of the intendant of New Orleans, and proposing, in the name of the United States, to purchase the Floridas, February 17, 1803. O. Propositions accompanying the above letter N. P. Letter from the secretary of state of Spain to Mr. C. Pinckney, complaining of the sale of Louisiana by France to the United States, and declaring the Floridas not to be the property of France, July 19, 1803. Q. Protest of the Spanish commissioner at New Orleans against the pretensions of the United States as to limits, March 31, 1804. R. Reply of the French colonial prefect, April 2, 1804. A. From Don Angel Calderon de la Barca, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Spain in the United States of Ame rica. WASHINGTON, March 10, 1836. SIR: His excellency the first secretary of state and affairs of her catholic majesty, my august sovereign, has addressed the following communication, under date of the 21st of November last, to the legation under my charge: "A citizen of that republic and member of its congress, named Mr. White, has solicited from the queen governess, in virtue of powers conferred upon him by various Spanish inhabitants of the Floridas, legalized copies of certain public documents, now in the archives of this department, relating to the cession of the Floridas, to be used in defending the rights of the said persons to the possession of lands and property, in a suit which is to be decided in January next in the supreme court of those states. "Her majesty having been informed on the subject, has been pleased to accede to this request; in consequence of which, and by royal order, I transmit to you the accompanying copies of the said papers, that you may deliver them to Mr. White, to be used by him as he may judge proper for the benefit of his clients." I have therefore the honour to communicate to you the above, and to send you the documents referred to. Be pleased Sir, to acknowledge the receipt of them, and to accept the assurances of my distinguished consideration. TO JOSEPH M. WHITE. A. CALDERON DE LA BARCA. Translated from the original in the Spanish language, by me, Robert Greenhow, translator of foreign languages to the department of state of the United States. Washington, March 22, 1836. B. Preliminary Convention between the Kings of France and Spain, for the cession of Louisiana to the latter. Translated from a certified copy of the original in the French language, deposited in the archives of the Department of State at Madrid. The most christian king being firmly resolved to strengthen and perpetuate the bonds of tender amity which unite him to his cousin the catholic king, proposes in consequence to act with his catholic majesty at all times and in all circumstances, in a perfect uniformity of principles, for the common glory of their house and the reciprocal interests of their kingdoms. With this view, his most christian majesty, being fully sensible of the sacrifices made by the catholic king, in generously uniting with him for the restoration of peace, desires, on this occasion, to give him a proof of the strong interest which he takes in satisfying him and affording advantages to his crown. The most christian king has accordingly authorized his minister, the Duke de Choiseul, to deliver to the Marquis de Grimaldi, the ambassador of the catholic king, in the most authentic form, an act, whereby his most christian majesty cedes in entire possession, purely and simply, without exception, to his catholic majesty and his successors, in perpetuity, all the country known under the name of Louisiana, as well as New Orleans and the island in which that place stands. But as the Marquis de Grimaldi is not informed with sufficient precision of the intentions of his catholic majesty, he has thought proper only to accept the said cession conditionally, and sub spe rati, [under expectation that it will be ratified,] until he receives the orders expected by him from the king his master, which, if conformable with the desires of his most christian majesty, as he hopes they will be, will be followed by the authentic act of cession of the said country; stipulating also the measures and the time, to be fixed by common accord, for the evacuation of Louisiana and New Orleans, by the subjects of his most christian majesty, and for the possession of the same by those of his catholic majesty. In testimony whereof, we, the respective ministers, have signed present preliminary convention, and have affixed to it the seals of our arms. the Done at Fontainebleau, on the third of November, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-two. THE DUKE DE CHOISEUL. A true copy from the original. THE DUKE DE CHOISEUL. To the copy from which the above translation was made, are VOL. II. 67 appended the certificates of Don Ceferino Cevallos, archivist of the Department of State of Spain, to its exact conformity with the original; and of Don Angel Calderon de la Barca, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Spain in the United States, of its having been received by him from the first Secretary of State of Spain, and delivered to the honorable J. M. White, of Florida. The translation was faithfully made by Robert Greenhow, translator of foreign languages to the Department of State of the United States. Washington, March 24, 1836. D. Definite act of cession of Louisiana by the King of France to the King of Spain. Translated by Robert Greenhow, translator of foreign languages to the Department of State, from an authentic copy of the original in the Department of State of Spain, to which copy are appended the certificate of Don Ceferino Cevallos, archivist of the Department of State of Spain, that it is a true copy from the original, and the certifi cate of Don A. Calderon de la Barca, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Spain in the United States, that it was received by him officially from the first Secretary of State of Spain, and delivered to the Hon. J. M. White, of Florida. Louis, by the grace of God, king of France and Navarre, to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: Whereas our very dear and well-beloved cousin the Duke de Choiseul, peer of our realm, knight of our orders and of the golden fleece, lieutenant general of our armies, governor of Touraine, colonel general of the Swiss and Grisons, grandmaster and superintendent general of the posts and relays of France, our minister and secretary of state for the departments of war and marine and the