Adams–Onís Treaty
The Adams–Onís Treaty (Spanish: Tratado de Adams-Onís) of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty, the Spanish Cession, the Florida Purchase Treaty, or the Florida Treaty, was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined the boundary between the U.S. and Mexico (New Spain). It settled a standing border dispute between the two countries and was considered a triumph of American diplomacy. It came during the successful Spanish American wars of independence against Spain.
| Treaty of Amity, Settlement and Limits between the United States of America, and His Catholic Majesty | |
|---|---|
Map showing results of the Adams–Onís Treaty. | |
| Type | Bilateral treaty |
| Context | Territorial cession |
| Signed | February 22, 1819 |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Effective | February 22, 1821 |
| Expiry | April 14, 1903 |
| Parties |
|
| Citations | 8 Stat. 252; TS 327; 11 Bevans 528; 3 Miller 3 |
| Languages | English, Spanish |
| Terminated by the treaty of friendship and general relations of July 3, 1902 (33 Stat. 2105; TS 422; 11 Bevans 528). | |
Florida had become a burden to Spain, which could not afford to send settlers or man garrisons, so Madrid decided to cede the territory to the United States in exchange for settling the boundary dispute along the Sabine River in Spanish Texas. The treaty established the boundary of U.S. territory and claims through the Rocky Mountains and west to the Pacific Ocean, in exchange for Washington paying residents' claims against the Spanish government up to a total of $5 million Spanish dollarsand relinquishing the U.S. claims on parts of Spanish Texas west of the Sabine River and other Spanish areas, under the terms of the Louisiana Purchase.
The treaty remained in full effect for only 183 days: from February 22, 1821, to August 24, 1821, when Spanish military officials signed the Treaty of Córdoba acknowledging the independence of Mexico; Spain repudiated that treaty, but Mexico effectively took control of Spain's former colony. The Treaty of Limits between Mexico and the United States, signed in 1828 and effective in 1832, recognized the border defined by the Adams–Onís Treaty as the boundary between the two nations.