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In the search to end the War
of Spanish Succession a preliminary agreement which was
reached in London in 1711 which resulted in the meeting
of a congress at Utrecht by Great Britain, France,
Savoy, Portugal, Prussia, the Dutch Republic and Spain
in January of 1812.
The Treaty of Utrecht was
signed in 1713 and brought to an end the War of Spanish
Succession between England and France. The immediate
aims of Britain were achieved when the France were
driven from the Spanish Netherlands and Italy, and the
crowns of Spain and France would not be united. France
needed the peace to regroup and reformulate it's
strategy. The English were also exhausted and took
advantage of the opportunity to secure the most
advantageous terms possible.
The stipulations of the
treaty as they related to North America were a severe
setback for France. France agreed to give up all of it's
claims to the areas around the Hudson Bay, Newfoundland,
and Acadia. The treaty did allow France to retain
certain fishing rights in Newfoundland and the exact
extent of the Hudson Bay lands were not defined.
Although both England and France were agreeable to
peace, the outstanding issues were to lead to a renewal
of hostilities with the war of Austrian Succession and
which would cumulated in the Seven Years War.
The French immediately began
construction of the fortress of Louisbourg on Cape
Breton Island as protection for its St Lawrence River
empire. |
