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L O U I S
I A N A P U R C H A S E T R E A T Y
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The President of the United States of America, and the
First Consul of the
French Republic in the name of the French People
desiring to remove all source of
misunderstanding…have agreed to the following
Articles.—
A R T I C L E I
Whereas by the Article the third of the Treaty
concluded at St. Idelfonso the {1st
October 1800} between the First Consul of the French
Republic and his Catholic
Majesty it was agreed as follows.—
“His Catholic Majesty promises and engages on his part
to cede to the French
Republic six months after the full and entire
execution of the conditions and
stipulations herein relative to his Royal Highness the
Duke of Parma, the Colony
or Province of Louisiana with the same extent that it
now has in the hands of
Spain, & that it had when France possessed it; and
such as it should be after the
Treaties subsequently entered into between Spain and
other States.”
And whereas in pursuance of the Treaty and
particularly of the third article the
French Republic has an incontestible title to the
domain and to the possession of
the said Territory—The First Consul of the French
Republic desiring to give to the
United States a strong proof of his friendship doth
hereby cede to the said United
States in the name of the French Republic forever and
in full sovereignty the said
territory with all its rights and appurtenances as
fully and in the same manner as
they have been acquired by the French Republic in
virtue of the above mentioned
Treaty concluded with his Catholic Majesty.
A R T : I I
In the cession made by the preceding article are
included the adjacent Islands
belonging to Louisiana all public lots and squares,
vacant lands and all public
buildings, fortifications, barracks and other edifices
which are not private
property. The Archives, papers and documents relative
to the domain and
sovereignty of Louisiana and its dependencies will be
left in the possession of the
Commissaries of the United States.…
A R T : I I I
The inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be
incorporated in the Union of the
United States and admitted as soon as possible
according to the principles of the
Federal Constitution to the enjoyment of all the
rights, advantages and immunities
of citizens of the United States; and in the mean time
they shall be maintained and
protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty,
property and the Religion which
they profess.…
A R T : V I I
As it is reciprocally advantageous to the commerce of
France and the United
States to encourage the communication of both nations
for a limited time in the
country ceded by the present treaty until general
arrangements relative to the
commerce of both nations may be agreed on: it has been
agreed…that the French
ships coming directly from France or any of her
colonies loaded only with the
produce and manufactures of France or her said
Colonies; and the ships of Spain
coming directly from Spain or any of her colonies
loaded only with the produce or
manufactures of Spain or her Colonies shall be
admitted during the space of twelve
years in the Port of New-Orleans and in all other
legal ports-of-entry within the
ceded territory…without being subject to any other or
greater duty on
merchandize or other or greater tonnage than that paid
by the citizens of the
United States.—
During the space of time above mentioned no other
nation shall have a right to
the same privileges in the Ports of the ceded
territory.…
A R T : X
The present treaty shall be ratified in good and due
form and the ratifications
shall be exchanged in the space of six months after
the date of the signature by the
Ministers Plenipotentiary or sooner if possible.
In faith whereof the respective Plenipotentaries have
signed these articles in the
French and English languages; declaring nevertheless
that the present Treaty was
originally agreed to in the French language; and have
thereunto affixed their seals.
Done at Paris the tenth day of Floreal, in the
eleventh year of the French
Republic; and the 30th of April 1803
Robert R LIVINGSTON
James MONROE.
Francis BARBÉ MARBOIS