LOUISIANA PURCHASE OPENED UP AREA TO SETTLEMENT

When Don Louis Lorimier came to the Spanish-held territory called Cape Girardeau, he did not realize he would be involved in the largest real estate transaction in history, known as the Louisiana Purchase.

History books seldom go into detail about the ownership of Louisiana, unless the course of study is an advanced one dealing with constitutional law, and the acquisition of land by the United States. The story of the Louisiana Purchase is complicated, but is one of the most interesting that has transpired during the history of North America and especially the United States, and deals particularly with Missouri. It is part of Cape Girardeau's bicentennial history.

The story began when France and England became involved in a war that continued for many years. By 1762 the strain on France had become financially overpowering, and Louis XV's cousin, the King of Spain, Charles III, had to come to his assistance.

France had to give up most of her valuable St. Lawrence settlements in North America, as she had been defeated by England at sea, in Canada, and the West Indies, as well as throughout the Ohio Valley in North America. England also had a strong navy, and an equally large ground force. She wanted to become a controlling power in North America and the world.

By 1762 Spain and France were willing to make peace with England. The negotiations to conclude peace began in the fall of that year. Since England had won, she began to make excessive demands on France. She wanted Canada and all the territory France held in North America.

France felt that if she lost Canada and the settlements on the St. Lawrence, it was futile to hold the territory west of the Mississippi River. So in a secret treaty Louis XV made with Charles III of Spain, he transferred the country known as Louisiana to Spain, with the exception of New Orleans and the Isle of Orleans on which the city was located. It was the key to the navigation of the Mississippi River, and too valuable to release.

When the French on the east side of the Mississippi heard that they would be under English rule, they began packing and many of them relocated in what was Spanish-held land; some even returned to France. It was at this time that Pierre Laclede was establishing the new settlement of St. Louis and he welcomed the inflow of French to build his new post in 1764.

Although France transferred her holdings to Spain in 1762, Spain did not assume command and appoint officials and later commandants until 1770 and later.

The treaty with Spain was called the Treaty of Fontainebleau. What was eventually to become Missouri was now Spanish, not French.

On Feb. 10, 1763, the French and Indian War came to an end. With the transfer of the French holdings to Spain, it meant that they were still in the hands of the Bourbon family, since both Charles III, and Louis XV were of that family. England could not get the land. Spain gave up Florida for the return of Cuba and the Philippines.

Across the Mississippi River, when St. Philippe was no longer French, every resident in the town left except the miller who could find no buyer for his mill. The French commandant at Fort Chartres, Louis St. Ange, moved his garrison of troops to St. Louis, where he remained, acting as the French governor of Upper Louisiana until he was replaced by Pedro Piernas in May 1770, when Spain assumed control of the Louisiana Territory.

Things were changing in what was to become Missouri, and the heartland of the country.

England was aggressive and President Thomas Jefferson was not certain what was in store for the young United States. Napoleon was restless and he needed money.

Jefferson sent James Monroe to France to join the United States minister, Robert Livingston, to see if the United States could purchase New Orleans and West Florida, one from France and one from Spain. Napoleon realized Louisiana had ceased to be of value to him, but the west bank of the Mississippi to the gulf was important to United States' commerce, as was the east bank.

Jefferson had stipulated that the two American representatives could offer Napoleon $10 million. But after presenting their papers to the French minister, even before explaining their proposal, they were told they could have all of Louisiana for $15 million. The territory covered more than 800,000 square miles. The purchase price amounted to about 3-cents an acre and the purchase increased the national territory of the United States 140 percent.

The entire country was overjoyed when it heard the news. No foreign nation would be on American soil. Eventually, the following states were carved from the new territory: Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, North and South Dakota, most of Louisiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, and Wyoming, and parts of Colorado, and Oklahoma.

The change of ownership in Southeast Missouri and up and down the Mississippi River lay ahead in an impressive ceremony. Those who would attend would remember the day as simply wonderful.