Independence of the United States acknowledged, May 24, 1784.
When peace was restored, the loss of the North
American colonies, instead of diminishing the commercial
shipping of England, tended rather to augment
it,[1] while the value of her exports and imports
resumed that position of steady increase which characterised
the earlier part of the reign of George III.,
at the same time making a considerable stride in advance
when the war had completely ceased. Preliminaries
of peace were adjusted with the now separated
colonies at Paris on the 30th of November, 1782,[2]
although the definitive treaty was not signed till the
3rd of September, 1783, and ratified by Congress the
4th of January, 1784. With France and Spain similar
treaties were signed about the same period, the Dutch
alone keeping aloof from a final peace till the 24th
of May, 1784. In India peace had been secured in
March of that year by a treaty concluded with
Tippoo Sahib,[3] who, by the peace in Europe, found
himself deprived of his French auxiliaries. By keeping
these dates in view, and glancing at the table at
the foot of the page, originally taken from Chalmers'
tables, and now from McCulloch's commercial dictionary,[4]
the reader will be enabled to form a clear*
- ↑ Macpherson, vol. iv., passim.
- ↑ Sir Guy Carleton went to America to treat for peace May 5, 1782.
- ↑ This Treaty was signed in Tippoo's camp by Sir George Staunton as the English Ambassador, on the 11th of March, 1784.
- ↑ Trade of Great Britain with foreign countries, 1760-1797.
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| |Exports of British
| Imports. | and Foreign and
Years.| | Colonial Produce.
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|Official Value.| Official Value.
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| £ | £
1760 | 10,683,596 | 15,781,176
1761 | 10,292,541 | 16,038,913
1762 | 9,579,160 | 14,543,336
1763 | 12,568,927 | 15,578,943
1764 | 11,250,660 | 17,446,306
1765 | 11,812,144 | 15,763,868
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