Their worries were not without reason. .
In 1802, France sent forces to New Orleans and Hispaniola. In Hispaniola, Haitian slaves under General Toussaint L"ouverture had seized control of the French owned island. Napoleon envisioned a French empire in the New World and planned to regain control of the island and use the Louisiana area to supply it, which was the reason for military presence in New Orleans. The plan was abandoned after most of the soldiers sent under Napoleon's brother-in-law Charles Leclerc died of yellow fever. .
The French also withdrew the right of deposit in New Orleans. This right was granted under the Pinckney treaty of 1795 (signed while Louisiana was still under Spanish control) and was the privilege that allowed U.S. merchants to deposit goods duty-free at New Orleans before shipment. President Thomas Jefferson immediately sent statesman James Monroe to Paris to assist American Minister to France Robert Livingston, who had already begun negotiations(Blumburg 29-34). .
The international situation favored the American diplomats. Louisiana was of diminishing importance to France. The costly revolt in Haiti forced the French emperor Napoleon to reconsider his plan to make Hispaniola the keystone of his colonial empire. Inevitable war with Great Britain, provoked by his aggressive behavior, made him question the practicality of wasting soldiers and money to hold Louisiana against that great naval power. Without the island of Hispaniola, he had little use for Louisiana. Napoleon decided to concentrate on his European ventures and sell Louisiana to the United States.
Jefferson had sent Livingston with instructions to effect one of four possible plans advantageous to the U.S.: (1) the purchase of eastern and western Florida and New Orleans; (2) the purchase of New Orleans alone; (3) the purchase of land on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River to build an American port; or (4) the acquisition of perpetual rights of navigation and deposit (Blumburg 125-129).
