“Where is this world rolling to???”, approximately was the society’s reaction to the recent statements by Trump about interest in buying Greenland, proposing Canada to become the 51st state, and warning about attempts to regain control of the Panama Canal. Society seems not quite ready for this format of geopolitics. Or… is it already not such a novelty?
The U.S.-Mexico War: When Sale Was Better Than War, But Not This Time
Imagine arguing with your neighbor over the property line between your houses. But instead of a few meters of land, we are talking about hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, and instead of an argument, a full-scale war. This is how events unfolded between the US and Mexico in the mid-19th century.
How Texas Ignited the Conflict
Texas was the “spark” that ignited the war. Initially, this territory belonged to Mexico, but in 1836, Texas declared independence. The issue was that the US quickly took it under its wing, which did not sit well with Mexico, to say the least.
Washington understood that conflict was inevitable, but first tried to resolve everything peacefully by buying territories. For California, the US offered $25 million! For comparison: this is almost the budget of one “Avatar” by James Cameron! But Mexico was firm: their land, their rules.
The War That Changed the Map of the US
In 1846, the conflict erupted. The American army was much better armed, and within two years, the war ended in a victory for the US.
In 1848, the parties signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which significantly changed the map of North America. Mexico lost over 55% of its lands, and the U.S. gained:
✅ California (where Hollywood is located now)
✅ Nevada (with its Las Vegas)
✅ Utah (home to the Great Salt Lake)
✅ Parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming
For all this, Mexico received only $15 million – 1.5 times less than what the U.S. initially offered! Turns out, it was even less advantageous to go to war than to sell right away.
But that’s not the end of the story…
Can Everything Be Bought?
Several years later, the U.S. returned to the wallet once again. In 1853, they purchased a part of present-day Arizona and New Mexico for $10 million (known as the Gadsden Purchase). Thus, the territorial issues between the two countries were finally resolved.
The moral of the story? Sometimes it’s more advantageous to sell than to fight. But not everyone understands this in time…
Next in the series “Better to Sell Than to Fight”
The next story will be just as interesting – we will tell you how the U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for just $7.2 million! Don’t miss it 😉
Read about the history of the largest real estate purchase – the state of Louisiana – by the U.S. government in the first part of the series “Better to Sell Than to Fight? – territorial acquisitions as a transition from war to peaceful land grabbing”:
Read about the history of Florida annexation and the conditions that preceded it in the second part of the series “Better to sell than to fight? – territorial acquisitions as a transition from wars to peaceful land grabbing”:
Read about the annexation of Florida and Texas to the USA in the third part of the series “Better to sell than to fight?”:
