Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814
TypeBilateral treaty
Signed13 August 1814; 209 years ago (1814-08-13)
Signatories
Full text
Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 at Wikisource

The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 (also known as the Convention of London; Dutch: Verdrag van Londen) was signed by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands in London on 13 August 1814.

The treaty restored most of the territories in the Moluccas and Java that Britain had seized in the Napoleonic Wars, but confirmed British possession of the Cape Colony on the southern tip of Africa, as well as portions of Dutch Guiana in South America. It was signed by Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, on behalf of the British and diplomat Hendrik Fagel, on behalf of the Dutch.[1]

Terms

Possessions

The treaty returned the colonial possessions of the Dutch as they were at 1 January 1803, before the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars in the Americas, Africa, and Asia, with the exception of the Cape of Good Hope and the South American settlements of Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice, where the Dutch retained trading rights.[2]

In addition, the British ceded the island of Banca off the island of Sumatra in exchange for the settlement of Cochin in India and its dependencies on the coast of Malabar. The Dutch also ceded the district of Bernagore, situated close to Calcutta, in exchange for an annual fee.

Cooperation

The treaty also noted a declaration of 15 June 1814 by the Dutch, that ships for the slave trade were no longer permitted in British ports. That restriction would be extended to a ban on involvement in the slave trade by Dutch citizens. Britain also agreed to pay £1,000,000 to Sweden to resolve a claim to the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.[3]

The British and the Dutch agreed to spend £2,000,000 each on improving the defences of the Low Countries.[4] More funds, of up to £3,000,000,[5] are mentioned for the "final and satisfactory settlement of the Low Countries in union with Holland."[6]

Disputes arising from the treaty were the subject of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Wright 1950, pp. 229–239.
  2. ^ Robson 1931, p. 198.
  3. ^ Robson 1931, pp. 200–204.
  4. ^ Robson 1931, p. 200.
  5. ^ Robson 1931, pp. 213–214.
  6. ^ Muller 1935, p. 562.

Bibliography

  • Muller, H. (December 1935). "The Acquisition of Cape Colony by the British". The Geographical Journal. 86 (6): 561–562. JSTOR 1786285.
  • Robson, W. H. (June 1931). "New Light on Lord Castlereagh's Diplomacy". The Journal of Modern History. 3 (2): 198–218. doi:10.1086/235722. JSTOR 1871714. S2CID 144543785.
  • Worsfold, W. B. (1897). South Africa: a study in colonial administration and development. London: Methuen & Co. OCLC 679893341.
  • Wright, H. R. C. (1950). "The Anglo-Dutch Dispute in the East, 1814–1824". Economic History Review. 3 (2): 229–239. JSTOR 2590770.
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