The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized United States independence.
Representatives of Great Britain and the United States signed the treaty in Paris on September 3, 1783. Britain recognized the Thirteen Colonies as free, sovereign, and independent states, transforming the declaration of independence into an internationally acknowledged settlement.
The treaty also established broad boundaries for the new United States, including territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes region. It addressed fishing rights, debts, prisoners of war, and property claims. Congress ratified it on January 14, 1784, in Annapolis, Maryland.
The Treaty of Paris is distinct from the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France and from the 1783 treaties involving other European powers. Those agreements formed part of the wider Peace of Paris, but the British-American treaty is the one that formally recognized American independence.