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why did the french want control of louisiana

by Dameon Kertzmann Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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France acquired Louisiana from Spain in 1800 and took possession in 1802. France wanted to end Louvertre's rule and reinstate slavery. Napoleon sent a massive 30,000 troops French expeditionary force commanded by his brother-in-law Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc to St. Domingue to accomplish this goal.

Diplomacy of the French Cession
France feared that Louisiana would become British. As a result, France sought to preempt any actions that Britain would undertake if it became known that Louisiana no longer enjoyed French protection before the Spanish were able to occupy and defend it.

Full Answer

What did the Louisiana Purchase do for France?

They built Fort Prud'homme (later the city of Memphis) and claimed French sovereignty on the whole of the valley, which they called Louisiane in honor of the French king, Louis XIV. They sealed alliances with the Quapaw Indians.

Why was the Louisiana Territory not developed by the French?

French exploration of the area began during the reign of Louis XIV, but French Louisiana was not greatly developed, due to a lack of human and financial resources. As a result of its defeat in the Seven Years' War, France was forced to cede the east part of the territory in 1763 to the victorious British,...

How did the French take over New Orleans?

Livingston was ordered to negotiate with French minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand for the purchase of New Orleans. France was slow in taking control of Louisiana, but in 1802 Spanish authorities, apparently acting under French orders, revoked a U.S.-Spanish treaty that granted Americans the right to store goods in New Orleans.

How was Louisiana affected by the French Revolution?

During the French Revolution, Louisiana was agitated under Spanish control: certain French-speaking colonists sent petitions to the metropolis and the slaves attempted revolts in 1791 and 1795.

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Why did France want the Louisiana Territory?

The Louisiana Purchase Was Driven by a Slave Rebellion. Napoleon was eager to sell—but the purchase would end up expanding slavery in the U.S. Napoleon was eager to sell—but the purchase would end up expanding slavery in the U.S. Children in pens.

Why was Louisiana important to the French?

The tribes offered essential support for the French in Louisiana: they ensured the survival of the colonists, participated with them in the fur trade, and were used as guides in expeditions. Their alliance was also essential in wars against other tribes and European colonies.

How did France get control of Louisiana?

Napoleonic France Acquires Louisiana On October 1, 1800, within 24 hours of signing a peace settlement with the United States, First Consul of the Republic of France Napoleon Bonaparte, acquired Louisiana from Spain by the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso.

Why did France give Louisiana to America?

Napoleon Bonaparte sold the land because he needed money for the Great French War. The British had re-entered the war and France was losing the Haitian Revolution and could not defend Louisiana.

When did France claim Louisiana?

France acquired Louisiana from Spain in 1800 and took possession in 1802, sending a large French army to St. Domingue and preparing to send another to New Orleans.

Who colonized Louisiana first?

the FrenchOriginally colonized by the French during the 18th century, it became U.S. territory as part of the historic Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and was admitted to the union in 1812. Louisiana's capital city is Baton Rouge.

Why did France give Louisiana to Spain?

The cession of Louisiana was kept secret for over a year. France feared that Louisiana would become British. As a result, France sought to preempt any actions that Britain would undertake if it became known that Louisiana no longer enjoyed French protection before the Spanish were able to occupy and defend it.

What if France did not sell Louisiana?

By the mid-century the republic would annex Texas, wage war with Mexico for the Southwest and Far West, and negotiate with Britain to acquire the Pacific Northwest—emerging as a continental and, later, global power. Without Louisiana, that expansion would not have happened—at least not along the same lines.

Why did France sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States quizlet?

Why did Napoleon sell the Louisiana Purchase to the United States? He needed money for military supplies as his country was at war with Great Britain, and he hoped that a larger U.S would challenge British power. Livingston and Monroe accepted the French offer to sell Louisiana for how much money? $15 million.

What is the Louisiana Purchase and why is it important?

