# Treaty of Paris Returns Gorée (1763)

URL: https://allhistories.com/senegal/timeline/1763-treaty-of-paris-returns-goree
Location: Gorée, Dakar, Senegal
Themes: main-event

By the end of the Seven Years' War Britain held all the French posts in Senegal. In the peace negotiations France, which had lost Canada and much of its empire, sought to recover at least a foothold in West Africa to supply its Caribbean plantations with enslaved labour. Under the Treaty of Paris, signed on 10 February 1763, Britain returned Gorée to France but retained Saint-Louis and the Senegal River trade. France thus kept only the small island off Cap-Vert, together with its trading rights on the Petite Côte at Rufisque, Portudal and Joal, and its post of Albreda on the Gambia. Gorée became the capital of what remained of French Senegal and grew in importance as a commercial and slave-trading centre. The division separated the two Senegalese islands for sixteen years and encouraged the growth of Gorée's merchant community, including its signares. The settlement proved temporary: France used the next war against Britain to recover Saint-Louis in 1779. For Senegalese rulers along the coast, the change mainly meant dealing with two competing European powers, which they could sometimes play off against each other. At this point in the timeline (10 February 1763), the British Governor of Senegal (Senegambia) was John Barnes (10 February 1763 – 25 May 1765); the King of Great Britain and Ireland was George III (25 October 1760 – 11 February 1779); the Damel of Cayor was Dyor Yaasin Isa Fall (1763–1766).

## Why it matters
The treaty split French Senegal, leaving Gorée as France's only base until 1779.

Ruler at the Time: [John Barnes](https://allhistories.com/senegal/rulers/gov-john-barnes)

King of Great Britain and Ireland: George III
Damel of Cayor: Dyor Yaasin Isa Fall

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Treaty of Paris (1763)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1763))
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Treaty of Paris 1763](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Treaty+of+Paris+1763)
- [UNESCO World Heritage — Island of Gorée](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/26)
- [Wikipedia — Wolof And Serer Kingdoms And The Atlantic Trade (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cayor)