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Chapter IV - Foreign Relations with Britain and Spain
Foreign Relations with Britain and Spain 1784
In addition to the financial emergency, Congress also faced serious problems in foreign policy concerning the Treaty of Paris, foreign trade and Spanish aggression. Though the signing of the treaty formally ended the war, conflict continued over the repayment of war debts which America owed British merchants and the reclamation of loyalist property. Various states passed laws denying the British any right to sue for "recovery of debts" or property in American courts. This failure to comply with the treaty gave the British a justifiable pretext for maintaining their military posts throughout the Great Lakes region. Concerned nationalists publicly demanded that the treaty be honored and enforced. Alexander Hamilton, delegate and New York attorney, wisely asked, "Will foreign nations be willing to undertake anything with us or for us when they find that the nature of our government will allow no dependence to be placed on our engagements?"
Congress also lacked sufficient authority to regulate trade because the Articles of Confederation severely limited its power to establish a stable national commercial policy. After the war, France, Spain and Britain restricted trade by closing lucrative British West Indies markets to Americans. Simultaneously, the British flooded the United States with its manufactured goods, thus destroying America's chance for success in the world market.
Congress was further hampered by the Spanish threat along the western and southern borders of the United States. When Spain closed the Mississippi River to American shipping in 1784, the growing settlements west of the Appalachians were deprived of a major trade route to the rest of the nation and the world. Delegates vigorously argued about which issues to raise in negotiations with Spain. Those from the Southern states demanded full navigational rights, while those delegates from New England favored "commercial concessions." The ensuing stalemate not only threatened negotiations, but also exposed the inability of a decentralized national government to agree on foreign policy.
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