President John Quincy Adams
The Adams-Onís Treaty
Treaty of Amity, Settlement, and Limits Between the United
States of America and His Catholic Majesty. 1819 1
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 Onís,
Gonzales, 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 I
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 II
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 III
The boundary-line between the two countries, west of the Mississippi, shall begin
on the Gulph[sic] 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 Melish'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 IV
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 V
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 VI
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 principles of the
Federal Constitution, and admitted to the enjoyment of all the privileges,
rights, and immunities of the citizens of the United States.
ARTICLE VII
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 VIII
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 IX
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. 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 1802.2
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, 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
of 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 X
The convention entered into between the two Governments, on the 11th
of August, 1802, the ratifications of which were exchanged the 21st December,
1818, is annulled.
ARTICLE XI
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 XII
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 XIII
Both contracting parties, wishing to favor 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 claimed 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 lay 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 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 XIV
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 XV
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 favor 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 XVI
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 United
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.
[L.S.]
LUIS DE Onís. [L.S.]
(1) This treaty was concluded
February 22, 1819. The ratifications were exchanged February 22, 1821, and proclaimed
February 22, 1821. By the treaty of Saint Ildefonso, made October 1, 1800, Spain
had ceded Louisiana to France and France, by the treaty of Paris, signed April
30, 1803, had ceded it to the United States. Under this treaty the United States
claimed the countries between the Iberville and the Perdido. Spain contended
that her cession to France comprehended only that territory which, at the time
of the cession, was denominated Louisiana, consisting of the island of New Orleans,
and the country which had been originally ceded to her by France west of the
Mississippi. Congress passed a joint resolution, approved January 15, 1811,
declaring that the United States, under the peculiar circumstances of the existing
crisis, could not, without serious inquietude, see any part of this disputed
territory pass into the hands of any foreign power; and that a due regard to
their own safety compelled them to provide, under certain contingencies, for
the temporary occupation of the disputed territory; they, at the same time,
declaring that the territory should, in their hands, remain subject to future
negotiation. An act of Congress, approved on the same day, authorized the President
to take possession of and occupy all or any part of the territory lying east
of the river Perdido and south of the State of Georgia and the Mississippi Territory,
in case an arrangement had been, or should be, made with the local authority
of the said territory, for delivering up the possession of the same, or any
part thereof, to the United States, or in the event of an attempt to occupy
the said territory, or any part thereof, by any foreign goverment.
2 See Thomas Jefferson - Message to the
House of December 30, 1802 Transmitting a letter from Manuel de Salcedo, Governor
of Louisiana to William Claiborne Regarding the Treaty with Spain of 1795 and
the Right of Deposit granted for three years in Article 22 of that treaty. [Note
added by the Avalon Project].
Source:
The Federal and State Constitutions Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws
of the States, Territories, and Colonies Now or Heretofore Forming the United
States of America Compiled and Edited Under the Act of Congress of June 30,
1906 by Francis Newton Thorpe Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1909.
© 1998 The Avalon Project. William
C. Fray and Lisa A. Spar, Co-Directors.