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Bevans, Charles, I. ed., "Adams--Onis Treaty: 1819," Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949.
AMITY, SETTLEMENT, AND LIMITS
Treaty signed at Washington February 22, 1819; Spanish instrument of ratification
Ratified by Spain October 24, 1820
Senate advice and consent to ratification February 19, 1821
Ratified by the President of the United States February 22, 1821
Ratifications exchanged at Washington February 22, 1821
Entered into force February 22, 1821
Proclaimed by the President of the United States February 22, 1821
Terminated April 14,1903, by treaty of July 3, 1902
8 Stat. 252; Treaty Series 327
TREATY OF AMITY, SETTLEMENT AND LIMITS BETWEEN THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND HIS CATHOLIC MAJESTY
The United States of America and His Catholic Majesty desiring to consolidate on
a permanent basis the friendship and good correspondence which happily prevails between
the two Parties, have determined to settle and terminate all their differences and
pretensions by a Treaty, which shall designate with precision the limits of their
respective bordering territories in North America.
With this intention the President of the United States has furnished with their full
Powers John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State of the said United States; and His Catholic
Majesty has appointed the Most Excellent Lord Don Luis de Onis, Gonsalez, Lopez y
Vara, Lord of the Town of Rayaces, Perpetual Regidor of the Corporation of the City
of Salamanca, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal American Order of Isabella, the Catholic,
decorated with the Lys of La Vendee, Knight Pensioner of the Royal and distinguished
Spanish Order of Charles the Third, Member of the Supreme Assembly of the said Royal
Order; of the Council of His Catholic Majesty; his Secretary with Exercise of Decrees,
and his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary near the United States of
America.
And the said Plenipotentiaries, after having exchanged their Powers, have agreed
upon and concluded the following Articles.
ARTICLE 1
There shall be a firm and inviolable peace and sincere friendship between the United
States and their Citizens, and His Catholic Majesty, his Successors and Subjects,
without exception of persons or places.
ARTICLE 2
His Catholic Majesty cedes to the United States, in full property and sovereignty,
all the territories which belong to him, situated to the Eastward of the Mississippi,
known by the name of East and West Florida. The adjacent Islands dependent on said
Provinces, all public lots and squares, vacant Lands, public Edifices, Fortifications,
Barracks and other Buildings, which are not private property, Archives and Documents,
which relate directly to the property and sovereignty of said Provinces, are included
in this Article. The said Archives and Documents shall be left in possession of the
Commissaries, or Officers of the United States, duly authorized to receive them.
ARTICLE 3
The Boundary Line between the two Countries, West of the Mississippi, shall begin
on the Gulph of Mexico, at the mouth of the River Sabine in the Sea, continuing North,
along the Western Bank of that River, to the 32d degree of Latitude; thence by a
Line due North to the degree of Latitude, where it strikes the Rio Roxo of Nachitoches,
or Red-River, then following the course of the Rio-Roxo Westward to the degree of
Longitude, 100 West from London and 23 from Washington, then crossing the said Red-River,
and running thence by a Line due North to the River Arkansas, thence, following the
Course of the Southern bank of the Arkansas to its source in Latitude, 42. North
and thence by that parallel of Latitude to the South-Sea. The whole being as laid
down in Melishe's Map of the United States, published at Philadelphia, improved to
the first of January 1818. But if the Source of the Arkansas River shall be found
to fall North or South of Latitude 42, then the Line shall run from the said Source
due South or North, as the case may be, till it meets the said Parallel of Latitude
42, and thence along the said Parallel to the South Sea: all the Islands in the Sabine
and the Said Red and Arkansas Rivers, throughout the Course thus described, to belong
to the United States; but the use of the Waters and the navigation of the Sabine
to the Sea, and of the said Rivers, Roxo and Arkansas, throughout the extent of the
said Boundary, on their respective Banks, shall be common to the respective inhabitants
of both Nations. The Two High Contracting Parties agree to cede and renounce all
their rights, claims and pretensions to the Territories described by the said Line:
that is to say.—The United States hereby cede to His Catholic Majesty, and renounce
forever, all their rights, claims, and pretensions to the Territories lying West
and South of the above described Line; and, in like manner, His Catholic Majesty
cedes to the said United States, all his rights, claims, and pretensions to any Territories,
East and North of the said Line, and, for himself, his heirs and successors, renounces
all claim to the said Territories forever.
