Which 1783 agreement formally ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized U.S. independence?

The Treaty of Paris (1783) formally ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized the independence of the United States.

Representatives of the United States and Great Britain signed the treaty in Paris on September 3, 1783. The American negotiators were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, and Henry Laurens, while David Hartley represented Britain for King George III. The agreement followed preliminary articles signed in 1782.

The treaty recognized the former Thirteen Colonies as free, sovereign, and independent states. It also established generous boundaries, extending west to the Mississippi River, north toward British North America, and south to Spanish Florida. American fishermen received rights in waters near Newfoundland and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

The Treaty of Paris was part of the broader Peace of Paris, which included separate agreements involving France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic. A common mix-up is confusing the treaty with the 1783 surrender at Yorktown: Yorktown was a decisive military event, but the Paris agreement legally concluded the war and recognized independence.