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Background Information
New Orleans, near the mouth of the Mississippi, was the principal city in French America and became the capital of the state of Louisiana. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States acquired from France all its territorial claims on the North American continent, from the Gulf of Mexico to present day Canada. Sometimes called the second American war for independence, the War of 1812 was the last battle against foreign troops on American soil. The warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico border five southern states from Texas to Florida. By a decision of the Pope, Spain divided the New World with Portugal, but its influence was primarily felt in Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. The State of Louisiana represents the oldest and at the time most settled portion of the land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Privateering is non-governmental piracy than has been legitimized by one side in a military conflict against the other.