Treaty of London: preliminary peace between France and Britain
- When
- 1801
- Where
- London
- Episodes
- 1
The Treaty of London established preliminary peace between the French First Republic and the United Kingdom in late 1801. Negotiations began in mid-1801 between Otto and Hawkesbury, leading to the signing of preliminaries in London. This agreement paved the way for the definitive Treaty of Amiens in 1802, temporarily ending hostilities between France and Britain.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. The French First Republic, founded in 1792, was engaged in war with Europe until 1802. The Treaty of Amiens, which followed the London preliminaries, temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom. The French Consulate era began in 1799, setting the stage for diplomatic efforts to secure peace.
Negotiations. Otto, acting under detailed instructions from Bonaparte, engaged in negotiations with Hawkesbury in mid-1801. The Treaty of Amiens source reports that preliminaries were signed in London on 1 October 1801, while the legacy record dates the signing to 30 September 1801; the two dates remain unreconciled. The agreement was a step towards the definitive Treaty of Amiens, signed in 1802 by Joseph Bonaparte and Charles Cornwallis.
Significance. The Treaty of Amiens marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Second Coalition. It was the only period of general peace in Europe between 1793 and 1814. Under the treaty, Britain recognized the French Republic, although the peace lasted only until 1803.
People involved
- Otto · French negotiator
- Hawkesbury · British negotiator
- Joseph Bonaparte · Signatory of Treaty of Amiens
- Charles Cornwallis · Signatory of Treaty of Amiens
Sources
- Treaty of Amiens Wikipedia
- French First Republic Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-12
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.