The Treaty of Paris recognized the United States as independent in 1783.
Representatives of Great Britain and the United States signed the treaty in Paris on September 3, 1783. The agreement formally ended the American Revolutionary War and acknowledged the former Thirteen Colonies as free, sovereign, and independent states.
The American commissioners included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay. The treaty also established generous boundaries for the new nation, extending west to the Mississippi River, north to the Great Lakes, and south to Spanish Florida. Britain recognized American fishing rights in waters near Newfoundland.
The Treaty of Paris was part of the broader Peace of Paris, a group of agreements involving Britain, France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic. The treaty’s recognition of American independence was a major diplomatic achievement, but its boundary provisions were later altered by additional treaties and territorial changes.