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.