Louisiana Purchase was one of the biggest and most prosperous deals America managed to acquire in history. An entire part of the Western territory would come under American control, doubling the country’s size in minutes without a single battle being fought.
After the French Indian Wars, western parts of Louisiana were under the Spanish control while Eastern parts were under the British rule. After America got independence from the British, the western parts were still under the Spanish rule. These regions were of strategic importance in terms of commerce and trade. Spain ceded the entire Louisiana region to the French in return for some regions under Italy. France got back its control in the American regions. The presence of European countries on its western borders troubled America. The then President, Thomas Jefferson, offered Napoleon Bonaparte two million dollars to buy parts of the lower Mississippi. He later increased the cash price to ten million dollars that would allow America to buy New Orleans and West Florida. France on the other hand did not see any financial gains by staying on in the region. It offered America the entire western regions of Louisiana to Livingston for 15 million dollars. The deal was signed and with a single agreement, the size of the US doubled. This deal aided in making the country one of the largest in the world. The resources and richness of the lands acquired were unimaginable.
