4 sites the size of France ended up selling for only $15 million! This business came from the Emperor of the French Empire, Napoleon!
It was sold because France did not sell the land and could not hold it; and france's core interests were on the European continent; and that $15 million was astronomical at the time and not cheap. (Converted to the current US dollar, about 500 billion, and France was facing an anti-French alliance of many European countries at that time, and its military expenditure was tight))
When it comes to land mergers and acquisitions, everyone always thinks of Mr. Xu of Evergrande. But what is most talked about now is that the United States acquired alaska from Tsarist Russia for $7.2 million. Alaska has countless minerals, oil and gas resources, forest resources, and its strategic location is extremely important. The value of this land alone is more than $3 trillion! So, Russia has lost a lot.
But in fact, earlier, the United States had a land purchase case with a wider land area and more strategic significance! In this land purchase case, the United States only spent $15 million.
This is the Louisiana land purchase case that shocked the world.
Many people laughed at Russia's lack of foresight, but not many mocked France. But in fact, France's losses are far greater than Russia's.
From the current point of view, even if a small town is sold for 15 million, it is a loss-making business. Not to mention, it's the whole of Louisiana.
It should be noted that Louisiana is not only the size of louisiana in the United States today, but at that time Louisiana included: present-day Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, west of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, northern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana and parts of Wyoming, east of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, Menitoba, Shasguiwan, Canada, The Missouri River basin region in the southern provinces of Alberta, and on both sides of the Mississippi River in Louisiana (including the city of New Orleans).
The total area of the above area is as high as 2.1445 million square kilometers! And now Louisiana is about 125,700 square kilometers.
What is this concept?
This area of Louisiana is equivalent to the size of 4 metropolitan France, 6 Germany, 9 Britain, 5 Japan, 20 South Korea, 2000 Hong Kong, 64,800 Macau, 4.87 million Vatican!
The overall land size was about the same as the territory area existing in the United States at that time. In other words, because of this acquisition, the area of the United States has suddenly doubled!
The purchasing power of $15 million is said to be equivalent to $440 billion in 2004. It should be said that money is definitely a lot, but the value of land is far from being measured by money! Because this land is too important for the United States.
First, this transaction caused the territory of the United States to expand sharply and become a major country in the Americas. This has greatly expanded the national land resources and strategic depth of the United States. With a wider territory, the United States can also accommodate and attract more immigrants, creating favorable conditions for the economic take-off of the United States.
Second, the Louisiana region, a considerable part of the plains. This part of the plains, and the original plains of the United States, constitute the central plains of the United States today. On this plain, there are developed water systems (Missouri and Mississippi rivers), and the land is fertile, which is very suitable for the development of agriculture. The United States has long been the world's largest producer and exporter of grain, and this land has contributed to it. This land allowed the United States to produce the most grain with the least amount of labor, liberated a large number of laborers, and allowed more labor to be invested in the process of industrialization.
The united States later in world war I and World War II terror industrial production capacity, but also because of good agricultural security, so that more people to participate in industrial production.
Third, the port of New Orleans, the southernmost point in the Louisiana area, is the hub of the Mississippi River. U.S. agricultural products, mainly through the Mississippi River, reached the port of New Orleans for export. If this place is in the hands of the French, it is very unfavorable to the United States, and it can be said that it has strangled the main economic artery of the United States. Therefore, the acquisition of this whole land and the control of this port can be said to have completely solved the worries of the United States. And this incident was also the most direct reason why the United States wanted to acquire the Louisiana region at that time!
Fourth, this place is flat and very suitable for the development of transportation. This also provided more convenient conditions for the United States to better promote east-west exchanges and consolidate the rule of the newly occupied western region after the United States annexed the western region.
Fifth, the United States, which had previously had influence in the eastern region, now swallowed up large tracts of land in the central region, giving the United States a better chance of annexing territory in the western region.
Imagine if France had stuck in Louisiana, the United States would never have had a chance to annex the territories of the West. For the United States did not have the ability to cross the French-occupied Louisiana and provoke Mexico and Spain and the British-occupied western region.
The United States did not have the courage, because the West was the French colony, the north was the British colony, and no one in the United States at that time could afford it.
After the acquisition of Louisiana, the United States became the most economically developed country on the American continent and the largest area of effective land use.
With such strength, The Spanish-occupied Texas in the west, the Mexican-occupied California, and the British state of Oregon were encroached upon by the United States under years of ambitious expansion. Only then was the United States able to extend its expansionary hand to the Pacific coast, and after acquiring Alaska many years later, it finally grew into a well-deserved hegemon on the American continent.
Therefore, it is safe to say that the Louisiana land purchase case is the most critical opportunity for the rise of the United States!
Now, everyone knows how important this place is!
Does France not know the importance of this land? Why did you sell this land?
France certainly knows! The reason for the sale was also caused by the complicated international situation at that time.
How complicated is that?
On the North American continent, France occupied Louisiana, but Louisiana was bordered to the east by the United States, to the west by Mexico and Spain-occupied Texas, and to the north by the British colony of Canada. It can be said that louisiana occupied by france is the most difficult of many forces, because he has to face the most enemies!
