Convention of 1800

The Convention of 1800, , also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine, was a treaty between the United States of America and France to settle the hostilities that had erupted during the Quasi-War. The Quasi-War, waged primarily in the Caribbean, had existed since the American delegation to France, arriving in 1797, had been told that America had to pay $250,000 to see—not negotiate with—the French ambassador. This incident, known as the XYZ Affair, was scandalous in America, infuriating both the Hamiltonians (Federalists) and the Jeffersonians. French warships seized American merchant ships in the Caribbean, and American privateers retaliated against French shipping.