At the place where the Continental Divide crosses the 42 degree parallel north latitude, overlapping imperial and national claims once met. Spain first claimed it through the presumptive right of early discoveries and explorations. The area was also part of Acadia, granted in 1603 by Henry IV of France, and part of New England as granted to the Plymouth Colony by James I and transferred to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629. In 1682, La Salle claimed for France the whole basin of the Mississippi River, including the northeastern portion of this place. France ceded its claims to Spain in 1762, regained them in 1800, and sold the region of Louisiana to the United States in 1803. Great Britain claimed the western portion in 1792, and the United States laid formal claims in 1818 until the 42 parallel was accepted as the boundary between the United States and Spain in 1819. After gaining independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico reconfirmed the boundary lines. In 1824, Great Britain relinquished its claims to the area of the Columbia River basin, and the treaty of 1846 reaffirmed the right of the United States to the Oregon Country. On July 4, 1848, the cession of territory by Mexico was proclaimed, giving the United States undisputed right to all of Wyoming.