Diego de Gardoqui Arrives as Spain’s First Official Envoy

Gardoqui's American connections grew from commerce before they became a diplomatic appointment. His family's Bilbao firm exchanged Spanish iron and wool for salt cod from North America, building relationships with merchants in New England. Some of those partners, including Elbridge Gerry and Jeremiah Lee, became active in the revolutionary cause. Requests for military supplies then passed along commercial networks that already connected the two shores of the Atlantic. [1]

Diego de Gardoqui arrived in New York in 1785 as Spain’s first officially received envoy to the United States. Diplomatic relations had begun two years earlier, when Spain received William Carmichael in Madrid. Gardoqui brought personal connections built during the American Revolution: his family’s Bilbao trading house had shipped weapons, clothing, and other supplies to the Continental Army. [3] [4]

Peace left difficult questions along the Mississippi. Spain controlled New Orleans and the river’s lower reaches, while American settlers wanted an outlet for western produce. Spanish officials sought to limit settlement and commerce near their colonies. The earlier negotiations over navigation and the southern boundary ended without a settlement; those disputes would remain until the Treaty of San Lorenzo in 1795. [2]

Gardoqui cultivated ties with George Washington as well as Congress. In 1787 he sent Washington a four volume edition of Don Quixote. He attended Washington’s inauguration in April 1789, before returning to Europe later that year. [5] [4]

Related Diplomats

1. Diego de Gardoqui [3] [4] [5]

Related Reading

• Spain and the United States