1791-Spring: Spain and Holland entered into a formal convention for the mutual return of deserters and fugitives in their American colonies.

1791-Spring: Spain and Holland entered into a formal convention for the mutual return of deserters and fugitives in their American colonies. This agreement was specifically designed to cut off communication between Puerto Rico, western Venezuela, and Dutch territories like Curaçao. Both governments were moved by reiterated complaints regarding the high frequency of desertion between their respective islands. The Convention of 1791 signaled an era of inter-imperial cooperation aimed at stabilizing the regional slave system. It effectively ended the tradition of using rival colonial borders as a primary escape route for the enslaved.