<P> This treaty and the separate peace treaties between Great Britain and the nations that supported the American cause--France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic--are known collectively as the Peace of Paris . Only Article 1 of the treaty, which acknowledges the United States' existence as free, sovereign, and independent states, remains in force . </P> <P> Peace negotiations began in April 1782, and continued through the summer . Representing the United States were Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and John Adams . David Hartley and Richard Oswald represented Great Britain . The treaty was signed at the Hotel d'York (at present 56 Rue Jacob) in Paris on September 3, 1783, by Adams, Franklin, Jay, and Hartley . </P> <P> Regarding the American Treaty, the key episodes came in September 1782, when French Foreign Minister Vergennes proposed a solution that was strongly opposed by his ally, the United States . France was exhausted by the war, and everyone wanted peace except for Spain, which insisted on continuing the war until it could capture Gibraltar from the British . Vergennes came up with the deal that Spain would accept instead of Gibraltar . The United States would gain its independence but be confined to the area east of the Appalachian Mountains . Britain would take the area north of the Ohio River . In the area south of that would be set up an independent Indian state under Spanish control . It would be an Indian barrier state . </P> <P> However, the Americans realized that they could get a better deal directly from London . John Jay promptly told the British that he was willing to negotiate directly with them, cutting off France and Spain . The British Prime Minister Lord Shelburne agreed . He was in charge of the British negotiations (some of which took place in his study at Lansdowne House, now a bar in the Lansdowne Club) and he now saw a chance to split the United States away from France and make the new country a valuable economic partner . The western terms were that the United States would gain all of the area east of the Mississippi River, north of Florida, and south of Canada . The northern boundary would be almost the same as today . The United States would gain fishing rights off Canadian coasts, and agreed to allow British merchants and Loyalists to try to recover their property . It was a highly favorable treaty for the United States, and deliberately so from the British point of view . Prime Minister Shelburne foresaw highly profitable two - way trade between Britain and the rapidly growing United States, as indeed came to pass . </P>

Who negotiated the extremely popular treaty with spain