The rest of what is now the southwestern United States remained in Spanish hands. This includes present-day Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and California. The Spanish prohibited American traders from operating in the areas under their control, as they were extremely wary of the United States Government's designs on the region. Even after the large acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase territories, many in the United States government coveted the rest of the Spanish lands. Not the least of these was the United States Army's ranking officer at the time, and Governor of Upper Louisiana, General James Wilkinson.
Pike may have been the commander of the 1806-1807 expedition, but General Wilkinson was the mastermind. Wilkinson was a complex character at best and a traitor at worst. Wilkinson had been in the pay of the Spanish government for years, referred to as Number 13 in Spanish diplomatic correspondence, not for political or ideological reasons, but simply as a means to supplement his lifestyle. At one time he received $12,000 by supplying fake invasion plans of the southwest to the Spanish. Pike'sexpedition probably was a key element in one of Wilkinson's biggest plots.
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