Treaty of Paris (1814)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 May 1814, ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars, following an armistice signed on 23 April between Charles, Count of Artois, and the allies.[1] The treaty set the borders for France under the House of Bourbon and restored territories to other nations. It is sometimes called the First Peace of Paris, as another one followed in 1815.
For other treaties of Paris, see Treaty of Paris (disambiguation).Type
This treaty was signed on 30 May 1814, following an armistice signed on 23 April 1814 between Charles of Bourbon, Count of Artois, as Lieutenant General of the Realm, and the allies.[1] Napoleon had abdicated as Emperor on 6 April, as a result of negotiations at Fontainebleau.
Peace talks had started on 9 May between Talleyrand, who negotiated with the allies of Chaumont on behalf of the exiled Bourbon king Louis XVIII of France, and the allies. The Treaty of Paris established peace between France and Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, who in March had defined their common war aim in Chaumont.[2] Signatories were:
The Treaty was also signed by Portugal and Sweden while Spain ratified shortly after in July.[4] The allied parties did not sign a common document, but instead concluded separate treaties with France allowing for specific amendments.[4]
Plan for Congress of Vienna[edit]
In addition to the cessation of hostilities, the treaty provided a rough draft of a final settlement, which according to article 32 was to be concluded within the next two months at a congress involving all belligerents of the Napoleonic Wars.[5] This provision resulted in the Congress of Vienna, held between September 1814 and June 1815.[6]
The Allies declared that their aim was to establish a lasting peace based on a just distribution of forces among the powers, and considered it not necessary to impose harsh conditions on France as she had been restored to a monarchy.[3]
Thus the preliminary conditions already agreed in Paris were moderate for France so as not to disturb the re-enthronement of the returned Bourbon king: France's borders of 1 June 1792 were confirmed, and in addition, she was allowed to retain Saarbrücken, Saarlouis, Landau, the County of Montbéliard, part of Savoy with Annecy and Chambéry, also Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin as well as artifacts acquired during the war, while on the other hand she had to cede several colonies.[2]
To distinguish this agreement from a second treaty of Paris, concluded on 20 November 1815 as one of the treaties amending Vienna,[7] the treaty of 30 May 1814 is sometimes referred to as the First Peace of Paris.[2][5]
Territories of other nations[edit]
The treaty reapportioned several territories amongst various countries. Most notably, France retained all European territory that it possessed on 1 January 1792 and also reacquired many of the territories lost to Britain during the war. They included Guadeloupe (Art. IX), which had been ceded to Sweden by Britain when it entered the coalition. In return, Sweden was compensated 24 million francs, which gave rise to the Guadeloupe Fund. The only exceptions were Tobago, Saint Lucia, Seychelles and Mauritius, all of which were handed over to British control. Britain kept sovereignty over the island of Malta (Art. VII).[8]
The treaty returned to Spain the territory of Santo Domingo, which had been transferred to France by the 1795 Peace of Basel (Art. VIII). The Peace of Basel had implicitly recognised French sovereignty over Saint-Domingue, which Dessalines later proclaimed independent under the name of Haiti. France did not recognize the independence of Haiti until 1824.[9][10][11]
This treaty formally recognized the independence of Switzerland (Art. VI).[12]
House of Bourbon[edit]
The treaty recognised the Bourbon monarchy in France, in the person of Louis XVIII, because the treaty was between Louis XVIII the king of France and the heads of states of the Coalition great powers (Preamble to the treaty).
Slave trade and slavery[edit]
The treaty aimed to abolish the French slave trade in France (but not slavery) over a five-year period (Additional Art. I). The territories of France were not included in this aim. This aim was also included in the succeeding 1815 treaty, applying to all parties, but with "without loss of time" rather than by a given date.
