Question

How did the Spanish gain possession of Louisiana?

A. They received Louisiana as a result of the French defeat in the French and Indian War.

B. They invaded Louisiana in 1750, resulting in their control of the colony.

C. They occupied Louisiana after the French abandoned the colony in 1754.

D. They bought Louisiana from France, which was attempting to raise money for European wars, in 1763.

Answer 1

The impetus to cede the French colony of Louisiana to the Spanish was the long, expensive conflict of the French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Year's War, between France and Great Britain. Initially, France offered Louisiana to Spain in order to bring Spain into the conflict on the French side. Spain declined. Spanish officials were uncertain about what exactly constituted the vague and immense colony of Louisiana. When the "Family Compact," a supposedly secret alliance between France and Spain, became known to the British, they attacked Spain. In November 1762 in the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau, France handed over Louisiana and the Isle of Orleans to Spain in order to "sweeten the bitter medicine of Spanish defeat and to persuade them not to fight on" against the British. So it would be A.