1790-July-26: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Short, the American envoy in France, regarding the appointment of Sylvanus Bourne as consu…
1790-July-26: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Short, the American envoy in France, regarding the appointment of Sylvanus Bourne as consul to “Hispaniola.” Jefferson argued that the Consular Convention of 1788, which used the term “dominions” of the King rather than just “France,” legally entitled the United States to place consuls in the West Indian free ports. He maintained that American commerce in Saint-Domingue required official protection more than in any other part of the French empire due to the constant threat of seizure and legal disputes. However, the French authorities at Cap-Français refused to recognize Bourne’s credentials, insisting that no foreign power had the right to station consuls in their colonies. This disagreement over consular representation became a persistent point of friction, reflecting the tension between American commercial expansion and French colonial sovereignty.