Haldimand Affair

The Haldimand Affair (also called the Haldimand or Vermont Negotiations) was a series of negotiations conducted in the early 1780s (late in the American Revolutionary War) between Frederick Haldimand, the British governor of the Province of Quebec, his agents, and several people representing the independent Vermont Republic.

Vermonters had been battling Indian raids, sponsored by the British, and engaged in a long-running dispute with New York State over jurisdiction of the territory. At issue was Vermont officially rejoining the British Empire. Just as Haldimand offered generous terms for reunion in 1781, the British army surrendered after the Battle of Yorktown. Vermont, surrounded on three sides by American territory, rejected the British overtures and successfully negotiated terms to re-enter the United States as the 14th state in March 1791. The secret nature of the negotiations, which excluded significant portions of Vermont's political power structure, has led to accusations of treason against some of the negotiators, notably Ethan Allen.