1. The letters enclosed constituted JA’s first démarche as minister plenipotentiary to the Netherlands, although, as the documents show, he did not refer to himself in that capacity. His purpose was to request Russia, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands to permit the U.S. to accede to the armed neutrality as proposed in Congress’ resolution of 5 Oct. 1780. The seven documents comprising the démarche were all dated 8 March and included JA’s first memorial to the States General, below, and letters to Prince Gallitzin, the Russian minister, below; Baron Ehrensvärd, the Swedish envoy; M. de Mestral de Saint Saphorin, the Danish envoy; the Duc de La Vauguyon, below; Engelbert François van Berckel, pensionary of Amsterdam; and Carel W. Visscher, soon to replace van Berckel as pensionary of Amsterdam. For the four letters not printed, all LbC’s, Adams Papers, see the notes to the Gallitzin and La Vauguyon letters. The initiative failed for very practical reasons, namely that the U.S. was a belligerent rather than a neutral and for the signatories to permit the accession of the U.S. to the armed neutrality they must recognize U.S. independence and thereby become involved in a war with England. Nevertheless, it represented an uniquely American view of the armed neutrality as serving the long term interest of the U.S. to remain neutral in future European wars. This is clear from the letters to the diplomats as well as from the memorial to the States General, in all of which JA refers to the armed neutrality as reflecting a “reformation in the maritime law of nations.” For Catherine II’s declaration of an armed neutrality on 10 March 1780 and a discussion of its provisions and the U.S. view of them, see vol. 9:121–126.

2. William V, Prince of Orange, was born 9 March 1748. Dumas intended to deliver the letters and the memorial on William’s birthday, but in a letter of 9 March (Adams Papers) he explained that he had been frustrated by the absence of a “principal personnage,” probably the president of the States General, and postponed the execution of JA’s orders until the 10th. That Dumas enjoyed the role assigned him is clear from JA’s comments immediately preceding this letter in the Boston Patriot. JA wrote that “These papers I sent to Mr. Dumas, at the Hague, to be all delivered with his own hand, an office with which he was extremely delighted, because as he said it enabled him ’á commencer á jouer un Rêe public’” (JA, Corr. in the Boston Patriot description begins Correspondence of the Late President Adams. Originally Published in the Boston Patriot. In a Series of Letters, Boston, 1809[–1810]; 10 pts. description ends , p. 395). Presumably Dumas was happy because he could finally act openly in his capacity as an American agent.