The Treaty of Paris recognized American independence
On this day · 3 September 1783
With a few signatures in a Paris hotel, Britain formally acknowledged the United States as a free and independent nation.
On September 3, 1783, American and British representatives signed the Treaty of Paris, formally ending the American Revolutionary War. The signing took place at a hotel on the Rue Jacob in Paris, where Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay signed for the United States and David Hartley for King George III.
The treaty’s opening article was the heart of the matter: His Britannic Majesty acknowledged the thirteen former colonies, from New Hampshire to Georgia, to be free, sovereign, and independent states.
Britain at last conceded the very independence it had fought eight years to deny.
Beyond recognition, the treaty drew generous boundaries for the new nation, secured fishing rights off Newfoundland, and addressed debts and prisoners. Together with parallel agreements between Britain and its other adversaries, including France and Spain, the settlement is known as the Peace of Paris.
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