Question #151997. Asked by
pehinhota.
Last updated Mar 06 2025.
Originally posted Mar 06 2025 3:58 AM.
Henry Laurens, a wealthy South Carolinian slave trader who had served as President of the Continental Congress, [...] set sail back to America with a draft treaty that would bring military and economic aid from the Dutch [...]. But Laurens' ship, the Mercury, was intercepted. [...] As Royal Marines boarded the ship, Laurens tried to throw the secret diplomatic papers overboard[...]. The news of a pending Dutch-American alliance surprised the British, and in response the Crown Government declared war on the Netherlands[...].
Although Laurens considered himself to be a legitimate diplomat and entitled to immunity, the British treated him as a mere rebellious traitor, and arrested him.
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