correspondence with the courts of Madrid and Lisbon, did sign, in our name, with the Marquis de Grimaldi, knight of our orders, gentlemen of the chamber, in exercise of our very dear and well-beloved brother and cousin the catholic king, and his ambassador extraordinary near us, a preliminary convention, whereby, in order to give to our said brother and cousin a new testimonial of our tender friendship, of the strong interest which we take in satisfying him and promoting the welfare of his crown, and of our sincere desire to strengthen and render indissoluble the bonds which unite the French and Spanish nations, we ceded to him entire and perpetual possession of all the country known under the name of Louisiana, together with New Orleans and the island in which that city stands, which convention had only been signed conditionally and sub spe rati by the Marquis de Grimaldi: and whereas our said brother and cousin the catholic king, animated by the same sentiments towards us which we have evinced on this occasion, has agreed to the said cession, and ratified the conditional acceptation made by his said ambassador extraor dinary, which convention and ratification are here inserted word for word as follows: Don Carlos, by the grace of God, King of Castile, of Leon, of Arragon, of the Two Sicilies, of Jerusalem, of Navarre, of Granada, of Toledo, of Valencia, of Gallicia, of Majorca, of Seville, of Sardinia, of Cordova, of Corsica, of Murcia, of Jaen, of the Algarves, of Algesiras, of Gibraltar, of the Canary islands, of the East and West Indies and the islands and main land of the ocean, archduke of Austria, duke of Burgundy, of Brabant and Milan, count of Hapsburg, of Flanders, of Tyrol, and of Barcelona, lord of Biscay and of Molina, &c. Whereas, on the third day of the present month, the preliminaries of a peace were signed between the crowns of Spain and France on the one part, and those of England and Portugal on the other, and the most christian king my very dear and well-beloved cousin, purely from the nobleness of his heart, and the love and friendship in which we live, thought proper to dispose that the Marquis de Grimaldi, my ambassador extraordinary near his royal person, and the Duke de Choiseul, his minister of state, should on the same day sign a convention by, which the crown of France ceded immediately to that of Spain the country known by the name of Louisiana, together with New Orleans and the island in which that city stands, and by which my said ambassador agrees to the cession only conditionally sub spe rati, as he is not furnished with orders to execute it absolutely; the tenor of which convention is the following: The most christian king being firmly resolved to strengthen and perpetuate the bonds of tender amity which unite him to his cousin the catholic king, proposes in consequence to act with his catholic majesty at all times and in all circumstances, in a perfect uniformity of principle, for the common glory of their house and the reciprocal interests of their kingdoms. With this view, his most christian majesty being fully sensible of the sacrifices made by the catholic king in generously uniting with him for the restoration of peace, desires, on this occasion, to give him a proof of the strong interest which he takes in satisfying him and affording advantages to his crown. The most christian king has accordingly authorized his minister, the Duke de Choiseul, to deliver to the Marquis de Grimaldi, the ambassador of the catholic king, in the most authentic form, an act whereby his most christian majesty cedes in entire possession, purely and simply, without exception, to his catholic majesty and his successors, in perpetuity, all the country known under the name of Louisiana, as well as New Orleans and the island in which that place stands. But, as the Marquis de Grimaldi is not informed with sufficient precision of the intentions of his catholic majesty, he has thought proper only to accept the said cession conditionally and sub spe rati, until he receives the orders expected by him from the king his mas ter, which, if conformable with the desires of his most christian majesty, as he hopes they will be, will be followed by the authentic act of cession of the said country, stipulating also the measures and the time, to be fixed by common accord, for the evacuation of Louisiana and New Orleans, by the subjects of his most christian majesty, and for the possession of the same by those of his catholic majesty. In testimony whereof, we, the respective ministers, have signed the present preliminary convention, and have affixed to it the seals of our arms. Done at Fontainebleau on the third of November, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-two. THE DUKE DE CHOISEUL, Therefore, in order to establish between the Spanish and French nations the same spirit of union and friendship which should subsist as they do in the hearts of their sovereigns, I, therefore, take pleasure in accepting, as I do accept, in proper form, the said act of cession, promising also to accept those which may hereafter be judged necessary for carrying it into entire and formal execution, and authorizing the said Marquis de Grimaldi to treat, conclude, and sign them. In testimony whereof, I have ordered these presents to be drawn up, signed by my hand, sealed with my privy seal, and countersigned by my counsellor of state and chief secretary of state and war. Given at San Lorenzo el Real on the thirteenth of November, seventeen hundred and sixty-two. Countersigned: RICARDO WALL. I, THE KING. The said acceptation and ratification having been approved by us, and regarded as a strong evidence of the friendship and good will of our very dear and well-beloved cousin the catholic king, we renew and confirm by these presents, the cession of Louisiana and of New Orleans, with the island in which that city stands, promising immediately to conclude with our said brother and cousin, a convention in which the measures to be taken in concert for executing and consummating this session to our mutual satisfaction will be fixed by common accord. In faith whereof, we have caused these presents to be drawn up, which we have signed with our hands, and have affixed to them our secret seal. Given at Versailles on the twenty-third day of the month of November, in the year of grace one thousand seven hundred and sixty-two, and of our reign the forty-eighth. By the King: LOUIS. CHOISEUL, DUKE DE PRASLIN. |