Treaty of Washington (1871)

Treaty of Washington

Treaty between Her Majesty and the United States of America for the Amicable Settlement of all Causes of Difference Between the Two Countries ("Alabama" Claims; Fisheries; Claims of Corporations, Companies or Private Individuals; Navigation of Rivers and Lakes; San Juan Water Boundary; and Rules Defining Duties of a Neutral Government during War).
Signed	May 8, 1871 (1871-05-08)
Location	Washington, D.C.
Effective	June 17, 1871 (1871-06-17)
Signatories	Marquess of Ripon Earl of Iddesleigh Count of Cacilhas John A. Macdonald Mountague Bernard Hamilton Fish Robert C. Schenck Samuel Nelson Ebenezer R. Hoar George H. Williams
Parties	United Kingdom  United States
Language	English
Full text
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The Treaty of Washington was a treaty signed and ratified by the United Kingdom and the United States in 1871 during the first premiership of William Gladstone and the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. It settled various disputes between the countries, including the Alabama Claims for damages to American shipping caused by British-built warships, as well as illegal fishing in Canadian waters and British civilian losses in the American Civil War. It inaugurated permanent peaceful relations between the United States and Canada, and also with the United Kingdom.^[1] After the arbitrators endorsed the American position in 1872, Britain settled the matter by paying the United States $15.5 million (approximately $394.22 million in 2023), ending the dispute and leading to a treaty that restored friendly relations between Britain and the United States. That international arbitration established a precedent, and the case aroused interest in codifying public international law.