Treaty of Hartford

The term Treaty of Hartford applies to three historic agreements negotiated at Hartford, Connecticut. The 1638 treaty divided the spoils of the Pequot War. The 1650 treaty defined a border between the Dutch New Amsterdam and English settlers in Connecticut. In the 1786 treaty New York and Massachusetts reached an agreement on their western land claims.

The 1786 treaty

The colonial charters for New York and Massachusetts both described their boundaries as extending westward to the Pacific Ocean, but used distances from coastal rivers as their baselines, and thus both could claim the same land. The area in dispute included all of western New York State west of Seneca Lake, extending all the way to the Niagara River and Lake Erie, and from the shore of Lake Ontario to the Pennsylvania border. New York and Massachusetts agreed to divide the rights in question. Massachusetts obtained the pre-emptive rights to about 6 million acres (24,000 km²), that is, the right to pre-empt anyone else from obtaining title to such lands from the Indian tribes. The states also agreed that the land in question would be governed as a part of New York State. In 1788 the pre-emptive rights to all six million acres (24,000 km²) was sold by Massachusetts to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham for $1,000,000, payable in specie or in certain Massachusetts securities then trading at about 20 cents on the dollar. The money used to repay some of the state's debt from the Revolutionary War. See also: Phelps and Gorham Purchase, Holland Land Company, The Holland Purchase, The Morris Reserve and The Pulteney Association.

Related Topics:
Pacific Ocean - Western New York - Seneca Lake - Niagara River - Lake Erie - Lake Ontario - Pennsylvania - 1788 - Oliver Phelps - Nathaniel Gorham - Revolutionary War - Phelps and Gorham Purchase - Holland Land Company - The Holland Purchase - The Morris Reserve - The Pulteney Association

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Similar western boundary issues involving these and other states were resolved by the Northwest Ordinance passed by the Continental Congress in July of 1787.

Related Topics:
Northwest Ordinance - Continental Congress - 1787

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