about the origin of Perique tobacco. Research in the 

 French and Spanish archives may convince one that 

 either the French or the Spanish developed this special 

 fermenting process, but the story of the man called 

 "Perique" is certainly a matter of popular belief. 



T 



erritory to statehood 



By 1800 the fate of Louisiana v\^as again unsure. That 

 year, Napoleon I signed the Treaty of San Ildefonso, 

 and among other things Spain was required to retro- 

 cede Louisiana to France. Three years later Napoleon, 

 in turn, sold the territory to the United States of Amer- 

 ica for a mere $15 miUion. 



In March 1804, the U.S. Congress divided the "Lou- 

 isiana Purchase," as it was called, into two parts. 

 The area north of thirty-three degrees latitude (the 

 Louisiana-Arkansas border today) and west of the 

 Mississippi River was called the "Territory of Louisi- 

 ana" (later changed to Missouri territory). The area 

 south of thirty-three degrees was called the "Territory 

 of Orleans" and on April 30, 1812 was admitted to the 

 Union as the state of Louisiana. 



Meanwhile, a dispute arose between the U.S. and 

 Spain, with the latter contending that its retrocession 

 to France did not include "West Florida"— the area 

 which today includes eastern Louisiana, southern Mis- 

 sissippi and Alabama. In 1810, the residents of Baton 

 Rouge, which was a part of "West Florida" and still 

 under the reins of Spain, revolted and proclaimed the 

 independent Republic of West Florida. In 1812, Con- 



28 



