1. Background

2. Provisions

3. Aftermath

4. Footnotes

5. References

6. Sources

7. External links

• {{flagicon|First French Empire}} Lucien Bonaparte
• {{flagicon|Spain|1701}}Manuel Godoy

• {{flagcountry|First French Empire}}
• {{flagicon|Spain|1701}} Spain

The Treaty of Aranjuez (1801) was agreed on 21 March 1801 by France and Spain. It confirmed the terms of the secret Third Treaty of San Ildefonso dated 1 October 1800, in which Spain agreed to exchange its North American colony of Spanish Louisiana for territories in Tuscany.

Background

Spain's alliance with France and the 1798-1802 Anglo-Spanish War resulted in a British naval blockade that severely impacted their economy. This was highly dependent on trade with its South American colonies, particularly the import of silver from Mexico.^[1]

After the November 1799 Coup of 18 Brumaire, the new government of First Consul Napoleon and his deputy Talleyrand made colonial expansion a key policy. Part of this involved the creation of a new French Empire in North America, with Louisiana as its hub.^[3]

This combination of French ambition and Spanish weakness made an exchange attractive to both, preliminary terms being agreed in the secret October 1800 Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. In return for Louisiana, Charles IV's son-in-law Louis, Infanta Duke of Parma would be compensated for France's annexation of his inheritance, the Duchy of Parma.^[4] Details were vague, Clause II stating 'it may consist of Tuscany...or the three Roman legations or of any other continental provinces of Italy which form a rounded state;' Spain would hand over Louisiana once this was confirmed.

Provisions

In February 1801, France and Austria agreed the Treaty of Lunéville, which included a provision awarding the Grand Duchy of Tuscany to France. The incumbent, Ferdinand III, was awarded the German territories of Archbishopric of Salzburg and Berchtesgaden in compensation.

Charles IV of Spain and his wife Maria Luisa persuaded her brother Ferdinand of Parma to cede the Duchy of Parma to France.{{efn|Sic; the Bourbon and Hapsburg aristocracy tended to re-use the same names, 'Ferdinand' and 'Maria Luisa' being particularly popular.}} In return, the Treaty of Aranjuez made his son Louis King of the new Kingdom of Etruria, while Ferdinand was allowed to keep Parma until his death in October 1802.^[5]

Etruria was composed of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany plus the Principality of Piombino although Talleyrand was distributing lands he did not yet control. In the Treaty of Florence of 28 March 1801, the Kingdom of Naples ceded Piombino and the State of the Presidi in southern Tuscany to France. The Presidi included Porto Longone on Elba which France retained, with the remainder then exchanged with Louis of Etruria for Piombino.{{efn|At the time, Elba was occupied by the British.}}

The transfer of Louisiana to France was officially confirmed in October 1802 when Charles IV announced it in a Royal Proclamation.^[6]

Aftermath

This elaborate shuffling of Italian territories ultimately led nowhere; Etruria was dissolved and incorporated into France in 1807, while much of pre-Napoleonic Italy was restored by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, including the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Duchy of Parma.{{efn|Although it was not until 1847 that the Bourbon Dukes of Parma regained their lands.}}

Negotiations between France and Britain to end the War of the Second Coalition began in late 1801, resulting in the March 1802 Treaty of Amiens which brought temporary peace to Europe. In December 1801, a French army landed on Haiti, formerly the French colony of Saint-Domingue which had become independent after a slave rebellion in 1791; its recapture was the first step in creating France's new North American Empire.{{efn|The French action had the tacit support of many Americans, who feared the example set by Haiti to their own slaves.}}

Between 1798-1800, the US and France fought an undeclared war at sea known as the Quasi-War, which was ended by the September 1800 Convention of 1800 or Treaty of Mortefontaine. French ambitions in North America concerned the US; with Britain to the north in Canada, they much preferred a weak Spain to an aggressive and powerful France on their southern border.^[7]

They were also aware France had conducted military surveys of Louisiana, including the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, to determine how best to defend it against US expansion if they regained control.^[8] French ambitions seemed clear and the presence of over 30,000 veteran troops in Saint-Domingue meant they could enforce that policy.{{efn|For comparison, in 1802 the US had no standing army, while the Navy consisted of 5,400 sailors and marines.}} The US Ambassador to Spain, Charles Pinckney, was instructed to acquire Louisiana and the Floridas from the Spanish if possible but they denied any such deal had been agreed. It was not until February 1802 the Americans finally obtained details of the Treaty of Aranjuez from Rufus King, their envoy in London.^[9]

However, by October 1802, it was clear the Saint-Domingue or Haiti expedition had been a catastrophic failure, with Napoleon's brother-in-law, General Charles Leclerc dying from yellow fever along with many of his troops.{{efn|An estimated 15,000 - 22,000 out of 30,000, many of them experienced and elite veteran soldiers.}}. Without Haiti, Louisiana was irrelevant and with France and Britain on the verge of hostilities, Napoleon needed the money. Despite previous undertakings not to do so, France sold Louisiana to the US for $15 million in April 1803, just before war with Britain began again in May 1803.

Footnotes

References

Sources

• Berte-Langereau, Jack; L'Espagne et le royaume d'Etrurie; (Hispania Journal, Volume 15, Issue 30, 1955);
• Kemp, Roger (ed); Documents of American Democracy; (McFarland & Co, 2010);.
• Maltby, William; The Rise and Fall of the Spanish Empire; (Palgrave, 2008);
• Rodriguez,Junius P (ed); The Louisiana Purchase: A Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia; (ABC CLIO, 2002).
• Sánchez, Rafael Torres; Constructing a Fiscal Military State in Eighteenth Century Spain; (AIAA, 2015);
• Schneid, Frederick C; Napoleon's Conquest of Europe: The War of the Third Coalition; (Praeger/Greenwood);
• Smith, James Morton; Freedom's Fetters: Alien and Sedition Laws and American Civil Liberties; (Cornell University Press, 1966);
• Tarver, Micheal H & Slape, Emily; The Spanish Empire; An Historical Encyclopedia; (ABC CLIO, 2016);

External links

• Timelines
• The Duchy of Parma-Piacenza, 1748–1802

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