In the history of the United States of America, there were two Treaties of Paris which were signed. The first one signified the end of the American Revolution War in 1783. The second one was signed a century later in 1898 and resulted in the ceding of Puerto Rico, West Indies and the surrender of control of Cuba by Spain to the United States of America. Nevertheless, the paper addresses the former treaty of 1783.
This treaty was signed on the third of September 1783. The signatories were the United States and her allies on one side and the Great Britain on the other. The Dutch Republic, France and Spain were the other combatant nations and had their own agreements separately. The Peace negotiations had initially commenced in 1782 in the month of April. The American representatives were John Adams, John Jay, Henry Laurens and most importantly Benjamin Franklin. On the other hand, the British representatives were the pair of Richard Oswald and David Hartley. The document was signed at the Hotel d’York. Benjamin Franklin believed that having a British territory that bordered the American territory physically would be a great cause of conflict between the United States and Britain thus he was a very great proponent the former ceding Quebec (present day Canada) to the latter (Jedson 264). Nonetheless, Britain refused. On the third of September 1783, Britain signed a treaty with Spain and France to cede West and east Florida to Spain. The treaty was not only about the changes of territories captured, but it was also a reinforcement of earlier treaties.
On the fourteenth of January 1784, the Treaty of Paris was ratified by the congress and copies sent to Europe. The versions which were ratified had articles with the following key points; Acknowledgement of the United States as independent, free and sovereign, Establishment of boundaries between British North America and United States, Fishing rights grants to the United States, Recognition of contracted debts as lawful, Provision for restitution of all properties, rights and states, initially confiscated by the British, Prevention of future confiscations of properties, Freedom of war prisoners and properties of British Army to be left unmolested as well as Perpetual access to the United States and Britain to Mississippi River (Jedson 233).
Most historians suggest that this treaty was much generous to the United States. This is due to the enlarged boundaries which were at the expense of the British Indian allies. That is to say, the major trading partner would be the United States. Another consequence was the withdrawal of privileges initially enjoyed by Americans. The reactions of the colonies included defiance, most notably by Spain when it blocked the control of Florida by America. In addition to the mentioned, there were negotiations between the British and the Native Americans. Nevertheless, the ability of Americans to bargain was enhanced when the new constitution was created in 1787 (Jedson 111). Today, we can confidently say that without this treaty, the United States of America would not have been created. The treaty subsequently led to the attaining of independence of the United States in July 1787.
In a nutshell, the Treaty of Paris resulted into the independence of the United States, the enlargement of its territories while the British Indian allies lost their territories. The reactions of the colonies included defiance, most notably by Spain when it blocked the control of Florida by America. Without the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the creation of the United States would not have occurred and today the U.S.A. would be non-existent. Even most historians suggest that the treaty was much generous to the United States.
Work Cited
Jedson, Lee. The Treaty of Paris, 1783: A Primary Source Examination of the Treaty That Recognized American Independence. New York: Rosen Central Primary Source, 2006. Print.
