Weakened by loss of forces and fearing hostilities from this country,
Spain consented to sign a treaty of friendship, boundaries and
navigation with our envoy, Thomas Pinckney. Its most important article
was to this effect, that "His Catholic Majesty likewise agrees that the
navigation of the said river (Mississippi), in its whole breadth, from
its source to the ocean, shall be free only to his subjects and to the
subjects of the United States."
On October 1,1800, by the secret treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain gave
back to France that province of Louisiana which in 1762 France had given
her. The consideration for its retrocession was an assurance by France
that the Duke of Palma, son-in-law of the King of Spain, should be
raised to the dignity of King and have his territory enlarged by the
addition of Tuscany. Rumors of this treaty reached America in the spring
of 1801, though its exact terms were not known until the latter part
of that year. Immediately upon the reception of this information,
our Government and its citizens were aroused. The United States found
herself hemmed in between the two professional belligerents of Europe--a
perilous position for the young power. The excitement increased when, in
October, 1802, the Spanish Intendant declared that New Orleans could no
longer be used as a place of deposit.
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