The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of imperial rights to the western half of the Mississippi River basin from France by the United States in 1803. The deal granted the United States the sole authority to obtain the land from its indigenous inhabitants, either by contract or by conquest.

Why did Spain give Louisiana back to France?

In 1802 Bonaparte forced Spain to return Louisiana to France in the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso. Bonaparte's purpose was to build up a French Army to send to Louisiana to defend his “New France” from British and U.S. attacks. At roughly the same time, a slave revolt broke out in the French held island of Haiti.

Did the French colonize Louisiana?

European influence began in the 1500s, and La Louisiane (named after Louis XIV of France) became a colony of the Kingdom of France in 1682, before passing to Spain in 1763. Louisiana was formed in part of the became part of the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803.

What is Louisiana known for?

What is Louisiana Known For? Louisiana is famous for its Cajun and Creole cuisine, Mardi Gras celebrations, diverse cultural heritage, bayous, jazz music, and as the birthplace of American blues. The state also has strong French colonial influences.

When did France control Louisiana?

The period of French colonial control of Louisiana dates from 1682 to 1800. Courtesy of The Historic New Orleans Collection. This map, dated 1765, shows the Louisiana Territory as claimed by France. F rench colonial Louisiana refers to the first century of permanent European settlement in the Lower Mississippi Valley.

Who secured a contract for the colonization of Lower Louisiana from Louis XIV in 1682?

He then calculated what he thought was the mouth’s latitude, returned northward to Canada, and started planning for the establishment of a colony on the Colbert River. La Salle secured a contract for the colonization of Lower Louisiana from Louis XIV in 1682.

What did Louis XIV do to expand the French colony?

Following the War of the League of Augsburg (1688–1697), Louis XIV of France moved aggressively to expand French territories, and the French minister of the marine Louis de Phélypeaux, Comte de Pontchartrain, secretly made plans to establish French posts in Louisiana. In doing so, Pontchartrain intended to undermine the colonial interests of the English, Dutch, and Spanish along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville et d’Ardillières led the first French expedition to the vicinity of present-day Biloxi in 1699, followed by a year of exploring the Mississippi and Red River Valleys and making contact with the Natchez and other petites nations. In 1702 Iberville moved the colony’s base of operations to Mobile, where roughly 140 French speakers hoped to develop closer trade and military ties with the Choctaw and Chickasaw in order to check British expansion. Before permanently leaving Louisiana, Iberville vested considerable authority in his brother Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, and his cousin Pierre Charles Le Sueur.

What was the French colonial economy influenced by?

The close interconnectedness of Native Americans and Europeans during this early colonization phase convinced historian Daniel Usner to describe French colonial Louisiana as a “frontier exchange economy” influenced by local and regional networks as well as transatlantic and global movements.

What was the Mississippi Valley's multicultural history?

The multicultural composition of the Lower Mississippi Valley remained strong even after the cession of Louisiana to Spain in 1763, the retrocession to France in 1800, and the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, effectively making the state of Louisiana both representative of the diversity of the United States and unique for its distinctive colonial past.

What was the first century of colonial Louisiana?

F rench colonial Louisiana refers to the first century of permanent European settlement in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans contributed to the development of a complex frontier society at the geographic nexus of the Americas.

Why did Louis XV cede Louisiana to Spain?

Most historians cite Louis XV’s interest in strengthening Franco-Spanish ties and relinquishing control over an economically burdensome colony. Regardless, the decision to cede Louisiana to Spain had little immediate impact on the local population. Approximately 1,500 people of European descent and 2,000 people of African descent resided in and around New Orleans in 1766. Pointe Coupée and Natchitoches also remained important French settlements after the cession of Louisiana to Spain. French trading continued throughout frontier regions west of the Mississippi River. A complex network of plantations lined the Mississippi River from the Balize (near the mouth of the Mississippi River in present-day Plaquemines Parish) through the German Coast (just above New Orleans in present-day St. Charles Parish) to Natchez. Levees, both natural and manmade, protected plantations from frequent inundation and functioned as a sort of road for overland travel. In 1766, St. Gabriel (just above Bayou La Fourche) became the site of one of the first Acadian settlements in Louisiana. Acadians continued to migrate farther west via the Atchafalaya River to the Opelousas and Attakapas districts of southwestern Louisiana during the late 1760s. Several frontier posts dotted the banks of the Mississippi River above the Arkansas River in the Illinois Country, including Cape Girardeau, Kaskaskia, Ste. Geneviève, and St. Louis.

