisiana Territory and the port of New Orleans became the pressure points for the conflict between these four nations.
Although France re-acquired Louisiana in 1800 from Spain, Spanish officials continued to administer the territory. In 1802, the Spanish Intendant of New Orleans withdrew the Right of Deposit to American commerce. The withdrawal of the Right of Deposit, issued on October 18, 1802, meant that American goods brought by flatboats down the Mississippi could not be deposited or stored at the port for later overseas shipment.
The crisis forced President Jefferson to declare that the control of the Mississippi was crucial to the interests of the United States. Jefferson sent diplomatic envoys to Paris with instructions to try to buy New Orleans.
Meanwhile, Napoleon planned new military campaigns to expand French control over Europe. The French consequently found themselves overextended in North America. The strong American reaction to the Spanish Intendant's closure of the Port of New Orleans convinced the French of the futility of retaining the territory. French officials amazed the American envoys by offering to sell not just New Orleans, but all of Louisiana. The United States purchased the territory for the bargain price of fifteen million dollars. |