Slave revolts on the island of
Haiti (
Santo Domingo) had been erupting intermittenly since about 1795. Thinking to quell the disorder once and for all,
Napolean sent a sizeable expedition of ships and men to Haiti. When order had been restored to Haiti, this force was then to go to
New Orleans and set up a
military and
naval garrison there. However, a native leader,
Toussaint L'Ouverture, offered such effective leadership to slaves and such damaging resistance to the
French, that Napolean's naval and land forces were
depleted to the point of uselessness. Napoleon's chance to build a base for his empire in the
western hemisphere was lost. His problem became one of selling
Louisiana before the
British took it. At the crucial moment, April in 1803, Napoleon was anxious to sell as
Livngston and
Monroe(ambassadors appointed by
Thomas Jefferson) were to buy.
Wars were expensive, even in the early 1800's. Napoleon needed all the cash he could get. We also had a motive that is part of any expansion program. There are always many who favor bigness for its own sake. Napoleon's desire for money and our inclination toward expansion for its own sake were real, but not the compelling, factors.