Louisiana Purchase in a Divided Colonies TL

Gan

Banned
There has been plenty of discussion of what would happen if, after the Revolutionary War, the former colonies fail to make a unified nation and divide into several smaller nations. In this scenario I have to ask what happens with the Louisiana Purchase?

Will Napoleon still want to sell it to one of the nations that arise out of the 13 colonies? Is there a chance he could allow them each to buy parts of it? How would this affect the ultimate outcome of a divided colonies scenario?
 
I could see Virginia making a bid for the parts of the Louisiana territory adjacent to Kentucky and Tennessee - it would allow Virginia control of the mouth of the Missouri River, and over a long stretch of the Mississippi, to say nothing of more land.

Aside from that... I don't see much. Lower Louisiana may become an independent country, and the far Northern bits may be the best areas to see a Native American state come into fruition.
 

Jasen777

Donor
It obviously depends much on what happens between the winning of the revolution in the time if the purchase. Not just in North America, but in Europe. The French Revolution won't happen exactly the same in a U.S. falls apart scenario (trade patterns and loan repayments will be different, any quasi-wars will be different, there's an example of a area throwing off a monarchy and then collapsing, etc). Louisiana could easily still be Spanish.

The only thing certain is that whoever settles over the Appalachians is going to want New Orleans (or at the least a solid right to move goods through there with little or no tax).
 
But for any single colony to try to project force that distance overland would be ... difficult. And would any individual colony have the money to buy it, if France or Spain or whomever did decide to sell it?

I wouldnt be at all surprised if the British ended up with it, after some war with France and Spain.
 

katchen

Banned
Georgia would be the nation-state that would be contiguous to New Orleans and therefore most in line to buy it if it can come up with the cash. And with all the cotton Georgia is producing, Georgia just might be able to do it. Remember: Georgia is not bound by any restriction on the slave trade at this time and there will not be an 1808 abolition of the slave trade ITTL either.
 
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Jasen777

Donor
That's true de jure assuming Georgia retains the colonial era western land claims. However Georgia after the Revolution is facing a very serious threat from the Creeks and likely won't be able to settle even to the current state boundaries without help.

This is why Georgia was supportive of a stronger federal government in the AoC period as they were desperate for military assistance, when typically they'd be against a strong federal government. OTL, the Creeks signed a treaty in New York in 1790 ceding some land. But the Creeks would be very unlikely to trust Georgians alone enough to make a similar treaty with just them. In a U.S. falls apart scenario, Georgia will be begging to join some sort of Southern Confederation, where who knows if Western land claims will be kept separately by the states.

The first to badly need New Orleans (or at least transit and deposit rights) will be the settlers in OTL Kentucky and Tennessee. They couldn't afford New Orleans/Louisiana if independent, but if Virginia + North Carolina (or both) have control over them still (which isn't certain) perhaps they could.
 
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