Wednesday, April 13, 2005
The "first salute" kerfuffle
I wanted to come to Morocco first because of the importance of our relationship. Morocco was the first country to recognize the US when we became a nation. There is a very long history of cooperation and support between American and Moroccan people.
Now there's a factoid I did not know, but it is indeed backed up by plenty of web-tradition and, for all I know, actual history. Myrtus, who should know, does not dispute Morocco's claim and supplementally observes that Holland was the first country to recognize Morocco as a nation.
To which I ask, what about the "first salute"?
Since 1982, when I saw Queen Beatrix speak at Princeton, I had understood that Holland was the first country to recognize the United States. On November 16, 1776, Dutch forces on the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius returned the salute of the American brig-of-war "Andrew Doria," thereby making the Netherlands the first country to officially salute the flag of the newly-independent United States (never minding that the Dutch governor was not familiar with our flag of rebellion). Barbara Tuchman even wrote a book about it (which I own, but alas have not read).
But wait, there's more. The Dutch embassy web site goes on to claim that "the Netherlands became the first country in the world to recognize formal diplomatic relations with the United States in 1782" (a point I believe the Queen also made 23 years ago on a blustery April day in the courtyard between the chapel and McCosh Hall). According to the Dutch, they were first no matter how you look at it.
So what's with Morocco's claim? Wikipedia has this to say:
Morocco was the first nation to recognize the fledging American republic in 1777 and has the oldest non-broken friendship treaty with the country, the Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship, which has been in effect since 1783. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were the American signatories. The United States legation (embassy) in Tangier, is the first property the US owned abroad. It now houses the Tangier american legation museum.
There is no mention that the Moroccans sent an ambassador to the United States.
It appears, therefore, that the Dutch governor of St. Eustatius beat the Moroccans to the punch, insofar as his salute was technical recognition of the American republic a mere four months after the Declaration of Independance, but that the Dutch and their Queen (and I run some risk of lese majeste here) are relying on a technicality -- the exchange of ambassadors -- to support their claim that they were the first to achieve "formal diplomatic relations" with the United States. The Moroccans were the first to recognize the United States in a treaty and to allow American consular facilities on their soil, even if the Dutch were the first (in 1782) to install an ambassador in the United States.
For my part, I'm just thrilled that Morocco and the Netherlands still feel the urge to make the claim that they are our most stalwart allies.
6 Comments:
By 
Charlottesvillain, at
Wed Apr 13, 10:31:00 AM:
I must protest. This hardly constitutes a kerfuffle.
By Myrtus, at
Wed Apr 13, 07:24:00 PM:
OMG THANK YOU, TigerHawk! Awesome job, man! I absolutely have nothing to add to it, so I'm linking. (:
By 
, at
Fri Apr 15, 02:39:00 PM:
The Treaty of Friendship between the U.S. and Morocco was not signed until 23 June 1786 and not ratified by Congress until 18 July 1787.
As for Morocco's "recognition" in 1777, remember that until July 1789, there was no State Department, so the men representing Congress to the outside world were simply "agents." There were thus no embassies or consulates.
here is the relevant infor from the U.S. Department of State webpage:
"U.S.-MOROCCAN RELATIONS
Moroccans recognized the Government of the United States in 1777. Formal U.S. relations with Morocco date from 1787, when the two nations negotiated a Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Renegotiated in 1836, the treaty is still in force, constituting the longest unbroken treaty relationship in U.S. history. As testament to the special nature of the U.S.-Moroccan relationship, Tangier is home to the oldest U.S. diplomatic property in the world, and the only building on foreign soil that is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the American Legation in Tangier (now a museum)."
Here is the same for the not-very-helpful Netherlands section:
"The U.S. partnership with the Netherlands is one of its oldest continuous relationships and dates back to the American Revolution. The excellent bilateral relations are based on close historical and cultural ties as well as a common dedication to individual freedom and human rights. The Netherlands shares with the United States a liberal economic outlook and is firmly committed to free trade. The United States attaches great value to its strong economic and commercial ties with the Dutch. The Netherlands is the third-largest direct foreign investor in the United States, and the United States is the largest direct foreign investor in the Netherlands."
By , at
Fri Oct 12, 06:18:00 AM:
It is very interesting to know such information. I never paid attention on this fact before.
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By , at
Thu Jun 11, 08:51:00 AM:
I had the honor to serve in The Netherlands and to be presented to Queen Beatrix. I'm happy that Morocco entered into a treaty and was AMONG the first to recognize the USA. Not only was The Netherlands the first by recognition, but also accepted our Ambassador, John Adams for the purpose of negotiating loans-funds that helped to save our fledgling nation.
J. Laurence Eisenberg
