Pinckney's Treaty
Pinckney's Treaty, also known as the
Treaty of San Lorenzo or the
Treaty of Madrid, was signed in
San Lorenzo de El Escorial on
October 27,
1795 and established intentions of friendship between the
United States and
Spain. It also defined the boundaries of the United States with the
Spanish colonies and guaranteed the United States navigation rights on the
Mississippi River. The treaty's full title is
Treaty of Friendship, Limits, and Navigation Between Spain and the United States.
Thomas Pinckney negotiated the treaty for the United States and Don
Manuel de Godoy represented
Spain.
The treaty was proposed by the
United States Senate on
February 26,
1796 and ratified by the United States on
March 7,
1796. It was ratified by Spain on
April 25,
1796 and ratifications were exchanged on that date. The treaty was proclaimed on
August 2,
1796.
By terms of the treaty, Spain and the United States agreed that the southern boundary of the United States with the Spanish Colonies of
East and
West Florida was a line beginning on the Mississippi River at the 31st degree north latitude drawn due east to the middle of the
Chattahoochee River and from there along the middle of the river to the junction with the
Flint River and from there straight to the headwaters of the
St. Marys River and from there along the middle of the channel to the
Atlantic Ocean. This describes the current boundary between the present state of
Florida and
Georgia and the line from the northern boundary of the Florida panhandle to the northern boundary of that portion of
Louisiana east of the Mississippi.
This boundary had been in dispute since the
British had expanded the territory of the Florida colonies while it was in possession of them. It had moved the boundary from the 31st degree latitude northwards to a line drawn due east from the junction of the
Yazoo River and the Mississippi, the present day location of
Vicksburg, Mississippi. After the
American Revolutionary War, Spain claimed the British border adjustment while the United States insisted on the original boundary.
The treaty directed the United States and Spain to jointly survey the boundary line.
Andrew Ellicott was the United States Commissioner for this survey party.
The treaty set the western boundary of the United States, separating it from the Spanish Colony of Louisiana as the middle of the Mississippi River from the northern boundary of the United States to the 31st degree north latitude. The agreement therefore put the lands of the
Chickasaw Nation of
American Indians within the new boundaries of the United States. The United States and Spain agreed not to incite native tribes to warfare. Previously, Spain had been supplying
weapons to local tribes for many years.
Spain and the United States also agreed to protect the vessels of the other party anywhere within their jurisdictions and to not detain or embargo the other's citizens or vessels. The treaty also guaranteed navigation of the entire length of the river for both the United States and Spain.
The territory ceded by Spain in this treaty was organized by the United States into the
Mississippi Territory in
1798.
*
History of Florida*
History of Alabama*
British Royal Proclamation of 1763*
British colonization of the Americas*
West Florida*
Text of Treaty from the Avalon Project*
Text of Pinckney's Treaty from Encyclopedia Louisiana
