The Treaty of Paris, yay!

It's interesting to think of the American Revolution as one of several European wars that spanned the 18th century. On September 3, 1783, representatives of Great Britain and the new United States signed the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended our War of Independence and recognized the Thirteen Colonies as a new nation. The signing involved British North America (Canada), setting boundaries, and included peace treaties among Great Britain and France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic--the latter three of which had supported the colonists. Famously, artist Benjamin West commemorated the occasion with his painting "The Treaty of Paris." He was able to portray the American delegation--John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin--but the British party refused to pose. So the paining remained as it is.