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Treaties of Utrecht
These treaties were signed to end the war of Spanish succession. Much territory changed hands, but England mostly gained land on the American continent. Since a majority of the American mainland was now claimed by the British, the main culture on the continent would end up being very British. Even after America won its independence, its inhabitants would still speak the English language and retain mostly English customs.
Footnotes:
The Treaties of Utrecht, 1713
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New Orleans was founded
For years, the French had been wanting to found a settlement on the mouth of the Mississippi river, for easy access to inland resources. Finally, French colonists founded New Orleans in 1713. Eventually, this city will be absorbed into the new country, as both a strategic port for America, and also a cultural hot spot.
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Treaty of Paris ended French/Indian War
This is the Treaty of Paris from 1763, and it is important because it ended most of the remaining French influence in America. This made the American culture more British-based than ever before. Also, it meant that when the colonists revolted against Britain, they ended up receiving some of this strategic territory, ceded by France twenty years prior.
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Treaty ending the Revolutionary War
Treaty of Paris from 1783 ended the Revolutionary War, and stipulated that The United States of America be recognized as an independent nation in its own right. France was a staunch ally of the revolutionaries during the war, and when negotiations began, America and France negotiated separate treaties because that further acknowledged the idea that the United States was its own country.
The Treaty of Paris, 1783
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France regained Louisiana
In the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso, France, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, secretly regained the colonial territory of Louisiana from Spain. The Louisiana territory enveloped most of the United States interior, including the city of New Orleans, north to the Great Lakes, and west to Montana. This massive tract of land was given to Spain after the Severn-Years war, and in 1800 it was returned to France because Napoleon Bonaparte wanted it for production of goods.
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Louisiana Purchase
Although Napolean had interests in the uses of Louisiana, he sold it to America for $15 million,
which some historians believe was due to the French failure to put down a slave rebellion in Haiti, and the threat of war with Britain. Whatever Napolean's reasoning, the Louisiana Purchase expanded the American border far to the west. This sudden influx of territory is well known for cementing the idea of manifest destiny in the hearts of Americans. (http://www.timetoast.com)
