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Collection of Treaties
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Historical SummaryBY the second partition treaty between William III. and Louis XIV., in 1700, it had been agreed that the Spanish succession, on the death of Charles II., should go to the Archduke Charles, son of the Emperor Leopold. But Charles II. by will bequeathed all his possessions to Philip, Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis, though with the proviso that the crowns of France and Spain should never be united; and, on the death of Charles, Louis claimed the inheritance for Philip. The seizure of the barrier fortresses, early in 1701, was soon followed by war in Italy between Leopold and the combined French and Spanish forces. William placed Marlborough in command of the English forces in the Netherlands, and in September formed, with Austria and the Dutch Republic, the so-called Grand Alliance. The death of William, in March, 1702, did not interrupt the war, and the Grand Alliance was shortly joined by most of the German princes. The European phases of the war of the Spanish Succession, and the careers of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, do not call for discussion here. In America, where the war is known as Queen Anne’s war, the most important movements were in connection with the repeated attempts to conquer some part of the French possessions. After two unsuccessful expeditions, in 1704 and 1707, against Acadia, Port Royal finally surrendered, in 1710, to the English; but a combined land and naval demonstration against Canada came to nothing. In September, 1711, preliminary articles of peace were signed; the conferences of the commissioners began in January, 1712, at Utrecht; and March 31/April 11, 1713, the treaty was concluded. Only the principal articles relating to America are given here. REFERENCES. — Text in Chalmers’s History of England [during the] Reign of Anne covers the period of the war; see also Lecky’s England in the Eighteenth Century (Amer. ed.), I., 26–54, 106–158; Parkman’s Half Century of Conflict.
No. 26.
Treaty of Utrecht
March 31/April 11, 1713
X. The said most Christian King shall restore to the kingdom and Queen of Great Britain, to be possessed in full right for ever, the bay and streights of Hudson, together with all lands, seas, sea-coasts, rivers, and places situate in the said bay and streights, and which belong thereunto, no tracts of land or of sea being excepted, which are at present possessed by the subjects of France. . . . But it is agreed on both sides, to determine within a year, by commissaries to be forthwith named by each party, the limits which are to be fixed between the said Bay of Hudson and the places appertaining to the French. . . . The same commissaries shall also have orders to describe and settle, in like manner, the boundaries between the other British and French colonies in those parts.
XI. The abovementioned most Christian King shall take care that satisfaction be given, according to the rule of justice and equity, to the English company trading to the Bay of Hudson, for all damages and spoil done to their colonies, ships, persons, and goods, by the hostile incursions and depredations of the French, in time of peace . . .
XII. The most Christian King shall take care to have delivered to the Queen of Great Britain, on the same day that the ratifications of this treaty shall be exchanged, solemn and authentic letters, or instruments, by virtue whereof it shall appear, that the island of St. Christopher’s is to be possessed alone hereafter by British subjects, likewise all Nova Scotia or Acadie, with its ancient boundaries, as also the city of Port Royal, now called Annapolis Royal, and all other things in those parts, which depend on the said lands and islands . . .; and that in such ample manner and form, that the subjects of the most Christian King shall hereafter be excluded from all kind of fishing in the said seas, bays, and other places, on the coasts of Nova Scotia, that is to say, on those which lie towards the east, within 30 leagues, beginning from the island commonly called Sable, inclusively, and thence stretching along towards the south-west.
XIII. The island called Newfoundland, with the adjacent islands, shall from this time forward belong of right wholly to Britain; and to that end the town and fortress of Placentia, and whatever other places in the said island are in the possession of the French, shall be yielded and given up, within seven months from the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, or sooner, if possible, by the most Christian King, to those who have a commission from the Queen of Great Britain for that purpose. . . . Moreover, it shall not be lawful for the subjects of France to fortify any place in the said island of Newfoundland, or to erect any buildings there, besides stages made of boards, and huts necessary and usual for drying of fish; or to resort to the said island, beyond the time necessary for fishing, and drying of fish. But it shall be allowed to the subjects of France to catch fish, and to dry them on land, in that part only, and in no other besides that, of the said island of Newfoundland, which stretches from the place called Cape Bonavista to the northern point of the said island, and from thence running down by the western side, reaches as far as the place called Point Riche. But the island called Cape Breton, as also all others, both in the mouth of the river of St. Lawrence, and in the gulph of the same name, shall hereafter belong of right to the French, and the most Christian King shall have all manner of liberty to fortify any place or places there.
XIV. It is expressly provided, that in all the said places and colonies to be yielded and restored by the most Christian King, in pursuance of this treaty, the subjects of the said King may have liberty to remove themselves, within a year, to any other place, as they shall think fit, together with all their moveable effects. But those who are willing to remain there, and to be subject to the Kingdom of Great Britain, are to enjoy the free exercise of their religion, according to the usage of the church of Rome, as far as the laws of Great Britain do allow the same.
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Chicago: "Treaty of Utrecht," Collection of Treaties in Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, ed. William MacDonald (1863-1938) (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1916), 94–95. Original Sources, accessed April 11, 2025, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=9SGDZHJ6FSQA8TP.
MLA: . "Treaty of Utrecht." Collection of Treaties, Vol. I, in Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, edited by William MacDonald (1863-1938), New York, The Macmillan Company, 1916, pp. 94–95. Original Sources. 11 Apr. 2025. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=9SGDZHJ6FSQA8TP.
Harvard: , 'Treaty of Utrecht' in Collection of Treaties. cited in 1916, Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, ed. , The Macmillan Company, New York, pp.94–95. Original Sources, retrieved 11 April 2025, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=9SGDZHJ6FSQA8TP.
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