Paris, Treaty of
Paris, Treaty of
PARIS, TREATY OF. 10 February 1763. The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War in North America and the Seven Years' War in Europe. France ceded to Britain all claims to Canada, Acadia, Cape Breton Island, and the islands in the St. Lawrence, in effect all her territories east of the Mississippi River, retaining only the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and fishing rights off Newfoundland. To compensate Spain for her losses as France's ally, France had previously ceded to Spain by the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso on 3 November 1762 the Isle of Orleans (New Orleans) and all her territory west of the Mississippi. The Treaty of Paris thus completed the removal of French power from North America and left only Britain and Spain as imperial powers on the continent. Of the West Indies islands captured during the war, Martinique and Guadeloupe were restored to France; St. Vincent, Dominica, and Tobago were restored to Britain. Britain restored Cuba to Spain in return for the Floridas. Spain acknowledged Britain's rights to maintain log-cutting settlements in Central America. France agreed to evacuate her position in Hanover and to restore Minorca to the British. The status quo in India was restored.
The Treaty of Paris ratified Britain's preeminent position in Europe and North America, but while Britons rejoiced in the success of their armies and navies, those very victories, by so thoroughly upsetting the balance of power, left their leaders to deal with a world in which her foes would be eager for revenge. France was temporarily shattered, exhausted, and humiliated, but she had not been, nor could have been, permanently crippled. Britain now had also to deal with other complications, especially regarding how to govern the newly enlarged empire. Some Englishmen recognized the emerging problem of imperial governance and even argued that, instead of Canada, Britain should have retained the sugar-rich island of Guadeloupe.
revised by Harold E. Selesky