- Amiens, Treaty of
- (1802)A treaty of peace concluded between Britain and France on March 25, 1802, bringing an end to the series of conflicts known as the French Revolutionary Wars. The terms of the treaty were more favorable toward France. France agreed to restore the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples) and the Papal States to their legitimate rulers but was able to retain Nice, Savoy, Piedmont, and the German territories taken on the left bank of the Rhine since 1792. Britain agreed to restore the Cape Colony in southern Africa to Holland, a French ally; Malta to the Knights of St. John, from whom Napoleon had seized the island in 1798; Tobago to Spain, another French ally; Martinique to France; and Demerara, Berbice, and Curaçao to the Dutch. In return, Britain retained only the former Spanish colony of Trinidad in the West Indies and the former Dutch possession of Ceylon in the Indian Ocean. The French made vague promises to restore or compensate the Kings of Piedmont and the Netherlands and gave general assurances that previous treaties with continental powers would be honored. Both sides viewed the peace as little more than a truce, and war resumed only 14 months later.See also <
>; < >. FURTHER READING:Grainger, John D. The Amiens Truce: Britain and Bonaparte, 1801-1803. Rochester, NY: Boydell Press, 2004.GREGORY FREMONT-BARNES
Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914. 2014.