Notes on John Jay’s Conference with Floridablanca, 8 November 1780
Notes on John Jay’s Conference with Floridablanca
[Escurial, 8 November 1780]
Notes of ^a^ Conference between Mr Jay and his Exy. the Count D Florida Blanca at the Escurial on the Wednesday the 8 Novr 1780 agreable to an appointment made the Day before thro Mr James Gardoqui
After the usual Civilities the Count asked Mr Jay if he had any thing particular to offer.1 to which the latter replied that the ^among the^ first things he had to offer to his Exy were his thanks for the assurances he had been pleased to make him of his Intention to give further aids to America, thro Mr Gardoqui on his Return to Madrid from St Ildefonso, and also for Directing Mr Cabarrus to converse with him on that Subject and in particular on the Manner which those aids shd be supplied— That he begged ^Leave^ to repeat to his Exy what he had said to Mr. Cabarrus vizt that the manner most convenient to his Majesty wd. be most agreable to him and that he was most confident Congress wd always prefer that mode of recieving aids which they shd have Reason to believe most eligible to Spain— Mr. Jay further informed the Count that as there were several Vessels soon to sail for am[erica]. he wished to be enabled to give Congress certain Intelligence as to these Supplies and for that Purpose ^also^ had requested the tha the present Interview.
The Count replied ^ansd.^ that he would take an early opportunity of Sending for Mr. Carbarrus who was devising means for enabling the Court to furnish Supplies and would acquaint Mr Jay of the Result—2 Mr Jay then told the Count that from the Inquiries made by Mr Gardoqui as well as from Letters he had recd from France it appeared that the kind Intentions of his Majesty in offering his Responsibility to facilitate a Loan for America3 would not be attended with the desired Success, as such a Loan had for various Reasons become impracticable— The Count replied that we must wait the Issue of Mr Cabarrus’s Endeavours of which he wd inform Mr Jay.
Mr Jay further acquainted the Count that the Holders of the Bills wh. by his Exys Direction he had accepted payable at Bilboa,4 had applied to him to be informed ab by what House there, they shd be paid, and info alledging that those Bills could not otherwise ^for want of such Bills^ Information cd not be negociated— The Count replied that the House of Gardoqui at Bilboa wd. pay them5
Dft, NNC (EJ: 8239).
1. For earlier questions as to how the United States would reciprocate for aid, see Floridablanca to JJ, 7 June; Gardoqui to JJ, 15 Sept.; JJ to Vergennes, 22 Sept.; and Notes on John Jay’s Conference with Floridablanca, 23 Sept., all above.
2. In the wake of the failure of Spain’s earlier effort to raise a substantial loan in European capital markets, Cabarrús had been assigned to make a second effort to raise funds for Spain. See Gardoqui to JJ, 15 Sept., above; JJ to Floridablanca, 11 Dec., below; and , 34: 352–53. For Spain’s commitment to provide JJ with $150,000, see JJ to the President of Congress, 28 Jan. and 25 Apr. 1781, below.
3. On the king’s guarantee, see Gardoqui to JJ, 15 Sept.; JJ to BF, 22 Sept.; Notes on John Jay’s Conference with Floridablanca, 23 Sept.; JJ to the President of Congress, 6 Nov.; JJ to John de Neufville & Son, 4 Oct., and notes; and Grand to JJ, 21 Oct., all above; Neufville to JJ, 9 Nov. 1780, typescript, NNC (EJ: 12572); and BF to JJ, 27 Jan. 1781, below.
4. See the editorial note “John Jay’s Conference with Floridablanca” on p. 96 and JJ to Floridablanca, 18 Aug., above.
5. In a letter of 26 Nov., ALS, SpMaAHN: Estado, leg. 3884, exp. 4, doc. 85 (EJ: 12153), Carmichael informed Gardoqui that he had made out a list of bills due in December amounting to $17,892 that Floridablanca had permitted JJ to accept, most of them payable at Bilbao. On 8 Dec., JJ wrote Gardoqui to remind him that many of these bills would fall due on 22 Dec. and to ask him to make any arrangements necessary to avoid a delay in payment. JJ to Gardoqui, 8 Dec. 1780, LS, SpMaAHN: Estado, leg. 3884, exp. 4, doc. 88 (EJ: 12154).