03/09/2026
On this day in 1783, the American War of Independence ends with the Treaty of Paris. Having signed a separate peace earlier in the year with the other belligerents - Spain, France and the Dutch Republic - Britain on this day officially recognises the United States of America, agrees the (majority) of borders between the new country and Canada, works out things like fishing rights, access to the Mississipi River, loyalist property confiscations and the fate of prisoners of war.
Image, via WikiMedia: Treaty of Paris, a 1783 portrait by Benjamin West depicting the American delegation at the Treaty of Paris, including (left to right): John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin. The British delegation refused to pose, and the portrait was never completed.