John Philip Morier

John Philip Morier grew up in a merchant family connected with Smyrna and the Levant trade. He worked in the family business before becoming Lord Elgin's private secretary at Constantinople in 1799. Sent to observe the Ottoman expedition against the French in Egypt, he spent several months with the army in 1800 and published an account of the campaign the following year. He became consul general in Albania in 1803. ^{1, 2}

Appointed secretary of legation at Washington in 1810, Morier took charge after Francis James Jackson's departure. His intervention concerned the United States' occupation of West Florida. In a letter to Secretary of State Robert Smith dated 15 December 1810, he protested that America was taking territory from Spain while Spain struggled against Napoleon. The dispute concerned Britain's Spanish ally as well as American expansion along the Gulf Coast. ^{2, 3}

Morier subsequently became a commissioner for Spanish America and undertook a special mission to Norway in 1814. In 1815 he briefly acted as undersecretary for foreign affairs. His last diplomatic posting was Dresden, where he represented Britain from 1816 until retirement in 1825. He died in London on 20 August 1853. His family papers at Balliol College preserve letters from his commercial years, the Egyptian expedition, and the Dresden mission. ^{1, 2}