(French and Indian War) | The end of the French and Indian War

(French and Indian War)

Traité de Paix entre le Roi, le Roi d'Espagne et le Roi de la Grande-Bretagne, Conclu à Paris le 10 Février 1763; Avec l’Accession du Roi de Portugal. Paris: De L’Imprimerie Royale, 1763

4to (254 x 190 mm). Woodcut vignette on title-page, woodcut headpiece on A2; occasional faint marginal foxing. Contemporary French red crushed morocco, triple-filleted border, smooth spine gilt with gilt crest and fleur-de-lys designs, gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, edges gilt.

First edition, the official French printing of a milestone in the political history of eighteenth-century North America. The 1763 treaty concluded the Seven Years’ or French and Indian War, marking an end of France as a power in North America that culminated in a major shift in the balance of power on the continent. France’s diminution occasioned the opportunity for expansion of the British colonies over the Alleghenies. By terms of the treaty all of Canada except two small islands off Newfoundland was ceded to England, as were all French claims east of the Mississippi and south of the Ohio. All of Louisiana was ceded to Spain, and France’s New World holdings were reduced to several Caribbean islands including Martinique, Guadeloupe, and several smaller islands. At the same time, east and west Florida were transferred from Spain to England, which also received the Grenadines and Dominica. Rare: only one copy (Streeter) has sold at auction since 1967.

REFERENCE

Celebration of My Country 35; Howes D2134; Davenport 150; Revolutionary Hundred 1; Sabin 19275; Servies 433; Streeter sale 3;1026

PROVENANCE

“PAW” (Monogram ticket on front pastedown)