Robert R. Livingston, along with James Monroe, was dispatched to France just prior to Napoleon's decision to sell Louisiana to the United States. The decision came after Napoleon abandoned interest in Haiti and began preparation for another war with England. Livingston and Monroe had been instructed to negotiate the purchase of a tract of land on the lower Mississippi for a guarantee of free navigation on the river. Napoleon's offer was received happily, and the two immediately began to negotiate the treaty leading to the Louisiana Purchase.