President Washington Reaffirms the United States’ Treaty of Friendship and Peace with Morocco, the Longest Unbroken Treaty Relationship in the History of the United States, and Introduces Their First Official American Consul

Philadelphia, March 31, 1791. Single oblong sheet, 14 x 18 1/2 in. (356 x 470 mm). One-page manuscript letter, boldly signed by President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson ("G: Washington" and "Th: Jefferson"), to al-Yazid bin Mohammed, Sultan of Morocco, officially sending their condolences on behalf of the United States on the death of his father Sultan Mohammed ibn Abdallah, and communicating the appointment of Consul to Morocco Thomas Barclay to reaffirm their friendship and alliance. Original paper and wax seal bearing the Great Seal of the United States on verso; addressed on verso, "To Our Great and Magnanimous Friend His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Morocco". Creasing from when folded, separations along same, some repairs along same; left and right sides of verso laid down on linen; loss in top right, but not affecting text; small loss to Washington's signature, affecting "gto" in "Washington"; dampstaining in right side, affecting some text. The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, Vol. 8, March 22, 1791- September 22, 1791 (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999, pp. 32-34)

Reads in full: "Great and magnanimous Friend, Separated by an immense Ocean from the more ancient Nations of the Earth, and little connected with their Politics or Proceedings, we are late in learning the Events which take place among them, and later in conveying to them our Sentiments thereon. The Death of the late Emperor, your Father and our Friend, of glorious Memory, is one of those Events which, though distant, attracts our Notice and Concern. Receive, great and good Friend, my sincere Sympathy with you on that Loss; and permit me at the same Time to express the Satisfaction with which I learn the Accession of so worthy a Successor to the Imperial Throne of Morocco, and to offer you the Homage of my sincere Congratulations. May the Days of your Majesty’s Life be many and glorious, and may they ever mark the Aera during which a great People shall have been most prosperous and happy under the best and happiest of Sovereigns. The late Emperor, very soon after the Establishment of our Infant Nation, manifested his royal Regard and Amity to us by many friendly and generous Acts, and particularly by the Protection of our Citizens in their Commerce with his Subjects. And as a further Instance of his Desire to promote our Prosperity and Intercourse with his Realms, he entered into a Treaty of Amity and Commerce with us, for himself and his Successors, to continue Fifty Years. The Justice and Magnanimity of your Majesty leave us full of Confidence, that this Treaty will meet your royal Patronage also; and it will give me great Satisfaction to be assured, that the Citizens of the United States of America may expect from your Imperial Majesty the same Protection and Kindness, which the Example of your Illustrious Father has taught them to expect from those who occupy the Throne of Morocco, and to have your Royal Word, that they may count on a due Observance of the Treaty which connects the two Nations in Friendship. This will be delivered to your Majesty by our faithful Citizen Thomas Barclay, whom I name Consul for these United States in the Dominions of your Majesty, and who to the Integrity and Knowledge qualifying him for that Office, unites the peculiar Advantage of having been the Agent through whom our Treaty with the late Emperor was received. I pray your Majesty to protect him in the Exercise of his Functions for the patronage of the Commerce between our two Countries, and of those who carry it on. May that God, whom we both adore, bless your Imperial Majesty with long life, Health, and Success, and have you always, great and magnanimous Friend, under his holy keeping. Written at Philadelphia the Thirty first Day of March, in the Fifteenth Year of our Sovereignty and Independence..."

President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson affirm the treaty of friendship and peace between the United States and Morocco. Washington and Jefferson write to al-Yazid bin Mohammed, son of the late Sultan Mohammed ibn Abdallah, heir to the throne of Morocco, offering their condolences on the death of his father. Washington pledges to adhere to the principles of their 1786 treaty, and notifies the Sultan of the appointment of Thomas Barclay as American Consul to Morocco, the first official United States diplomat to an African nation, tasked by the President to confirm the conditions of the treaty of friendship between them.

Under the rule of al-Yazid bin Mohammed’s father, Sultan Sidi Mohammed ibn Abdallah, Morocco became the first country to recognize the newly independent United States. As a reformer who sought to deepen commercial trading and modernize his country, Abdallah had negotiated commercial treaties with most of the major European powers, and sought to do the same with the United States. In his decree of 1777, Sultan Abdallah opened Moroccan ports to American ships and promised them safe passage. In June 1786, Thomas Barclay was sent to Morocco as an agent on behalf of American commissioners Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin, to negotiate a treaty of friendship and commerce with the Sultan. Born in Ulster, Ireland, Barclay emigrated to the United States in the 1760s, where he became a leading merchant in Philadelphia. During the imperial crisis, he was an ardent Patriot, and served on several committees, such as the Philadelphia Tea Committee and Philadelphia Committee of Correspondence. Appointed by Congress as the first Consul in France in 1781, during the war he oversaw the outfitting and shipment of war materiel for Washington's army, and audited American expenditures in Europe for Congress. Within a few days of his arrival in June 1786, Barclay successfully negotiated a treaty of amity and commerce with Morocco, which was signed by the Sultan on June 23, 1786, and by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams in January 1787. The treaty negotiated by Barclay was advantageous to the United States, and was crucial to protecting American sea merchants from Barbary corsairs in the Mediterranean. It was the first treaty made by the United States with an African, Muslim, or Arab country, and it remains the longest unbroken treaty relationship with a foreign country in the history of the United States.

In 1789, following the ratification of the Constitution, President Washington wrote to Sultan Abdallah to introduce himself as the head of the new American government and to reaffirm the United States' commitment to the terms of their 1786 treaty. That letter, dated December 1, was never read by the Sultan, as he had passed away the previous April. His death resulted in a long and violent inter-family fight over his successor. He was initially succeeded by his son, Mawlay al-Yazid bin Mohammed (1750-92), the above recipient, who's short reign was consumed with turmoil and his persecution of Morocco's Jewish people.

As Congress was satisfied with Barclay's conduct during the 1786 treaty negotiations, in March 1791, Washington appointed Barclay the first Consul to Morocco. He was tasked by the President to travel to Morocco and meet with the new regime to reconfirm the terms of their treaty. Following his appointment, Jefferson drafted instructions for Barclay, as well as a letter for Washington to the new emperor (which has not been found) and submitted both to Washington for his approval. Washington returned them to Jefferson under a cover letter, dated March 10 (also not found). Jefferson then drafted a revised letter from Washington to the emperor (the present document) that included a clause of credence for Barclay. Jefferson wrote to Washington in a letter dated March 27 stating, “he [Barclay] thought it best to fix his character to that of Consul, which was the lowest that could be employed, thinking there is weight in his opinion...and another letter to the emperor not otherwise different from that you signed, but as having a clause of credence in it. if you approve of this change you will be so good as to sign these papers & return them." This present letter was signed by Washington and returned to Jefferson on April 1 with an additional signed consular commission for Barclay.

Due to the ongoing violence in Morocco, Barclay was unable to meet with the new Sultan. In late 1792, Barclay was ordered by Washington to proceed to Algiers to negotiate a treaty with the ruling Dey and to secure the release of captive Americans. In January 1793 Barclay traveled to Lisbon to secure funds for this mission, but while there he became ill. On January 19 he succumbed to a lung ailment, the first American diplomat to die on foreign soil. Due to his death he was unable to deliver the present letter to the Sultan. It thus descended in his family.