Sabine Free State

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Sabine Free State

The Sabine Free State , better known as the Neutral Ground , Neutral Strip , Neutral Territory or No Man's Land of Louisiana , was a disputed stretch of land between Spanish Texas and the United States . The conflict between the two states began shortly after the so-called Louisiana Purchase , the land purchase of 1803, in which the United States acquired 2,144,476 km² of land from France . As a short-term solution to the growing tensions, both states agreed that the said area should act as a neutral zone until a final solution was found. The area, today in the west of the US state Louisiana, had this special status between 1806 and 1821. The Adams-Onís Treaty then regulated the definitive border between the United States and the viceroyalty of New Spain .

background

In his view, Spain had been affected by French attacks from Louisiana into Texas for many years. Around 1734 France simply moved its post in Natchitoches, Louisiana from the east to the west bank of the Red River . The Spanish governor of Texas, Manuel Sandoval , was reprimanded for his inaction against this advance, as the Spanish viewed this river as a borderline. In 1740, Governor Prudencio de Orobio y Basterra was tasked with researching France's intrusion into the Natchitoches area. Further investigations were ordered in 1744 and 1751.

In 1753, Texas Governor Jacinto de Barrios y Juaregui stated that the French were expanding more and more into Texas as they occupied the territory west of the Arroyo Hondo , a tributary of the Red River. In 1764, the border disputes became irrelevant for some time when France ceded its colony west of the Mississippi to Spain. The Louisiana colony spanned a vast area west of the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains . The surrender was made without taking into account the earlier border conflict, which did not appear to be decisive in the situation at the time. Spain administered the area from Havana and left it to the many nationalities to rule themselves as long as they swore allegiance to Spain.

Through the secret Third Treaty of San Ildefonso of October 1, 1800, Louisiana was expressly returned to France, although the Spanish continued to administer it. When it was returned, the boundary of the territory was not precisely defined by the terms of the contract. Rumors about the treaty finally reached US President Thomas Jefferson , who wanted to try to secure American access to the Gulf of Mexico by buying land at the mouth of the Mississippi . Napoleon Bonaparte , however, was even willing to sell him the entire territory in order to provide his empire in the Old World with new funds. Finally, France took control of Louisiana from Spain on November 30, 1803, and ceded New Orleans to the United States on December 20, 1803, and the rest of the territory on March 10, 1804. With the Louisiana Purchase, the United States doubled in size and began extending westward towards the Pacific Ocean as well as along the Gulf Coast.

The border conflict between Spain and the United States

The precise boundary of the area had not yet been precisely determined. The United States, which bought the territory from France, claimed the same line of frontier that France claimed before it ceded to Spain. Indeed, the United States maintained its claim to the Rio Grande as its western border based on the 1684 temporary settlement in Texas by Robert Cavelier de La Salle . The further serious claim on the part of the United States extended to the Sabine River , today's border between the US states of Louisiana and Texas. The Spanish claims had remained the same, of course, until the Arroyo Hondo.

Negotiations to resolve the conflict broke off in 1805 when Spain severed diplomatic relations with the United States. Between October 1805 and October 1806 there were repeated small skirmishes around the Sabine River, both verbal and military. There were also rumors that both sides were gathering troops near the disputed area.

Establishing the neutral zone

Neither side wanted to risk a war over this conflict. Following an order to avoid further military clashes, US General James Wilkinson and Spanish Lieutenant Colonel Simón de Herrera , two military commanders in the region, signed an agreement that created a territorial neutral zone on November 5, 1806 ( English Neutral Ground ). This should clarify the conflict until a definitive border line has been formally determined by both states. It was not a treaty and was not ratified by either government, although it was largely respected. In this agreement, too, the boundaries of the neutral zone were not fully defined.

The Arroyo Hondo and Sabine Rivers have been identified as the eastern and western borders in view of the conflict. The southern limit was undoubtedly the Gulf of Mexico, and the northern limit was approximately the thirty-second parallel . It included the following parts of today's Louisiana parishes: Desoto, Sabine, Natchitoches, Vernon, Rapides, Beauregard, Allen, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis, and Cameron.

The agreement for this area stipulated that entry for soldiers from both countries was forbidden. Furthermore, no settlers were allowed to stay in the neutral zone. Even so, settlers from the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the United States began to move into it. Some American settlers settled on land allocated to Spain that was part of the Rio Hondo claims . Others simply settled on land that was not claimed by either side. This lawless area also attracted displaced persons, deserters, political refugees, adventurers and a wide variety of criminals. In particular, the muggers were organized to the extent that they manned outposts and organized informers in order to be able to better gouge travelers and to avoid the Spanish and American military. In 1810 and 1812, the two governments jointly sent military expeditions to the area to drive out the criminals ( English outlaws ).

Dissolution of the neutral zone and the further course

Part of central and southwestern Louisiana was partially populated by a multiracial population better known as the Redbones. Some of their family names can be traced back to the African Americans who were released in Virginia and North Carolina during the colonial period . Their origins and ancestry fuel ongoing debate. During the years of migration from the Upper South , it is likely that Indians married into the communities.

The Adams-Onís Treaty , signed in 1819 and ratified in 1821, recognized the claims made by the United States and set the border on the Sabine River. Thereupon Spain gave up all claims regarding this area. (Two years after the treaty was negotiated, the viceroyalty of New Spain gained independence as the Empire of Mexico .) Even after the treaty, the neutral zone and the adjacent part of east Texas remained largely lawless. The regulator-moderator War in East Texas between 1839 and 1844 had its roots in the previous disorder of the neutral zone.

See also

literature

  • JV Haggard, "The Neutral Ground between Louisiana and Texas, 1806-1821," Louisiana Historical Quarterly 28 (October 1945).
  • John V. Haggard: Neutral Ground. In: The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), 1999 ff (English, tshaonline.org ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b "The Neutral Ground" chronology ( memento of the original from March 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , at Louisiana Places @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / enlou.com
  2. ^ "The Cabildo," at the Louisiana State Museum web site
  3. ^ John V. Haggard: Neutral Ground. In: The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), 1999 ff (English, tshaonline.org ).
  4. ^ Louisiana Documents: The Territorial Legislature Defines Counties in 1805 . ( Memento of the original from February 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Louisiana Places @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / enlou.com
  5. ↑ Texas 1806. ( Memento of the original from June 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Texas Archeological Society @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.txarch.org
  6. ^ Paul Heinegg: Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware . 2005 freeafricanamericans.com , accessed 15 Feb 2008
  7. ↑ Bob Bowman: The Worst Feud . TexasEscapes.com