The Convention of 1800 (also known as the Convention of Mortefontaine) was a meeting between the Unite States of America and France to terminate the alliance that had existed between them since 1778 and 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 1798, 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 and further flamed into war by "war hawk" politicians. American merchants in the Caribbean were seized by French warships, and American privateers retaliated against French shipping.