Jay-Gardoqui Treaty
Encyclopedia
The Jay–Gardoqui Treaty (also known as the Liberty Treaty with Spain) of 1789 between the United States
and Spain
guaranteed Spain
's exclusive right to navigate the Mississippi River
for 30 years. It also opened Spain's Europe
an and West Indian
seaports to American shipping
. However, the Treaty was not ratified under the Articles of Confederation
.
Congress commanded so little, and had so little power over the states of the Union and therefore over foreign policy, that other nations either ignored the young United States or ran roughshod over its interests with little fear of retaliation. The British ignored certain provisions of the Paris agreement and kept troops on American soil long after the peace treaty. When Spain closed the port of New Orleans to American commerce in 1784, Congress sent John Jay
to Madrid to achieve terms to open the Mississippi to Americans. Instead, Jay signed an agreement that ignored the problem of the Mississippi in exchange for commercial advantages benefiting the Northeast (the Jay–Gardoqui Treaty). Congress rejected the treaty, and the issue smoldered for ten more years. Congress also claimed lands in the west still occupied by the British and Spaniards, but could not forcefully challenge those nations for control of the land.
The American armed forces, except for state militias, over which Congress had little control, were for all practical purposes disbanded after the war. (The U.S. Army numbered less than 100 men in 1784.) For good or ill, foreign affairs would come to dominate American public life and politics between 1790 and 1815—as Europe became steeped in the wars of the French Revolution and Empire. However, even in the immediate postwar years, America carried little weight in the world despite having successfully gained its independence during the American Revolutionary War
.
United States' problems with Great Britain and Spain:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
guaranteed Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
's exclusive right to navigate the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
for 30 years. It also opened Spain's Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an and West Indian
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
seaports to American shipping
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
. However, the Treaty was not ratified under the Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution...
.
Congress commanded so little, and had so little power over the states of the Union and therefore over foreign policy, that other nations either ignored the young United States or ran roughshod over its interests with little fear of retaliation. The British ignored certain provisions of the Paris agreement and kept troops on American soil long after the peace treaty. When Spain closed the port of New Orleans to American commerce in 1784, Congress sent John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....
to Madrid to achieve terms to open the Mississippi to Americans. Instead, Jay signed an agreement that ignored the problem of the Mississippi in exchange for commercial advantages benefiting the Northeast (the Jay–Gardoqui Treaty). Congress rejected the treaty, and the issue smoldered for ten more years. Congress also claimed lands in the west still occupied by the British and Spaniards, but could not forcefully challenge those nations for control of the land.
The American armed forces, except for state militias, over which Congress had little control, were for all practical purposes disbanded after the war. (The U.S. Army numbered less than 100 men in 1784.) For good or ill, foreign affairs would come to dominate American public life and politics between 1790 and 1815—as Europe became steeped in the wars of the French Revolution and Empire. However, even in the immediate postwar years, America carried little weight in the world despite having successfully gained its independence during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
.
United States' problems with Great Britain and Spain:
- Boundaries: The British refused to abandon forts in Northwest.
- The Royal Navy remains in American Waters, a threat to American independence of action.
- The issue of unpaid debts persisted, though some thought they should be renounced (George Mason: “What were we fighting for?”).
- The Port of New Orleans and the Mississippi River were closed to Americans, being territory of Spain restored to her by the Treaties of 1783. (Jay–Gardoqui Treaty defeated).
- The Spanish and British were also suspected of riling up the Indians against settlers in the west.
- The Confederation Government lacked power and authority and was unable to pass a treaty with Spain over the Florida boundary, etc.
See also
- Timeline of United States diplomatic historyTimeline of United States diplomatic historyThe diplomatic history of the United States oscillated among three positions: isolation from diplomatic entanglements of other nations ; alliances with European and other military partners; and unilateralism, or operating on its own sovereign policy decisions...
- List of treaties
- Don Diego de GardoquiDon Diego de GardoquiDon Diego María de Gardoqui y Arriquibar Gardoqui-Gardoki Translation: Basque - Fernery was a Spanish-born politician and diplomat.-Biography:Diego de Gardoqui, the fourth of eight children, was the financial intermediary between the...