11 April 1803 A.D. France Offers to Sell Louisiana Territory to the US for $11.250 Million—Napoleon: “The sale assures forever the power of the United States…”
11 April 1803 A.D. France Offers to Sell Louisiana Territory to the US for $11.250 Million—Napoleon: “The sale assures forever the power of the United States…” Editors. “ 1803 – In one of the great surprises in diplomatic history, French Foreign Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand makes an offer to sell all of Louisiana Territory to the United States. ” This Day in U.S. Military History. N.d. https://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/april-11/ . Accessed 10 Apr 2015. 1803 – In one of the great surprises in diplomatic history, French Foreign Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand makes an offer to sell all of Louisiana Territory to the United States. Talleyrand was no fool. As the foreign minister to French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, he was one of the most powerful men in the world. Three years earlier, Talleyrand had convinced Napoleon that he could create a new French Empire in North America. The French had long had a tenuous claim to the vast area west of...