The Definitive Treaty of Peace Between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States of America | |
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![]() The first page of the Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783 | |
Drafted | November 30, 1782 |
Signed | September 3, 1783 |
Location | Paris, Kingdom of France |
Effective | May 12, 1784 |
Condition | Ratification by the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States |
Signatories | |
Parties | |
Depositary | United States government[1] |
Language | English |
Full text | |
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The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States on September 3, 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized the Thirteen Colonies, which had been part of colonial British America, to be free, sovereign and independent states.
The treaty set the boundaries between British North America, later called Canada, and the United States, on lines the British labeled as "exceedingly generous",[2] although exact boundary definitions in the far-northwest and to the south continued to be subject to some controversy. Details included fishing rights and restoration of property and prisoners of war.
This treaty and the separate peace treaties between Great Britain and the nations that supported the American cause, including France, Spain and the Dutch Republic are known collectively as the Peace of Paris.[3][4] Only Article 1 of the treaty, which acknowledges the United States' existence as free, sovereign, and independent states, remains in force.[5]