1785-May-17: Louis-Guillaume Otto, the French chargé d’affaires in the United States, authored a comprehensive memoir analyzing the state of Franco-American …

1785-May-17: Louis-Guillaume Otto, the French chargé d’affaires in the United States, authored a comprehensive memoir analyzing the state of Franco-American trade. He warned that American merchants would never be satisfied with partial trade concessions and would continue to demand complete liberty of trade in the French West Indies. Otto argued that the current restrictions merely encouraged smuggling and that it would be more “politic” to permit the entry of American goods legally. He also noted that the weak central government of the United States under the Articles of Confederation made the enforcement of any trade treaty nearly impossible. This document reflected the growing realization that the United States and Saint-Domingue were becoming economically inseparable despite legal barriers.