Peace of Paris (1783)

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The Peace of Paris , signed on September 3, 1783, formally ended the American War of Independence between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies in North America that had fought against British rule since 1775. Great Britain signed separate treaties with France and Spain known as the Treaties of Versailles of 1783 . The signing was preceded by a preliminary peace signed on both sides on November 30, 1782.

Painting by Benjamin West (1783): John Jay , John Adams , Benjamin Franklin , Henry Laurens and William Temple Franklin (from left). The British MP refused to sit in the model so the picture was never completed.

The treaty is commonly known as the Second Treaty of Paris , the first being the Peace of Paris of 1763 . Several other contracts are also known by this name.

Agreement with the thirteen colonies

The contract contains the following conditions:

  • Article 1: Recognition of the Thirteen Colonies as the Independent United States of America
  • Article 2: Establishing the boundaries between the United States and British North America (this part of the treaty and the application of the Mitchell Map result in the Northwest Angle )
  • Article 3: Guarantee of fishing rights for US fishermen in the Grand Banks , off the coast of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
  • Article 4: Recognition of the obligation to pay legally incurred debts on both sides
  • Article 5: The United States Congress will "strongly propose" to the state legislature to assist British citizens who were legal owners of confiscated land with the restitution of all land, rights and possessions (never fulfilled)
  • Article 6: The US Congress will prevent further confiscations
  • Article 7: Prisoners of War on both sides will be released and all equipment left in the United States by the British Army will not be damaged (including black slaves )
  • Article 8: Great Britain and the United States both have perpetual access to the Mississippi River
  • Article 9. Territories occupied by the Americans after the conclusion of the treaty will be returned without compensation
  • Article 10: The contract must be ratified within six months of being signed by the contracting parties

Signature and ratification

The contract was signed by David Hartley the Younger (Member of the British Parliament ) as a representative of the British King George III. and John Adams , Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay, representing the United States, signed. It was based on a preliminary peace agreed on November 30, 1782 by both sides.

  • First page of the contract

  • Last page of the contract

The American Continental Congress ratified the treaty on January 14, 1784. Britain's ratification took place on April 9, 1784. The ratifications were exchanged on May 12, 1784. Britain's ratification and exchange did not take place within the six months set as the end date in the treaty; but this had no effect on the recognition of the contract. The delay was partly caused by transportation difficulties.

The other treaties of Versailles

On September 3, 1783, Great Britain also signed separate agreements with France and Spain that had already been negotiated in Versailles . The day before, there was a preliminary peace with the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , which resulted in the Paris Peace of May 30, 1784.

Spain

In the treaty with Spain, Great Britain recognized the rule of Spain over various territories that had been occupied by Spain during the war. The colonies of East Florida and West Florida were ceded to Spain without clearly defined northern borders, resulting in disputed territories whose ownership was clarified in the Treaty of Madrid in 1795 . Spain also received the island of Menorca . The Bahamas , New Providence and Gibraltar were awarded to Great Britain. Spain accepts British rights to log hardwood in Belize between the Rio Hondo and Belize Rivers .

France

The treaty with France primarily confirmed previous agreements that guaranteed fishing rights off Newfoundland . The islands of Tobago , Saint-Pierre and Miquelon were ceded to France .

The islands of Grenada , St. Kitts , Nevis , Dominica and St. Vincent became British property. The French and Spaniards also recognized Montserrat as such. Great Britain gave up branches in what is now Senegal , in return France undertook to accept the status on the Gambia River. Banjul and the navigable part of the river remained under British rule. In the following years, however, Albreda continued to be used by the French as a slave fort.

The Caribbean island of St. Lucia was also given to France. It also got back Pondicherry in British India , which the British had conquered the second time in 1778.

Great Britain also approved the restoration of the razed fortress structures and the filled-in port of Dunkirk , which the Peace of Utrecht in 1713 had required.

Netherlands

Negapatnam , on the Indian Coromandel Coast , conquered by the British in 1781, fell to Great Britain. The Netherlands granted the British the right of free navigation in the Moluccas .

literature

  • Hermann Wellenreuther : The Peace of Paris 1783, in: ders .: From chaos and war to order and peace. The American Revolution Part One, 1775–1783. Berlin 2006. 625-635.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hunter Miller (Ed.): Treaties and Other International Acts of the United States of America . Volume 2. Government Printing Office, Washington 1931, Documents 1-40: 1776-1818 ( The Avalon Project ).
  2. ↑ Netherlands . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 12, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 152.
  3. ↑ Brockhaus 14. A., Vol. 16, keyword "Versailles"
  4. ↑ Ponditscherri . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 13, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 226.
  5. ↑ Dunkirk . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 5, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, pp. 224–225.
  6. ^ Peace of Paris. In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved June 28, 2016 .

Web links

Wikisource: Peace of Paris  - Sources and full texts