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18 drained by the waters of the Mississippi, and originally settled by the French from Canada, especially in its more northern parts. Notwithstanding the Spaniards had discovered the Lower Mississippi, and claimed a great extent of country under the general name of Florida, King Louis XIV. of France, in consideration of the fact that the region of the Mississippi remained unoccupied by Spain, while it was gradually being settled by his own people, thought proper to grant to Antoine Crozat, in 1712, the exclusive trade of the whole of Southern Louisiana, the country included in this grant extending "from the seashore to the Illinois, together with the Rivers St. Philip (the Missouri) and the St. Jerome (the Ohio), with all the countries, territories, lakes in the land, and rivers emptying directly or indirectly into that part of the River St. Louis" (the Mississippi). Spain not being able to offer any successful opposition to this extensive land-grant of territories to which she laid claim by the right of discovery, Crozat remained in possession of Louisiana, under the general government of New France, until 1717, when, not finding the principality such a mine of wealth as he expected it to be, and having suffered a great private grief which took away the love of power, he relinquished his title, and Louisiana reverted to the crown. The Illinois country was afterward added to the original Louisiana territory, and the whole once more granted to Law's Mississippi Company, which company held it until 1732, when, the bubble of speculation being hopelessly flattened, Louisiana once more reverted to the French crown, and remained a French province until 1769.

In the mean time, however, certain negotiations were being carried forward which were to decide the future boundaries of the United States. In 1762, on the 3d of November, a convention was held at Paris, to settle the preliminaries of peace between France and Spain on the one part, and England and Portugal on the other, in which convention it was agreed that France should cede to Spain "all the country known under the name of Louisiana, as also New Orleans and the island on which that city is situated." On the 23d of the same month this cession was formally concluded, giving to Spain, with the consent of Great Britain and Portugal, all the country drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries, except a small portion north