ARTICLE 4
To fix this Line with more precision, and to place the Landmarks which shall designate
exactly the limits of both Nations, each of the Contracting Parties shall appoint
a Commissioner, and a Surveyor, who shall meet before the termination of one year
from the date of the Ratification of this Treaty, at Nachitoches on the Red River,
and proceed to run and mark the said Line from the mouth of the Sabine to the Red
River, and from the Red River to the River Arkansas, and to ascertain the Latitude
of the Source of the said River Arkansas, in conformity to what is above agreed upon
and stipulated, and the Line of Latitude 42. to the South Sea: they shall make out
plans and keep Journals of their proceedings, and the result agreed upon by them
shall be considered as part of this Treaty, and shall have the same force as if it
were inserted therein. The two Governments will amicably agree respecting the necessary
Articles to be furnished to those persons, and also as to their respective escorts,
should such be deemed necessary.
ARTICLE 5
The Inhabitants of the ceded Territories shall be secured in the free exercise of
their Religion, without any restriction, and all those who may desire to remove to
the Spanish Dominions shall be permitted to sell, or export their Effects at any
time whatever, without being subject, in either case, to duties.
ARTICLE 6
The Inhabitants of the Territories which His Catholic Majesty cedes to the United
States by this Treaty, shall be incorporated in the Union of the United States, as
soon as may be consistent with the principle of the Federal Constitution, and admitted
to the enjoyment of all the privileges, rights and immunities of the Citizens of
the United States.
ARTICLE 7
The Officers and Troops of His Catholic Majesty in the Territories hereby ceded by
him to the United States shall be withdrawn, and possession of the places occupied
by them shall be given within six months after the exchange of the Ratifications
of this Treaty, or sooner if possible, by the Officers of His Catholic Majesty, to
the Commissioners or Officers of the United States, duly appointed to receive them;
and the United States shall furnish the transports and escort necessary to convey
the Spanish Officers and Troops and their baggage to the Havana.
ARTICLE 8
All the grants of land made before the 24th of January 1818. by His Catholic Majesty
or by his lawful authorities in the said Territories ceded by His Majesty to the
United States, shall be ratified and confirmed to the persons in possession of the
lands, to the same extent that the same grants would be valid if the Territories
had remained under the Dominion of His Catholic Majesty. But the owners in possession
of such lands, who by reason of the recent circumstances of the Spanish Nation and
the Revolutions in Europe, have been prevented from fulfilling all the conditions
of their grants, shall complete them within the terms limited in the same respectively,
from the date of this Treaty; in default of which the said grants shall be null and
void—all grants made since the said 24th of January 1818. when the first proposal
on the part of His Catholic Majesty, for the cession of the Floridas was made, are
hereby declared and agreed to be null and void.
ARTICLE 9
The two High Contracting Parties animated with the most earnest desire of conciliation
and with the object of putting an end to all the differences which have existed between
them, and of confirming the good understanding which they wish to be forever maintained
between them, reciprocally renounce all claims for damages or injuries which they,
themselves, as well as their respective citizens and subjects may have suffered,
until the time of signing this Treaty.
The renunciation of the United States will extend to all the injuries mentioned in
the Convention of the 11th of August 1802.
2.[sic] To all claims on account of Prizes made by French Privateers, and condemned
by French consuls, within the Territory and Jurisdiction of Spain.
3. To all claims of indemnities on account of the suspension of the right of Deposit
at New Orleans in 1802.
4. To all claims of Citizens of the United States upon the Government of Spain, arising
from the unlawful seizures at Sea, and in the ports and territories of Spain or the
Spanish Colonies.
5. To all claims of Citizens of the United States upon the Spanish Government, statements
of which, soliciting the interposition of the Government of the United States have
been presented to the Department of State, or to the Minister of the United States
in Spain, since the date of the Convention of 1802, and until the signature of this
Treaty.
The renunciation of His Catholic Majesty extends,
1. To all the injuries mentioned in the Convention of the 11th of August 1802.
2. To the sums which His Catholic Majesty advanced for the return of Captain Pike
from the Provincias Internas.
3. To all injuries caused by the expedition of Miranda that was fitted out and equipped
at New York.
