[Footnote 202:  The instructions which he sent to Victor supply an interesting commentary on French colonial policy:  “The system of this, as of all our other colonies, should be to concentrate its commerce in the national commerce:  it should especially aim at establishing its relations with our Antilles, so as to take the place in those colonies of the American commerce....  The captain-general should abstain from every innovation favourable to strangers, who should be restricted to such communications as are absolutely indispensable to the prosperity of Louisiana.”]

[Footnote 203:  Lucien Bonaparte, “Memoires,” vol. ii., ch. ix.  He describes Josephine’s alarm at this ill omen at a time when rumours of a divorce were rife.]

[Footnote 204:  Harbe-Marbois, “Hist. de Louisiana,” quoted by H. Adams, op. cit., vol. ii., p. 27; Roloff, “Napoleon’s Colonial Politik.”]

[Footnote 205:  Garden, “Traites,” vol. viii., ch. xxxiv.  See too Roederer, “Oeuvres,” vol. iii., p. 461, for Napoleon’s expressions after dinner on January 11th, 1803:  “Maudit sucre, maudit cafe, maudites colonies.”]

[Footnote 206:  Cornwallis, “Correspondence,” vol. iii., despatch of December 3rd, 1801.]

[Footnote 207:  See the valuable articles on General Decaen’s papers in the “Revue historique” of 1879 and of 1881.]

[Footnote 208:  Dumas’ “Precis des Evenements Militaires,” vol. xi., p. 189.  The version of these instructions presented by Thiers, book xvi., is utterly misleading.]

[Footnote 209:  Lord Whitworth, our ambassador in Paris, stated (despatch of March 24th, 1803) that Decaen was to be quietly reinforced by troops in French pay sent out by every French, Spanish, or Dutch ship going to India, so as to avoid attracting notice.  ("England and Napoleon,” edited by Oscar Browning, p. 137.)]

[Footnote 210:  See my article, “The French East India Expedition at the Cape,” and unpublished documents in the “Eng.  Hist.  Rev.” of January, 1900.  French designs on the Cape strengthened our resolve to acquire it, as we prepared to do in the summer of 1805.]

[Footnote 211:  Wellesley, “Despatches,” vol. iii., Appendix, despatch of August 1st, 1803.  See too Castlereagh’s “Letters and Despatches,” Second Series, vol. i., pp. 166-176, for Lord Elgin’s papers and others, all of 1802, describing the utter weakness of Turkey, the probability of Egypt falling to any invader, of Caucasia and Persia being menaced by Russia, and the need of occupying Aden as a check to any French designs on India from Suez.]

[Footnote 212:  Wellesley’s despatch of July 13th, 1804:  with it he inclosed an intercepted despatch, dated Pondicherry, August 6th, 1803, a “Memoire sur l’Importance actuelle de l’Inde et les moyens les plus efficaces d’y retablir la Nation Francaise dans son ancienne splendeur.”  The writer, Lieutenant Lefebvre, set forth the unpopularity of the British in India and the immense wealth which France could gain from its conquest.]