Papers of John Adams, volume 16
You wished, sir, to be informed about the merchandise and products that might be the objects of a reciprocal trade between the states of His Prussian Majesty and those of the United States of America.1 I am too flattered to establish these new commercial ties in concert with you not to hurry to communicate the ideas that I have collected, either from the information that my court has previously supplied me, or from information that I have received through other channels. The picture that I am setting before your eyes will be, however, very abbreviated. Limiting myself to the most essential goods, I am offering you the following, sir, pending clarifications that you might desire, and which perhaps will be necessary when the negotiations with which we are entrusted are on more solid ground:
- Imports to the dominions of His Prussian Majesty:
- a. Virginia tobacco.
- b. Rice. 100
- c. Indigo.
- d. Whale oil.
- Exports from the king’s dominions for the possessions of the United States of America:
- a. Linens from Silesia, marketable throughout the American continent and the West Indies.
- b. Prussian hemp, one of the best known.
- c. Porcelain from Berlin, of a finer workmanship than that of Saxony, and less expensive.
- d. Various products of Prussian industry, such as the hardware of the County of the Mark, which up to now have passed, like Silesian linens, through the hands of the English, and which therefore increased in price when they entered America.
- e. All sorts of cloth, camlets, and other merchandise of this sort.
I might add, sir, that the king leaves it to Congress to choose one or another port of his states as the most convenient for the exchange of goods or for the deposit of merchandise. Emden, located near the North Sea, opens the door to business with the western part of Germany; Stettin, a maritime locale on the shores of the Baltic, to the interior of this vast region, by means of the Oder.2 Finally, the ports of the two Prussias establish a close business connection with the kingdom of Poland, where American fish products, in particular cod, could be retailed to great advantage.
I have the honor of being with the greatest esteem, sir, your very humble and very obedient servant