Who was the French king who claimed Louisiana?

They built Fort Prud'homme (later the city of Memphis) and claimed French sovereignty on the whole of the valley, which they called Louisiane in honor of the French king, Louis XIV. They sealed alliances with the Quapaw Indians. In April 1682, they arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi. Cavelier eventually returned to Versailles, where he convinced the Minister of the Marine to grant the command of Louisiana to him. He claimed that Louisiana was close to New Spain by drawing a map showing the Mississippi as much farther west than it really was.

What was the French colony of Louisiana?

Generally speaking, the French colony of Louisiana bordered the Great Lakes, particularly Lake Michigan and Lake Erie towards the north; this region was the "Upper Country" of the French province of Canada. To the east was territory disputed with the thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic seaboard; the French claim extended to the Appalachian Mountains. The Rocky Mountains marked the western extent of the French claim, while Louisiana's southern border was the Gulf of Mexico.

What is Louisiana named after?

t. e. Louisiana ( French: La Louisiane; La Louisiane française) or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control 1682 to 1769 and 1801 (nominally) to 1803, the area was named in honor of King Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle.

What were the two states that the French settled in?

Within this vast territory, only two areas saw substantial French settlement: Upper Louisiana ( French: Haute-Louisiane ), also known as the Illinois Country ( French: Pays des Illinois ), which consisted of settlements in what are now the states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana; and Lower Louisiana, which comprised parts of the modern states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama. Both areas were dominated numerically by Native American tribes. At times, fewer than two hundred French soldiers were assigned to all of the colony, on both sides of the Mississippi. In the mid-1720s, Louisiana Indians numbered well over 35,000, forming a clear majority of the colony's population."

How did the Church help the Native Americans?

The Church nevertheless played an important part in the exploration of French Louisiana; it sent missions, primarily carried out by Jesuits, to convert Native Americans . It also founded schools and hospitals: By 1720, the Ursulines were operating a hospital in New Orleans. The church and its missionaries established contact with the numerous Amerindian tribes. Certain priests, such as Father Marquette in the 17th century, took part in exploratory missions. The Jesuits translated collections of prayers into numerous Amerindian languages to convert the Native Americans. They also looked for ways to relate Indian practices to Christian worship, and helped show the Natives how these were related. A syncretic religion developed among new Christians. Sincere and permanent conversions were limited in number; many who received missionary instruction tended to assimilate the Holy Trinity into their belief of "spirits", or rejected the concept outright.

Why were the Native Americans regarded as subjects of the King of France?

In official rhetoric, the Native Americans were regarded as subjects of the king of France, but in reality, they were largely autonomous due to their numerical superiority. The local authorities (governors, officers) did not have the means of imposing their decisions, and often compromised. The tribes offered essential support for the French in Louisiana: they ensured the survival of the colonists, participated with them in the fur trade, and were used as guides in expeditions. Their alliance was also essential in wars against other tribes and European colonies.

When did France cede Louisiana to Spain?

1762: France secretly cedes Louisiana to Spain in the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762). 1763: France cedes Canada and Louisiana east of the Mississippi to Great Britain in the Treaty of Paris. The rest of Louisiana, including New Orleans, is formally ceded to Spain and incorporated as Luisiana or Spanish Louisiana into the Spanish Empire.

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