186 1 In what name did the French, British and Spanish allied forces invade Mexico?

1776 On July 4th, three colonies in North America/kloc-0 declared their independence from Britain. At this time, the territory of the United States is only the area of the Atlantic coast 13 States, about 800,000 square kilometers. 1783, Britain recognized the independence of the United States, and successively transferred most of the land along the Atlantic coast except 13 to the United States. The territory of the United States reached 2.3 million square kilometers, accounting for about 30% of the current territory of the United States. 1789, the United States federal government was established. The newly established United States soon embarked on the road of territorial expansion. Besides war, money has become the most commonly used way to acquire territory. Napoleon's calculation is cheaper than America's. 1800, Napoleon, who just came to power in France, won Louisiana in North America from Spain with his strong military strength. Louisiana lies between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, from Canada in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south, which is equivalent to 13 states in the midwest of the United States. The existence of a powerful France made the newly independent United States feel very uneasy, because Napoleon was very likely to plan Canada in the north and then let American Indians harass the American border. 1802, then American president Jefferson negotiated with France, hoping to buy this large piece of land at a high price. The United States also made the worst plan, and if the negotiations failed, it would isolate France with Britain. As a result, the negotiations were unexpectedly smooth and rapid. Napoleon sold such a large piece of land to the United States for 80 million francs (about150,000 dollars at that time), which even made the United States feel incredible. In fact, Napoleon had unspeakable difficulties. At that time, Napoleon sent 20 thousand people to invade Haiti, and all the troops were wiped out. He badly needs funds to get back on his feet. In addition, Napoleon calculated that if the United States and Britain formed an alliance and went to war with France, Britain would attack Louisiana. It is better to sell them to the United States than to let them fall into the hands of their arch-enemy, Britain. Moreover, by selling this area, France can relieve its worries and go all out to control Europe. 1803 in April, the United States and France signed a peace treaty, and the United States easily acquired about 2.6 million square kilometers of land, less than $5 per square kilometer. The success of buying Louisiana at a low price aroused the desire of the US government to expand its territory. Florida, adjacent to Louisiana, is the next target, because it is an ideal area for developing plantation economy. The United States once suggested that Louisiana's purchase also included Florida, but it was sternly rejected by Spain, the owner of Florida. When the US government was considering whether to use force against Spain, Spain was occupied by French Napoleon in 1808. Taking this opportunity, a large number of Americans moved to Florida. 1809, local residents loyal to the United States accounted for 90% of the total population, and Spain's rule in Florida was crumbling. 18 14 years, Americans marched into Florida on a large scale. Finally, Spain realized that its rule in this area was beyond its ability. 1865438+On February 22, 2009, the United States and Spain signed a treaty, and the United States only spent $5 million to acquire Florida/kloc-0.5 million square kilometers of land. The two transactions between the United States, France and Spain have expanded the territory of the United States by more than 1 times in less than 20 years. "Buy" half of Mexico. The expansion of Louisiana and Florida has benefited the United States. Then, the United States obtained Texas and Oregon from Mexico and Britain by means of rebellion and threats, and its territory expanded from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast. At this time, California aroused the interest of the United States. 1542, a Portuguese explorer hired by Spain first discovered California. Later, Mexico became independent from Spanish colonists and became a province. 184 1 year, the United States immigrated to California. These immigrants make a living by farming and become economic competitors of Mexicans, which has always been unpopular with local people. However, Americans continue to enter California. In order to get this land, American politicians once again bought it at a high price. At that time, US Secretary of State Webster even said in a letter that in order to get California, the United States was willing to pay 20 times more than Texas. However, Mexico flatly rejected this rude request. As a result, the United States came up with the idea of satisfying territorial desires by force. At first, the United States created a momentum in public opinion. On the one hand, it publicized that Britain was trying to compete for this land, and on the other hand, it publicized that Mexico was secretly planning an anti-American movement with the aim of leading the American people to the road of war. Relations between the two countries suddenly became tense. At the same time, the United States once again began military provocation. 1846, us president Polk sent troops into the disputed border area between the two countries. The Mexican side strongly protested, but it had no effect. On April 24, there was a small-scale conflict between the Mexican army and the US military, resulting in the death of three Americans. This incident just gave the United States an excuse to go to war. In May, the United States officially declared war on Mexico and sent 50,000 troops to invade Mexico by land and sea. The Mexican army lacked training and advanced weapons and equipment and was quickly defeated. California was naturally incorporated into the United States. 1848 On February 2, the United States signed a treaty with Mexico, and the United States only paid150,000 dollars symbolically, and acquired nearly140,000 square kilometers of land including California and New Mexico. Then in 1853, gadsden, the American ambassador to Mexico, bought nearly 654.38+10,000 square kilometers of land on the US-Mexico border for100,000 US dollars (later named after "gadsden"). In this US-Mexico war, Mexico lost most of its territory. After the Mexican War, the territory of the United States was three times larger than that of 1783 when it was just recognized as independent. However, the expansion of Zhang Zhilu by the United States has not stopped. The Secretary of State's foresight has benefited the United States greatly. The process of Alaska becoming an American territory is very funny. /kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, the Wicket Indian tribe, who lived in southern Alaska for generations, fought two wars with the invading Russians and was finally conquered by the powerful Russians. But 1856 After the Crimean War, Russia was badly weakened, and Tsar Alexander II was determined to sell this unprofitable land. He locked the buyer in America. Worried that the United States is not interested in buying Alaska, Russia spent $654.38 million to buy some American journalists and politicians and tried to lobby the US government through them. 1in March, 867, Russia sent officials to the United States to discuss the sale of Alaska. William, the then US Secretary of State? Seward is a fanatical expansionist. When he was negotiating with Russia, he began to bid $5 million, and then reached a purchase agreement with Russia of $7.2 million overnight, and he couldn't wait to formally sign the agreement the next morning. Finally, the United States bought a huge peninsula with an area of more than 6.5438+0.5 million square kilometers and its surrounding Aleutian Islands at an absolutely low price. At that time, in the United States, only a few fishermen wanted the right to enter and leave Alaska's seaport, and some California businessmen sought the privilege of engaging in fur trade there, while most people knew nothing about Alaska. Immediately after Seward signed the agreement to buy Alaska, it caused a burst of opposition in China, calling Alaska "Seward's refrigerator" and criticizing it as "a bad deal" and "an unusual mistake". Seward was scolded by domestic public opinion and hid at home for many days. The shrewd seward still won the support of Congress persistently. 1867 In April and July, the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively passed this agreement by a majority vote. Now it seems that Americans should really thank Seward for his foresight. It is estimated that there are 5.7 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and 30 billion barrels of crude oil buried underground in Alaska, which are now worth more than 2 trillion dollars! With the rise of international oil price, its value is definitely more than this figure. Russians must be heartbroken by this reckless decision. /kloc-at the end of 0/9, the United States also acquired some islands in the Pacific Ocean, such as Hawaii, through various means such as war. In this way, in 100 years, the United States only spent more than 50 million US dollars, but seized more than three times the territory in the early days of independence. Territorial expansion has played an important role in the development of American capitalism and the formation of today's "superpower" status.