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ALS as president, signed "Th: Jefferson," one page, 8.25 x 10, March 26, 1801. Addressed from Washington, a handwritten letter to Don Joseph Yznardi, Spain’s Chargé d’Affaires, in full (spelling retained): "The Secretary of state [James Madison] is proceeding in the consideration of the several matters which have been proposed to us by you, and will prepare answers to them, and particularly as to our vessels taken by French cruisers & carried into the ports of Spain, contrary as we suppose to the tenor of the convention with France. tho' ordinary business will be regularly transacted with you by the Secretary of state, yet considering what you mentioned as to our Minister at Madrid to have been private & confidential, I take it out of the official course, & observe to you myself that under an intimate conviction of long standing in my mind, of the importance of an honest friendship with Spain, and one which shall identify her American interests with our own, I see in a strong point of view the necessity that the organ of communication which we establish near the king, should possess the favor & confidence of that government. I have therefore destined for that mission a person [Charles C. Pinckney] whose accomodating & reasonable conduct, which will be still more fortified by instructions, will render him agreeable there, & an useful channel of communication between us. I have no doubt the new appointment by that government to this, in the room of the Chevalr. d'Yrujo, has been made under the influence of the same motives. But still, the Chevalr. d'Yrujo, being intimately known to us, the integrity, sincerity & reasonableness of his conduct having established in us a perfect confidence, in no wise diminished by the bickerings which took place between him & a former Secretary of state [Timothy Pickering], whose irritable temper drew on more than one affair of the same kind, it will be a subject of regret if we lose him. However, if the interests of Spain require that his services should be employed elsewhere, it is the duty of a friend to acquiesce; and we shall certainly recieve any successor the king may chuse to send, with every possible degree of favor & friendship. our administration will not be collected till the end of the ensuing month: and consequently, till then, no other of the mutual interests of the two nations will be under our view, except those general assurances of friendship which I have before given you verbally, & now repeat. accept I pray you assurances of my high consideration & respect." In fine condition, with mild show-through from docketing on reverse.
The disputes referenced in Jefferson's letter arose during a delicate period in early American diplomacy, as the United States sought to preserve stable relations with Spain following the 1795 Pinckney Treaty, which established boundaries between the United States and Spain's North American territories and secured American navigation rights on the Mississippi River. Spain's continued presence in Louisiana and Florida made those western interests acutely sensitive; control of the Mississippi was essential to American commerce and westward settlement, and any deterioration in relations with Madrid threatened to close the river to American trade.
Tensions nevertheless persisted over maritime commerce, the enforcement of treaty provisions, and the seizure of American vessels by French privateers operating in Spanish ports, an issue Jefferson directly references here in discussing "our vessels taken by French cruisers & carried into the ports of Spain." Jefferson also alludes to the strained relationship between Spanish minister the Chevalier d'Yrujo and former secretary of state Timothy Pickering, whose "irritable temper," Jefferson remarks, "drew on more than one affair of the same kind."
Written just three weeks after Jefferson's inauguration, the letter reflects the new administration's effort to improve the tone of American diplomacy. Jefferson emphasizes his desire for "an honest friendship with Spain," praises d'Yrujo's "integrity, sincerity & reasonableness," and expresses regret at the possibility of his recall. Notably, Jefferson chose to address part of the matter personally rather than entirely through Secretary of State James Madison, stressing the sensitivity he attached to relations with Spain at the opening of his presidency.
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