history question?

Question

what was the agreement that gave louisiana to Spain?
Louisiana Purchase or Treaty of Paris?

Answer 1

treaty of paris, the louisiana purchase was when thomas jefferson bought the central united states for extremely cheap.

Answer 2

Louisiana was sold by FRANCE to the United States. Spain was not involved in the transaction.

Answer 3

Treaty of Paris, Louisian Purchase came latter when the U.S. bought it from France

Answer 4

~Neither. It's not that easy.

In 1538, Hernando de Soto claimed the region for Spain. In 1541, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado enhanced the claim during his explorations through the region. These were the first European claims to the Mississippi basin (the Spanish claims included the entire Mississippi drainage system) and that is how Spain "got" Louisiana.

Of course, the Spanish claim was contested by the French a century later, who based their claim largely as a result of the explorations of Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette in the 1670s and of Robert Cavelier de La Salle (who named the region "Louisiana") in the 1680s. The Spanish didn't really care since, other than the area around New Orleans, they didn't attempt to settle or exploit their holdings.

Then, in 1762, France ceded her claims to all lands known as Louisiana to Spain by the Treaty of Fontainebleau. This was the only treaty that ever attempted to dispose of Louisiana in its entirety.

Great Britain joined the party with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, and recognized Spain as the owner of Louisiana, but only as to lands west of the Mississippi. Great Britain acquired those lands east of the river. The 1763 Treaty of Paris ending the Seven Years War (including the relatively minor theater in the Western Hemisphere known in the colonies as The French and Indian War) divided Louisiana, with the eastern portion going to Great Britain and the western portion to Spain and never again would any nation hold, or claim, title to all of "Louisiana".

Ergo, the correct answer concerning Louisiana in its entirety is the Treaty of Fontainebleau. However, since only France and Spain knew of the treaty (it was never publicized), it didn't account for much on the world stage. By the same token, Great Britain never ceded all of Louisiana to the Spanish, so, other than by the claims of DeSoto and the Treaty of Fontainebleau, Spain never held, or claimed to hold, all of Louisiana. To complicate matters, both before and after the Treaty of Fontainebleau, Great Britain, as well as various of the British colonies, claimed part of the lands, particularly in the Ohio Valley and along the Upper Great Lakes.

In 1783, by the Treaty of Paris, the British ceded the eastern lands to The United States of America collectively (there was no single entity called the USA until 1789 and the 13 independent nations created in 1783 were left to deal with their share of Louisiana amongst themselves). The other treaties signed by great Britain and the other parties to the War for American Independence (it was NOT a revolution and the war should never be called the "American Revolution") confirmed US sovereignty over the eastern portion of Louisiana.

In 1800, by the Treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain ceded the western portion back to France, who then sold it to the USA in 1803. By the Treaty of 1818, the US ceded lands north of the 49th parallel to Great Britain (who ultimately recognized sovereignty of Canada).

Disputing claims continued to exist for another couple decades. Mexico claimed part of the lands after gaining independence by the Treaty of Córdoba in 1821, but Mexican (although not Spanish) claims predated that treaty. Then, with the creation of The Republic of Texas by the Treaties of Velasco, Mexican claims were transferred to the new nation of Texas. Texas ceded those claims to the USA in 1845 in conjunction with being granted statehood. Finally, for the first time, all of Louisiana, exclusive of the Canadian portion, was consolidated under a single nation. [The Republic of the Rio Grande also claimed part of Louisiana, but since it only lasted for a few months and those claims were dropped when the Republic was incorporated back into Mexico, we won't concern ourselves with that. In any case, since Mexico never recognized the independence of the republic, it arguably never existed, other than as a region in rebellion.]

Meanwhile, the rightful owners of the entire region, the innumerable tribes of American Indians, continued to live on their lands until the slaughter began in earnest and they were annihilated or dispossessed. They were never consulted in any of the foregoing, nor did they sign any of the treaties. Of course, ownership under the Indians was volatile and ever-changing as well, since the Indians were pretty much constantly at war with one another and taking each others lands long before the Europeans set foot on North American soil, but that's another story.