feb 15, 1815 - Treaty of Ghent

Description:

Bilateral peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now Belgium). The treaty restored relations between the two nations to status quo ante bellum, restoring the borders of the two countries to the lines before the war started in June 1812.

The treaty released all prisoners and restored all captured lands and ships. Returned to the United States were approximately 10,000,000 acres (4,000,000 ha; 40,000 km2) of territory, near Lakes Superior and Michigan and in Maine. American-held areas of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) were returned to British control, and the American-held territory in Spanish Florida taken from Britain and officially-neutral Spain were returned to Spanish control. The treaty thus made no changes to the prewar boundaries.

The British promised to return the freed slaves that they had taken. However, a few years later, in 1826, Britain instead paid the United States US$1,204,960 (equivalent to $26,682,776 in 2018) for them. Both nations also promised to work towards an ending of the international slave trade.