Louisiana is a pawn on the chessboard…
1795 CE
It is controlled by the French, who have a few small settlements along the Mississippi and other main rivers.
France had ceded the territory to Spain in the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762).
Following French defeat in the Seven Years' War, Spain had gained control of the territory west of the Mississippi and the British the territory to the east of the river.
Following the establishment of the United States, the Americans controlled the area east of the Mississippi and north of New Orleans.
The main issue for the Americans is free transit of the Mississippi to the sea.
As the lands are being gradually settled by a few American migrants, many Americans, including Thomas Jefferson, assume that the territory will be acquired "piece by piece."
The risk of another power taking it from a weakened Spain makes a "profound reconsideration" of this policy necessary.
New Orleans is already important for shipping agricultural goods to and from the areas of the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains.
Pinckney's Treaty, signed with Spain on October 27, 1795, gives American merchants "right of deposit" in New Orleans, granting them use of the port to store goods for export.
Americans will use this right to transport products such as flour, tobacco, pork, bacon, lard, feathers, cider, butter, and cheese.
The treaty also recognizes American rights to navigate the entire Mississippi, which has become vital to the growing trade of the western territories.