4. To all claims of Spanish subjects upon the Government of the United States arizing
from unlawful seizures at Sea or within the ports and territorial Jurisdiction of
the United States.
Finally, to all the claims of subjects of His Catholic Majesty upon the Government
of the United States, in which the interposition of His Catholic Majesty's Government
has been solicited before the date of this Treaty, and since the date of the Convention
of 1802, or which may have been made to the Department of Foreign Affairs of His
Majesty, or to His Minister in the United States.
And the High Contracting Parties respectively renounce all claim to indemnities for
any of the recent events or transactions of their respective Commanders and Officers,
in the Floridas.
The United States will cause satisfaction to be made for the injuries, if any, which
by process of Law, shall be established to have been suffered by the Spanish Officers,
and individual Spanish inhabitants, by the late operations of the American Army in
Florida.
ARTICLE 10
The Convention entered into between the two Governments on the 11. of August 1802,
the Ratifications of which were exchanged the 21st December 1818, is annulled.
ARTICLE 11
The United States, exonerating Spain from all demands in future, on account of the
claims of their Citizens, to which the renunciations herein contained extend, and
considering them entirely cancelled, undertake to make satisfaction for the same,
to an amount not exceeding Five Millions of Dollars. To ascertain the full amount
and validity of those claims, a Commission, to consist of three Commissioners, Citizens
of the United States, shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate; which Commission shall meet at the City of Washington,
and within the space of three years, from the time of their first meeting, shall
receive, examine and decide upon the amount and validity of all the claims included
within the descriptions above mentioned.
The said Commissioners shall take an oath or affirmation, to be entered on the record
of their proceedings, for the faithful and diligent discharge of their duties; and
in case of the death, sickness, or necessary absence of any such Commissioner, his
place may be supplied by the appointment, as aforesaid, or by the President of the
United States during the recess of the Senate, of another Commissioner in his stead.
The said Commissioners shall be authorized to hear and examine on oath every question
relative to the said claims, and to receive all suitable authentic testimony concerning
the same. And the Spanish Government shall furnish all such documents and elucidations
as may be in their possession, for the adjustment of the said claims, according to
the principles of Justice, the Laws of Nations, and the stipulations of the Treaty
between the two Parties of 27th October 1795; the said Documents to be specified,
when demanded at the instance of the said Commissioners.
The payment of such claims as may be admitted and adjusted by the said Commissioners,
or the major part of them, to an amount not exceeding Five Millions of Dollars, shall
be made by the United States, either immediately at their Treasury or by the creation
of Stock bearing an interest of Six per Cent per annum, payable from the proceeds
of Sales of public lands within the Territories hereby ceded to the United States,
or in such other manner as the Congress of the United States may prescribe by Law.
The records of the proceedings of the said Commissioners, together with the vouchers
and documents produced before them, relative to the claims to be adjusted and decided
upon by them, shall, after the close of their transactions, be deposited in the Department
of State of the United States; and copies of them or any part of them, shall be furnished
to the Spanish Government, if required, at the demand of the Spanish Minister in
the United States.
ARTICLE 12
The Treaty of Limits and Navigation of 1795. remains confirmed in all and each one
of its Articles, excepting the 2, 3, 4, 21 and the second clause of the 22d Article,
which, having been altered by this Treaty, or having received their entire execution,
are no longer valid.
With respect to the 15th Article of the same Treaty of Friendship, Limits and Navigation
of 1795, in which it is stipulated, that the Flag shall cover the property, the Two
High Contracting Parties agree that this shall be so understood with respect to those
Powers who recognize this principle; but if either of the two Contracting Parties
shall be at War with a Third Party,and the other Neutral, the Flag of the Neutral
shall cover the property of Enemies, whose Government acknowledge this principle,
and not of others.
ARTICLE 13
Both Contracting Parties, wishing to favour their mutual Commerce, by affording in
their ports every necessary Assistance to their respective Merchant Vessels, have
agreed, that the Sailors who shall desert from their Vessels in the ports of the
other, shall be arrested and delivered up, at the instance of the Consul—-who shall
prove nevertheless, that the Deserters belonged to the Vessels that claim them, exhibiting
the document that is customary in their Nation: that is to say, the American Consul
in a Spanish Port, shall exhibit the Document known by the name of Articles, and
the Spanish Consul in American Ports, the Roll of the Vessel; and if the name of
the Deserter or Deserters, who are claimed, shall appear in the one or the other,
they shall be arrested, held in custody and delivered to the Vessel to which they
shall belong.
