Defined the colonial border between France and Spain on Hispaniola, granting Spain territorial gains in the Artibonite Valley.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 3 June 1777
- Signing venue
- Aranjuez Palace, near Madrid
- Island divided
- Santo Domingo (Hispaniola), Caribbean Sea
- Spain's territorial gain
- Upper Artibonite Valley, middle section of island
- Border demarcation method
- Border stones
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
France and Spain jointly occupied the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, but lacked a formally defined colonial border. The ambiguity over territorial limits in the central regions, particularly the Artibonite Valley, created a need for a diplomatic resolution to clarify each power's sovereign jurisdiction over its respective portion of the island.
On 3 June 1777, France and Spain signed the Treaty of Aranjuez at Aranjuez Palace near Madrid. The agreement formally delimited the border between their respective colonies on Hispaniola, with Spain securing substantial gains in the upper Artibonite Valley. The new boundary was to be physically marked by border stones along the agreed line.
The treaty established a clearer legal frontier between the French colony of Saint-Domingue and the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo on Hispaniola. Spain's acquisition of the upper Artibonite Valley represented a concrete territorial gain. The agreement was one of several diplomatic accords concluded at Aranjuez; a separate 1779 treaty at the same palace later brought Spain into the American War of Independence.
Political Outcome
Colonial border on Hispaniola formally delimited; Spain gained the upper Artibonite Valley; boundary to be marked by border stones.
Undefined colonial border between French and Spanish territories on Hispaniola
Formally demarcated border with Spain holding the upper Artibonite Valley