The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 10, July 1906 - April, 1907 Page: 69
ix, 354 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Louisiana-Texas Frontier.
maire; but he had prepared the way for the early acquisition of the
coveted province and had shown that this acquisition would be full
of danger to the United States. His restoration to office in 1800
and the battle of Marengo enabled him to resume the negotiation
with every prospect of success. A special courier was sent to Al-
quier, the French representative at Madrid, to empower the latter
tc. offer an increase in territory and power to the prospective Duke
of Parma, the son-in-law of the Spanish king, in return for Louis-
iana.1 Alquier accompanied his proposal by threatening Urquijo
with the fate of Godoy, and brought the influence of the Queen to
bear upon the wavering King. Thus the point of retrocession was
gained.
Meanwhile Napoleon determined upon a special agent to super-
sede Alquier and to demand the Floridas in addition to Louisiana.2
In this latter demand the agent, General Berthier, was unsuccess-
ful and was forced to content himself with signing at San Ilde-
fonso, October 1, 1800, a treaty for the retrocession of Louisiana
alone. During the following March Napoleon's brother Lucien
signed at Madrid a new treaty carrying into effect the provisions
of the former one,' but in some respects more unfavorable to the
sinister designs of the First Consul. For more than a year Godoy,
who again dominated the counsels of the King of Spain, delayed
the transfer of the ceded province to Napoleon until he had re-
ceived the formal promise of the latter never to alienate it.4 Then
disease and insurrection in Santo Domingo saved Louisiana from
the presence of the French troops and destroyed Napoleon's dream
of a new colonial empire in the Mississippi Valley.
The retrocession of Louisiana had not been accomplished with-
out the knowledge of American authorities. Early in 1797 Pick-
ering, the secretary of state, had warned Rufus King5 that France
contemplated the acquisition of Louisiana and that he should find
out as much as possible about the matter and endeavor to thwart
it by such means as lay within his power. In September of the
following year, during a conference with Lord Hawkesbury, the
xAdams, History of the United States, I 363, 364.
aIbid., 366.
8Ibid., 372.
4lbid., 400.
'King, Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, II 147.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 10, July 1906 - April, 1907, periodical, 1907; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101040/m1/77/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.