The Bank Documents

After the three agreements which made up the Louisiana Purchase Treaties had been signed on May 9, 1803, Bonaparte and the American diplomats, Livingston and Monroe, set out to find the best and fastest way to finance their historic real estate deal. Because of the impending war with Britain, French banks would not buy or market the American bonds. Livingston and Monroe recommended the firms of Baring and Company of London and Hope and Company of Amsterdam, as proper and competent to conduct the financial operations of the transaction.

Because of their reputation as the two most stable financial houses in Europe and because Napoleon wanted to receive his money as quickly as possible, the French treasury minister Barbé-Marbois made arrangements with the two firms to convert the bonds France would receive into cash. Many of the bonds were purchased later by Russia. Alexander Baring, who would later be named Lord Ashburton, was invested with the powers of attorney by the two financial institutions for entering negotiations with America and France. With a chance to earn about three million dollars in interest, both of these foreign bankers were happy to be of service.

In a way, England aided in the transfer of Louisiana from France to the United States. In granting Alexander Baring permission to transfer specie from London to Paris, Britain kept Louisiana out of the hands of her rival, France, but at the same time allowed the United States to emerge as a major world power.

The United States borrowed funds from two of the best known and most reputable financial institutions in Europe--Baring and Company of London and Hope and Company of Amsterdam--to pay the French for the Louisiana Territory. Francois Barbé-Marbois of France, eager to complete the transaction, assisted James Monroe and Robert Livingston in arranging the loan. The amount secured by the Americans totaled $11,250,000 in the form of twenty year bonds promising a six percent return.

All of the bonds were redeemed between 1812 and 1823, and generated $8,221,320 in interest.

The Hope Bank Documents: Contents

1. Description of the 1803 agreement signed in Paris by Alexander Baring on behalf of Baring and Company and Hope and Company promising a loan to the Treasury of the United States. 
2. Document signed by Robert Livingston for the United States and by Francois Barbé-Marbois for France in 1803 acknowledging a transfer of fifty-two million francs from the Hope Bank for the purpose of partially funding the Louisiana Purchase.
3. Statement by Hope and Company authorizing Amsterdam merchants de Smeth and Willink to act "with power of attorney" for the bank.
4. Circular letter from de Smeth and Willink as agents for Hope and Company describing the method of transferring funds in 1803.
5. Statement issued by American Secretary of State James Madison in 1804, referring to the Congressional Act which approved the loan agreement with Hope and Company. 

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