Hôtel de Crillon - Paris, France
Posted by: 
Outspoken1
N 48° 52.033 E 002° 19.259
31U E 450203 N 5412917
The first treaties signed by the USA were at Hôtel de Crillon, who was still at war with the British Empire, was signed in this prestigious hotel (built in 1758 by King Louis XV). France's support was critical to help the USA win their independence.
Waymark Code: WM15MAM
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 01/20/2022
Views: 5
"On 6 February 1778, the building was the venue where the newly founded United States and France signed their first treaties. Americans Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane and Arthur Lee met French diplomat Conrad Alexandre Gérard de Rayneval to conclude the French-American treaty that recognised the Declaration of Independence of the United States and a trade agreement." (from (
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"The capture of a British army at Saratoga encouraged the French to formally enter the war in support of Congress, and Benjamin Franklin negotiated a permanent military alliance in early 1778; France thus became the first foreign nation to officially recognize the Declaration of Independence. On February 6, 1778, the United States and France signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance. William Pitt spoke out in Parliament urging Britain to make peace in America and to unite with America against France, while British politicians who had sympathized with colonial grievances now turned against the Americans for allying with Britain's rival and enemy.
The Spanish and the Dutch became allies of the French in 1779 and 1780 respectively, forcing the British to fight a global war without major allies and requiring it to slip through a combined blockade of the Atlantic. Britain began to view the American war for independence as merely one front in a wider war, and the British chose to withdraw troops from America to reinforce the British colonies in the Caribbean, which were under threat of Spanish or French invasion. British commander Sir Henry Clinton evacuated Philadelphia and returned to New York City. General Washington intercepted him in the Battle of Monmouth Court House, the last major battle fought in the north. After an inconclusive engagement, the British retreated to New York City. The northern war subsequently became a stalemate, as the focus of attention shifted to the smaller southern theater." (excerpted from (
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