The Treaty of Paris formally ended the American Revolutionary War.
Representatives of Great Britain and the United States signed the treaty on September 3, 1783. Britain recognized the independence of the United States, and the agreement established boundaries for the new nation. The treaty therefore provided the diplomatic conclusion to the war that began with armed conflict in 1775.
The peace settlement was part of a wider series of agreements known collectively as the Peace of Paris. Separate treaties addressed Britain’s conflicts with France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic. The American treaty is commonly called the Treaty of Paris, but it should not be confused with other treaties signed in Paris in different years.
America250 commemorates the nation’s 1776 declaration and the revolutionary era that produced independence. The treaty matters because declaring independence and securing international recognition were separate historical steps. The Declaration announced a political break; the Treaty of Paris confirmed the result in international law and diplomacy.