Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years' War in North America

Background. The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) pitted Great Britain and Prussia against France and Austria, with Spain joining the French side in 1762 after the Third Family Compact. Britain declared war on Spain on 4 January 1762, and Spain lost Havana and Manila to Britain. Lord Bute, rising to British prime minister in 1762, pushed for peace, fearing Britain could not govern its newly acquired territories.

Terms and Territorial Exchanges. The treaty involved a complex series of land exchanges: France ceded Louisiana to Spain and the rest of New France to Great Britain. Britain also forced France to accept the 1713 conditions and demolish fortifications built since then. The transfer of Louisiana had been agreed in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, though it was not publicly announced until 1764.

Consequences. Although Spain's captured possessions were returned under the treaty, France lost its North American possessions while Britain established commercial dominance in India. The eclipse of French power helped provoke Pontiac's War in 1763, and the ban on settlement beyond the Appalachians, possibly alongside the treaty's disappointments, may have contributed to the American Revolution.