Treaty of Paris (1763)

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The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on February 10, 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. Together with the Treaty of Hubertusburg, it ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War. The treaties marked the beginning of an extensive period of British dominance outside of Europe.

While the bulk of conquered territories were restored to their pre-war owners, the British made some substantial overseas gains at the expense of France and, to a lesser extent, Spain. Preferring to keep Guadeloupe, France gave up New France and all of its claims to the territory east of the Mississippi River to Britain. Spain ceded Florida to the British, but later received New Orleans and French Louisiana from France; Manila and Cuba were restored to Spain. France retained Saint Pierre and Miquelon and recovered Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Saint Lucia in exchange for Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tobago going to the British. In India, the French lost out to the British, receiving back its "factories" (trading posts), but agreeing to support the British client governments, as well as returning Sumatra and agreeing not to base troops in Bengal. The British garrison on the Mediterranean island of Minorca was returned to her control, having been captured by the French at the outbreak of hostilities in Europe.

Britain returned the slave station on the isle of Gorée to the French, but gained the Senegal River and its settlements. Britain agreed to demolish its fortifications in Honduras, but received permission from Spain to keep a logwood-cutting colony there. Britain confirmed in the treaty the rights of its new subjects to practice the Roman Catholic religion and received confirmation of the continuation of the British king's Hanoverian right as a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire.

It is sometimes claimed that the British King George III renounced his claim to be King of France by the treaty. However, this is a historical myth, and it is also falsely attributed to some of the treaties of the French Revolutionary Wars. Such a renunciation is nowhere in the text of the treaty, and, in fact, George III continued to be styled "King of France" and used the fleurs-de-lis as part of his arms until 1801, when Britain and Ireland united. It was dropped then because the claim was regarded as anachronistic.

Louisiana question

The Treaty of Paris is frequently stated as the point at which France conveyed Louisiana Territory to Spain. However the transfer actually occurred in 1762 in the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762) (which was not publicly announced until 1764).

The Treaty of Paris was to give Britain the east side of the Mississippi (including Baton Rouge, Louisiana which was to be part of the British territory of West Florida). New Orleans on the east side remained in French hands (albeit temporarily). The Mississippi River corridor in what is modern day Louisiana was to be reunited following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Adams-Onís Treaty in 1819.

The 1763 treaty states in Article VII:

Quebec question

Article IV of the treaty provided protections for Catholics in Canada and has been cited as the basis for Quebec often having its unique set of laws that are different from the rest of Canada.

The article also provided for unrestrained emigration for 18 months from Canada. As a result many of the emigrants called Cajuns were to move to Louisiana to a region now called Acadiana which they thought was going to remain part of France -- only to find out after they had moved that Louisiana had become part of Spain.

The article states:

See also

• List of treaties

References

External links

• Treaty of Paris
• The Treaty of Paris and its Consequences (in French)
• An authoritative article on the Treaty of Paris from The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Last updated on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 22:12:51 PDT (GMT -0700)
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