1864-April-29: Due to the “generally hostile attitude” of the British government toward the North during the Civil War, Seward adopted a cautious approach to…

1864-April-29: Due to the “generally hostile attitude” of the British government toward the North during the Civil War, Seward adopted a cautious approach to the Spanish-Haitian crisis. He proposed no joint intervention and merely forwarded copies of Savage’s reports to the British Minister, Lord Lyons. Simultaneously, the Haitian envoy Roumain suggested that Haiti could act as a mediator between Spain and the Dominican rebels but admitted the Haitian government lacked the “prestige” to act alone. Haiti sought the cooperation of the United States and Great Britain to give weight to its peace proposals and prevent a wider Caribbean war.