ARTICLE 14
The United States hereby certify, that they have not received any compensation from
France for the injuries they suffered from her Privateers, Consuls, and Tribunals,
on the Coasts and in the Ports of Spain, for the satisfaction of which provision
is made by this Treaty; and they will present an authentic statement of the prizes
made, and of their true value, that Spain may avail herself of the same in such manner
as she may deem just and proper.
ARTICLE 15
The United States to give to His Catholic Majesty, a proof of their desire to cement
the relations of Amity subsisting between the two Nations, and to favour the Commerce
of the Subjects of His Catholic Majesty, agree that Spanish Vessels coming laden
only with productions of Spanish growth, or manufactures directly from the Ports
of Spain or of her Colonies, shall be admitted for the term of twelve years to the
Ports of Pensacola and St. Augustine in the Floridas, without paying other or higher
duties on their cargoes or of tonnage than will be paid by the Vessels of the United
States. During the said term no other Nation shall enjoy the same privileges within
the ceded Territories. The twelve years shall commence three months after the exchange
of the Ratifications of this Treaty.
ARTICLE 16
The present Treaty shall be ratified in due form by the Contracting Parties, and
the Ratifications shall be exchanged in Six Months from this time or sooner if possible.
In Witness whereof, We the Underwritten Plenipotentiaries of the States of America
and of His Catholic Majesty, have signed, by virtue of Our Powers, the present Treaty
of Amity, Settlement and Limits, and have thereunto affixed our Seals respectively.
Done at Washington, this Twenty-Second day of February, One Thousand Eight Hundred
and Nineteen.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS [SEAL]
LUIS DE ONIS [SEAL]
SPANISH INSTRUMENT OF RATIFICATION
[TRANSLATION]
Ferdinand the Seventh by the grace of God, and by the Constitution of the Spanish
Monarchy, King of the Spains.
Whereas on the twenty second day of February of the year one thousand eight hundred
and nineteen last past, a treaty was concluded and signed in the City of Washington
between Don Luis de Onis, my Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, and
John Quincy Adams Esquire, Secretary of State of the United States of America, competently
authorized by both parties, consisting of sixteen articles, which had for their object
the arrangement of differences, and of limits between both Governments and their
respective territories; which are of the following form and literal tenor.
[Here follows text of treaty.]
Therefore having seen and examined the sixteen articles aforesaid, and having first
obtained the consent and authority of the General Cortes of the Nation with respect
to the Cession mentioned and stipulated in the 2d and 3d articles, I approve and
ratify all and every one of the articles referred to and the clauses which are contained
in them; and in virtue of these presents I approve and ratify them; promising on
the faith and word of a King to execute and observe them, and to cause them to be
executed and observed entirely as if I myself had signed them: and that the circumstance
of having exceeded the term of six months, fixed for the exchange of the ratifications
in the 16th article may afford no obstacle in any manner; it is my deliberate will
that the present ratification be as valid and firm and produce the same effects as
if it had been done within the determined period. Desirous at the same time of avoiding
any doubt or ambiguity concerning the meaning of the 8th article of the said treaty
in respect to the date which is pointed out in it as the period for the confirmation
of the grants of lands in the Floridas, made by me or by the competent authorities
in my Royal name, which point of date was fixed in the positive understanding of
the three grants of land made in favour of the Duke of Alagon, the Count of Punonrostro,
and Don Pedro de Vargas, being annulled by its tenor; I think proper to declare that
the said three grants have remained and do remain entirely annulled and invalid;
and that neither the three individuals mentioned, nor those who may have title or
interest through them, can avail themselves of the said grants at any time or in
any manner: under which explicit declaration the said 8th article is to be understood
as ratified.
In the faith of all which I have commanded to dispatch these presents signed by my
hand, sealed with my secret seal, and countersigned by the underwritten my Secretary
of Despatch of State.
Given at Madrid the twenty fourth of October one thousand eight hundred and twenty.
FERNANDO
EVARISTO PEREZ DE CASTRO
