The French and American Shores Question

These documents trace the origin, evolution, and extinction of French and American fishing rights in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Treaty of Utrecht, 1713

By which France ceded its claim to Newfoundland, with the exception of fishing rights along the coast from Cape Bonavista to Pointe Riche.

Treaty of Paris, 1763

Treaty ending the Seven Years War by which French fishing rights, guaranteed by the Treaty of Utrecht, were reaffirmed; St.-Pierre and Miquelon were returned to France by Britain; and Spain renounced its claims to the Newfoundland fisheries.

Treaty of Paris, 1783

Treaty ending the American Revolutionary War, which granted American fishermen the right to use unoccupied harbours along the "American Shore" of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Treaty of Versailles, 1783

Redrew the limits of the French Shore.

The London Convention, 1818

Reaffirmed the rights of American fishermen under the Treaty of Versailles, 1783, after the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States.

London Convention, 1904

By which France gave up its fishing privileges on the French Shore in return for compensation and territorial gains in Africa.

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