Changes

==Pre-U.S. Control==

==Pre-U.S. Control==

Louisiana was originally claimed by French [[explorer]] Robert de la Salle in 1666 and named for the French King [[Louis XIV]] in 1682, and established French control over the entire Mississippi River Basin.<ref>http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/326519/Rene-Robert-Cavelier-sieur-de-La-Salle</ref> Despite the claim, the only major development outside of modern-day [[Louisiana]] was the city of [[St. Louis]], which is almost certainly due to the growing [[atheism]] in France in the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref>http://about-france.com/religion.htm</ref> Atheists in the French government opposed the [[missionary]] nature of France's colonization, and as such attempted (largely unsuccessfully) to limit French expeditions to [[North America]] as much as they could, and as a result the overwhelming majority of the territory remained unexplored by any government as late as 1803. The conclusion of the [[French and Indian War]] saw France surrender the territory to [[Spain]] to prevent its acquisition by [[Britain]], but it came back under French control when [[Napoleon]] placed a proxy of his on the Spanish Throne.<ref>http://geography.about.com/od/historyofgeography/a/louisianapurcha.htm</ref>

Louisiana was originally claimed by French [[explorer]] Robert de la Salle in 1666 and named for the French King [[Louis XIV]] in 1682, and established French control over the entire Mississippi River Basin.<ref>https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/326519/Rene-Robert-Cavelier-sieur-de-La-Salle</ref> Despite the claim, the only major development outside of modern-day [[Louisiana]] was the city of [[St. Louis]], which is almost certainly due to the growing [[atheism]] in France in the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref>http://about-france.com/religion.htm</ref> Atheists in the French government opposed the [[missionary]] nature of France's colonization, and as such attempted (largely unsuccessfully) to limit French expeditions to [[North America]] as much as they could, and as a result the overwhelming majority of the territory remained unexplored by any government as late as 1803. The conclusion of the [[French and Indian War]] saw France surrender the territory to [[Spain]] to prevent its acquisition by [[Britain]], but it came back under French control when [[Napoleon]] placed a proxy of his on the Spanish Throne.<ref>http://geography.about.com/od/historyofgeography/a/louisianapurcha.htm</ref>

Napoleon intended to use Louisiana as an agricultural center to support a renewed French empire in North America, but a [[slave]] [[revolt]] in [[Haiti]] that lasted from 1791 to 1804 denied the France a critical [[seaport]] and source of [[sugar]] and rendered holding Louisiana against the British unrealistic.<ref>http://www.blackpast.org/gah/haitian-revolution-1791-1804</ref> As a result, Napoleon began seeking to sell the territory either to the Spanish or the United States, which would also give him additional capital to direct against the British.

Napoleon intended to use Louisiana as an agricultural center to support a renewed French empire in North America, but a [[slave]] [[revolt]] in [[Haiti]] that lasted from 1791 to 1804 denied the France a critical [[seaport]] and source of [[sugar]] and rendered holding Louisiana against the British unrealistic.<ref>http://www.blackpast.org/gah/haitian-revolution-1791-1804</ref> As a result, Napoleon began seeking to sell the territory either to the Spanish or the United States, which would also give him additional capital to direct against the British.