<P> Britain negotiated separate treaties with Spain, France, and the Dutch Republic . Gibraltar proved to be a stumbling block in the peace talks; Spain offered to relinquish their conquests in West Florida, Menorca, and the Bahamas in exchange for Gibraltar, terms which Shelburne steadfastly refused . Shelburne instead offered to cede East Florida, West Florida, and Menorca if Spain would relinquish the claim on Gibraltar, terms which were reluctantly accepted . However, in the long - term, the new territorial gains were of little value to Spain . France's only net gains were the island of Tobago in the Caribbean and Senegal in Africa, after agreeing to return all other colonial conquests to British sovereignty . Britain returned Dutch Caribbean territories to Dutch sovereignty, in exchange for free trade rights in the Dutch East Indies and control of the Indian port of Negapatnam . </P> <P> Preliminary peace articles were signed in Paris on 30 November 1782, while preliminaries between Britain, Spain, France, and the Netherlands continued until September 1783 . The United States Congress of the Confederation ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784 . Copies were sent back to Europe for ratification by the other parties involved, the first reaching France in March 1784 . British ratification occurred on April 9, 1784, and the ratified versions were exchanged in Paris on May 12, 1784 . The war formally concluded on September 3, 1783 . </P> <P> The last British troops departed New York City on November 25, 1783, marking the end of British rule in the new United States . </P> <P> The total loss of life throughout the conflict is largely unknown . As was typical in wars of the era, diseases such as smallpox claimed more lives than battle . Between 1775 and 1782, a smallpox epidemic broke out throughout North America, killing 40 people in Boston alone . Historian Joseph Ellis suggests that Washington's decision to have his troops inoculated against the disease was one of his most important decisions . </P>

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