How to Lose a Lot of Ground

Louisiana-PurchaseI recently found an interesting piece of American history.  We all know of the Louisiana Purchase. 828,800 square miles for the reasonable sum of $15,000,000 total. What a drop in the bucket to the government purchases and stimulus of our day. (Even after you factor in inflation.)


This purchase would become 14 states, doubled the land size, and it still makes up 23% of all America today.


The truth is - the purchase wasn’t about land. It was the city of New Orleans. A lot of traffic came through that port and Jefferson didn’t want France or Spain to be able to block it. The city was the real issue. The land was icing on the cake.

Spain was the proud owner of New Orleans, but things weren’t going good. The city was running in a deficit. They were struggling. So . . . since Spain had conquered most of South America, they loaded up a ship of silver pesos from Veracruz, Mexico. Headed up the coast, the El Cazador was going to save the city from economic ruin. However, the ship disappeared. It never made it. It was not found anywhere. The ship, the money, and the salvation of New Orleans for Spain was gone.


Since there were ties to France, Spain gave it back to France to manage. It would now be their problem. But Napoleon had his plate full with other problems and could not address the problems with New Orleans like he wanted, so he decided to sell it off.


That is how America became the nation that doubled overnight. The El Cazador became the loss the changed the history of the world.


As I watch the world events today - it reminds me that the loss of today could be the door that opens up a great purchase that will affect tomorrow.


This is a good story - as I read my Bible, as I watch events unfold before me, I think "maybe all the losses aren’t always bad." Speaking of events - isn’t there an election coming up?

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