In 1803, France (under Napoléon) sold the territory of Louisiana to the US for just $15 million. The addition of that territory doubled the size of the United States immediately, making it one of the largest nations in the world (at that time).
The land purchased also included parts of what is now Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada.
Napoléon needed money and saw selling the land to the U.S. as an opportunity to block the power of England on another front, so selling "Louisiane" was worth it to him.
In 1804, officers William Clark and Meriwether Lewis, along with over 40 other men, set off from St. Louis along the Missouri River towards the Pacific Coast. Their task was to study the flora and fauna and the Native American tribes living there.
They were accompanied by a young Indian girl called Sacagawea. She helped them trade for horses and also translated for them. Sacagawea even cooked and collected berries for medicine during the expedition. Her presence was especially useful when the group came across tribes that had never seen white people before. Having a Native woman with them helped to make the tribes they met feel more at ease.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen