Borders fixed by international law
The Treaty of Paris recognizes the United States. Spain holds most of the Americas west of the Mississippi, and the Mughal Empire is fragmenting as the East India Company expands.
Explore 1783 on the mapAreas calculated from the map outlines (≈). Share of Earth's land area including Antarctica.
| # | State or people | Area | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russian Empire | 16,040,022 km² (6,193,087 sq mi) | 10.8% |
| 2 | Qing Empire | 12,156,250 km² (4,693,555 sq mi) | 8.2% |
| 3 | Viceroyalty of Brazil | 8,105,424 km² (3,129,522 sq mi) | 5.4% |
| 4 | Rupert's Land | 7,894,011 km² (3,047,895 sq mi) | 5.3% |
| 5 | Viceroyalty of New Spain | 4,096,266 km² (1,581,577 sq mi) | 2.8% |
| 6 | central Asian khanates | 3,420,900 km² (1,320,817 sq mi) | 2.3% |
| 7 | Louisiana (Spain) | 3,087,958 km² (1,192,267 sq mi) | 2.1% |
| 8 | Viceroyalty of New Granada | 3,086,442 km² (1,191,682 sq mi) | 2.1% |
| 9 | Ottoman Empire | 3,081,186 km² (1,189,653 sq mi) | 2.1% |
| 10 | Viceroyalty of Peru | 2,798,648 km² (1,080,564 sq mi) | 1.9% |
| 11 | Denmark-Norway | 2,540,011 km² (980,704 sq mi) | 1.7% |
| 12 | Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata | 2,356,059 km² (909,680 sq mi) | 1.6% |
Comparing the two snapshots. Some differences reflect improved mapping rather than real events, especially before 1500.
8 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Allahabad (grant of the diwani)
Victory at Plassey makes the Company the real power in Bengal. Eight years later the Mughal emperor formally grants it the right to collect the province's revenue.
See it on the 1783 map3 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Paris (1763)
Quebec falls in 1759 and Montreal surrenders in 1760. France formally cedes Canada at the end of the Seven Years' War.
See it on the 1783 mapAgreed 7 years before control changed hands · Treaty of Fontainebleau (confirmed 1763)
The transfer was signed in 1762, but Spain only took effective control of New Orleans in 1769. Spain secretly returned Louisiana to France in 1800, just before the Louisiana Purchase.
See it on the 1783 map23 years from control to formal recognition · Third Partition treaties
Russia, Prussia and Austria split the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in three steps (1772, 1793, 1795). The first two were forced through the Polish parliament; the third erased the state. Poland only reappears in 1918.
See it on the 1783 map7 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Paris (1783)
Britain recognizes independence, with a western border on the Mississippi River.
See it on the 1783 map