With the cession of Louisiana from Spain to France remaining a secret for over year, when France finally took possession of the territory, Spanish relations with the US regarding her access rights reamined largely unchanged. On October 16, 1802, 'the Spanish had revoked the American right of deposit [granted them in the Spanish English war of 1792-1802] ¹, confirming the American's fear that France would regain possession of Louisiana. (Carlos IV had signed the documents handing over Louisiana to France the previous day.) Jefferson had told Robert R. Livingston on April 18, 1802, that if France should regain Louisiana, 'From that moment on we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation.' ²

1. David J. Weber, The Spanish Frontier in North America, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1992, 280.
2. Elijah Wilson Lyon, Louisiana in French Diplomacy, 1759-1804, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, USA, 1974, 153.