As I understand it, the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso conditioned the retrocession of Louisiana to France on France not turning around and selling to the Yankees. Which France did. That could imply that Spain continued to have a claim to that territory as part of New Spain.
Have Spain and the USA ever settled this between the two of them? That is, did Spain and USA ever bilaterally settle Spain’s claim to Louisiana? Or do I have a (paper-thin) case for declaring allegiance to the King of Spain and repudiating the USA?
I’ve wondered about this for a while.