New Delhi: US President-elect Donald Trump stirred a controversy after he floated the idea of ‘Greater America’ while expressing his desire to acquire Canada, Greenland and Panama Canal.
The idea might sound outlandish, but if we look back at history, we will find that initially, the indigenous American Red Indians were dislodged by White settlers as they began capturing swathes of land in North American region. As time went by, the settlers in the US devised many ways for territorial expansion — it involved conquest to purchase.
Louisiana: In 1803, Louisiana, which has an area of 2.1 million sq km, was purchased by the US from France at a whopping $15mn. Louisiana encompassed much of the land in the Mississippi River’s drainage basin to the west of the river.
The Kingdom of France had governed the Louisiana territory from 1682 until it was transferred to Spain in 1762. In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte reclaimed control of Louisiana, exchanging it for territories in Tuscany. This move was part of his larger strategy to rebuild a French colonial empire in North America.
France was unable to quell a revolt in Saint-Domingue (present day Haiti), and the looming threat of renewed conflict with the United Kingdom led Napoleon to consider selling Louisiana to the US. Acquiring Louisiana had long been a goal of President Thomas Jefferson.
Florida: In 1819, the US bought Florida, having an area of 1,86,740 sq km, from Spain. It was purchased for $5 million. The deal was struck under the Adams–Onís Treaty. Under it, Spain ceded Florida to the US and defined the boundary between the US and Mexico.
Florida had become a significant burden for Spain, which struggled to allocate the resources necessary to send settlers or maintain military garrisons in the region. Grappling with these challenges, Spain opted to cede Florida to the United States. In return, the US agreed to settle the longstanding boundary dispute along the Sabine River in Spanish Texas, resolving tensions between the two nations.
Alaska: Alaska was purchased by US from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867. The terriory covered an area of 1.5 million sq km. On May 15, 1867, the United States Senate ratified a bilateral treaty that had been inked on March 30. American sovereignty over the territory was officially established on October 18.
After suffering a huge defeat in the Crimean War, Tsar Alexander II of Russia began mulling the sale of Alaska, recognising that the territory would be challenging to defend from the United Kingdom in any future war. To facilitate this, US Secretary of State William H. Seward started negotiations with Russian diplomat Eduard de Stoeckl, and concluded the deal following the American Civil War.
Puerto Rico: The US annexed Puerto Rico after a military victory over Spain during the Spanish-American war in 1898. The region spanned 9,085 sq km. The offensive started on May 12, 1898, when the United States Navy launched an attack on the capital, San Juan.
US President William McKinley and French ambassador Jules Cambon, acting on behalf of the Spanish government, signed an armistice. The formal transfer of Puerto Rico to the United States took place over two months, from August 12 to October 18, 1898. During this period, the last Spanish troops departed for Spain, and the US flag was raised at most public buildings across the island.
Virgin Islands: The US bought Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25million in 1917. The Danish government was struggling with increasing deficits in the region and tried to sell off the islands. Following decades of marathon negotiations, the United States bought the islands in 1917 and in 1927, they officially became an unincorporated US territory.
