page_title: Convention of 1800
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Convention of 1800 / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: The Mill Yard Grinding sugar cane in a windmill.
context_page_description: The Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine, was signed on September 30, 1800 by the United States of America and France. The difference in name was due to Congressional sensitivity at entering into treaties, due to disputes over the 1778 treaties of Alliance and Commerce between France and the US.
  The Convention terminated the 1778 agreements, confirmed the principle of 'free trade, free goods' between the two countries and ended the 1798–1800 Quasi-War, an undeclared naval war waged primarily in the Caribbean. However, it failed to address the issue of compensation demanded by American ship owners for losses suffered before and during the Quasi-War, and as a result was not approved by Congress until December 1801.
  By removing areas of friction between the two countries, it re-established Franco-American relations, and ultimately facilitated the 1803 Louisiana Purchase.
context_section_description: At the time, the convention was generally viewed unfavorably in the US, as it failed to agree compensation, or address concerns over French objectives in North America. Modern historians argue by ending the dispute with France, it ultimately facilitated the Louisiana Purchase, while reaching agreement on commercial terms was essential, since the US was not strong enough to enforce them on its own.
  Negotiations between France and Britain to end the War of the Second Coalition resulted in the March 1802 Treaty of Amiens; although widely viewed as a short-lived truce, it gave Napoleon an opportunity to activate his plans for North America. In December 1801, 30,000 veteran French troops landed on Saint-Domingue, and soon after, Spain confirmed the transfer of Louisiana to France.
  This caused great concern in Congress, but by October 1802, it was clear the expedition was a catastrophic failure; its leader, General Charles Leclerc died of yellow fever, along with an estimated 22,000 of his men. Without Saint-Domingue, Napoleon concluded Louisiana was irrelevant, and with France and Britain once again on the verge of hostilities, he decided to sell the territory to prevent it from being annexed by British forces garrisoned in nearby Canada. In April 1803, the US purchased the territory for $15 million, or 80 million francs.
caption: Caribbean sugar plantation, 1823; French economic objectives in North America were a key motive in negotiating the Convention
exif: {"Image Copyright": "Public Domain, from the British Library's collections, 2013"}