Brunswick and Lüneburg*: U.S. Recognition and Diplomatic Relations since 1776

Summary

When the United States announced its independence from Great Britain in 1776, the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg was a sovereign, independent state. Incorporated into the Kingdom of Westphalia during the Napoleonic wars of the early nineteenth century, the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg regained independence in 1813. Mutual recognition between Brunswick and Lüneburg and the United States was established in 1848.

The Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg joined the North German Confederation in 1867, to which the U.S. appointed George Bancroft, then U.S. Minister to Prussia, to serve as the U.S. Minister to the North German Confederation. From this point forward, foreign policy of the North German Confederation, and later, after 1871 the German Empire, was made in Berlin, with the German Kaiser (who was also the King of Prussia) accrediting ambassadors of foreign nations. Relations with Imperial Germany were severed when the U.S. declared war in 1917.

Recognition

Mutual Recognition, 1848

On April 5, 1848 U.S. Secretary of State James Buchanan acknowledged the Consul-General of Brunswick and Lüneburg at New York as John Dreyer Esq., which constitutes the first known act of mutual recognition between the United States and the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg.

Consular Presence

Consulate opened in the Duchy of Brunswick and Luneburg, March 17, 1856

The United States opened its first consulate in the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg on March 17, 1856. This post closed on July 25, 1916.

Diplomatic Relations

Establishment of Diplomatic Relations

The United States and the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg never established diplomatic relations.

Treaties and Agreements

Convention Respecting the Disposition of Property, 1854

On August 21, 1854, the U.S. Secretary of State William L. Marcy and the Consul of the Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg at Mobile, Ala., Dr. Julius Samson, signed a Convention Respecting the Disposition of Property, as they were “animated by the desire to secure and extend, by an amicable convention, the relations happily existing between the two countries.” The treaty was negotiated and signed in Washington, DC.

Key Diplomatic Events

Brunswick and Lüneburg Join the North German Confederation, 1867

On July 1, 1867, the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg joined the North German Confederation.

German Empire, 1871

The Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg joined the German Empire, which was proclaimed on January 18, 1871.

German Unification

Brunswick and Lüneburg was involved in the process of German unification during the mid-nineteenth century. See “Unification of German States” for greater detail.

Resources

Where this page came from

This page was imported from U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776, published by the Office of the Historian of the U.S. Department of State: a work of the United States government, in the public domain.

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