Treaty of Amiens

The Treaty of Amiens was signed on March 25, 1802 (Germinal 4, year X in the French Revolutionary Calendar) by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquis Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace" between France and Britain.

Together with the Treaty of Lunéville (1801) the treaty of Amiens marked the end of the Second Coalition[?]. The British had been alone since the withdrawal of the Austrians but Nelson's victory at Copenhagen (April 2, 1801) halted the creation of the league of armed neutrality and Napoleon's reverses in Egypt led to a ceasefire (October) and negotiations. The British negotiators were led by Robert Jenkinson, Lord Liverpool.

The treaty, beyond confirming "peace, friendship, and good understanding" arranged for the restoration of prisoners and hostages; Britain gave up much of the West Indies to the Batavian Republic and also withdrew from Egypt but was granted Trinidad and Tobago and Ceylon; France withdrew from the Papal States; it fixed the borders of French Guinea; Malta, Gozo, and Comino were restored to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and the islands were declared neutral. Various other minor issues were also resolved.

The treaty did not last. Napoleon's forces continued to operate in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, the French annexed Piedmont in 1802, occupied Hannover in 1803 and assumed control of the new Swiss Federation. While Britain remained in control of Malta, openly refusing to leave in March 1803. The treaty provided no more than a brief lull in active hostilities. Britain revoked the treaty and renewed the conflict officially from May 18, 1803.