On the European continent, Britain and France are fighting each other, vowing to lay each other down.
At that time, the United States was already very clear and wanted this place. But the United States has just become independent, the means are more moderate, and it wants to buy it with money.
Based on this international situation, the French Emperor Napoleon at that time decided: sell it!
Here's why:
First, France's greatest enemy is Britain, and if Louisiana is sold to the United States, the strength of the United States will swell sharply, and it will form a good role for Britain.
At that time, Britain did not abide by the relevant provisions of the Treaty of Amiens and did not have the spirit of the contract, which was a provocation to France. And the British captured French and Dutch ships. Therefore, war between France and Britain was inevitable.
In this way, a strong United States can effectively contain Britain. Even if it does not play a deterrent role, the United States and France are two sides of the deal, and the United States will at least remain neutral. Besides, after getting Louisiana, the United States became a country surrounded by Britain, Mexico, and the West, and it was powerless to intervene in the Anglo-French war in Europe.
At the same time, after France completely abandoned its territory in North America, it could withdraw all its soldiers in North America back to China and strengthen its military strength in Europe!
If France did not sell this land, under the circumstances at that time, one hundred percent could not hold it!
Since the Anglo-French War was imperative at that time, if Britain and France fought in Europe, the British army in the British colonies in Canada would certainly attack Louisiana. Britain is the forerunner, running the Americas for many years, France's strength in the Americas is not as good as Britain, and it is very likely that louisiana will not be saved.
As mentioned earlier, Louisiana is bordered to the east by the United States, to the west by Mexico and Spanish-occupied Texas, and to the north by the British colony of Canada. At this time, if the United States and Mexico, Spain and other guys are involved, the defeat of France is even more inevitable.
Third, this land purchase fund of the United States has the effect of sending charcoal to France. The war between France and England, needless to say, was imminent. France was very arrogant in Europe at that time, not only Britain, which was an enemy country. At that time, Austria, Prussia, etc. all regarded France as a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh. As a result, many European countries have formed anti-French alliances against France on many occasions.
War is very expensive, so the cost of war in France is very large. The land purchase money of the United States is very impressive! (It is said to be equivalent to more than $440 billion in 2004, which is of course very impressive.) Therefore, France also needs this money very much!
In summary, France sold this land at that time, and for France at that time, it did not do anything wrong.
Many people say that this land is so important, why doesn't France go all out to keep this territory?
Yes, now that France has tossed around in Europe, it has not actually made anything. At that time, it was better to go all out to protect this territory, and the United States and britain formed a situation of three countries in North America!
The ideal is very full, the reality is very bone!
Britain and France, in the north American land, will eventually lose to the United States, not because they are not strong. Rather, it is because the focus of their development is not in North America.
Both Britain and France went to North America to establish colonies. Their original purpose was to plunder local resources so that the local area could be better developed.
This determines that when the interests of the colonies cannot be balanced with the interests of the homeland, they will certainly abandon the interests of the colonies. Because, originally came to grab things, if there are special circumstances in their own home, they can only give up the interests of the colony.
The United States is different, and it is on this continent that their country was born. To defend every inch of land is to defend the family and defend the country, and every piece of land that is fought together is to open up the territory and expand the territory.
Therefore, the subjective initiative of foreign colonists, in the land of the Americas and the United States for national territory, is much worse than that of the United States. And because of the distance, they could not invest too many troops and material resources in North America.
Therefore, in the long run, Louisiana, France, even if it can be saved for a while, it will not be able to survive for a lifetime.
France can't save Louisiana, Britain can't save Oregon, Spain can't save Texas, russia can't save Alaska. Mexico is a North American country, but their national strength lags too far behind the United States, so Mexico can't keep California.
After a long period of mergers and acquisitions and wars, the United States has annexed a large area of territory, forming a superpower that is now bordered by the Arctic Ocean in the north, the Pacific Ocean in the west, and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. Its land area is a staggering 9.37 million square kilometers!
And, it's a unique location!
First, the land area is vast, and most of it is in the temperate zone, the climate is suitable, there are large plains, and the land is fertile.
Russia and Canada, which are larger than the United States, are frozen in many places and are not suitable for development. Although China is about the same size as the United States, the proportion of mountains, plateaus, deserts and other terrain is too large. Therefore, it can be said that the United States has the largest and most valuable land in the world.
Second, due to the separation of the Pacific and the Atlantic, there will be basically no major war on the Us mainland (except for its own civil war), so the mainland successfully escaped the war of World War I and World War II.
Third, rich in resources.
Fourth, there are no strong neighbors in the periphery who threaten themselves.
With these advantages, coupled with the continuous innovation of the United States, attracting talents from all over the world, and constantly knocking on countries that threaten the United States, it has finally become the only superpower in the world.
And all of this, the United States originally bought Louisian from France, which was the most crucial link.
Without the acquisition of the land, the United States would have been suppressed in what is now the eastern corner of the United States. In this case, the United States, perhaps like Europe, is now made up of many small countries.
Therefore, the Louisiana land purchase case can definitely be called a transaction that affects the national fortunes of the United States!