The Foreign Service Journal, June 2013

the Foreign Service journal | June 2013 59 A Man with a Mission Early American Diplomacy in the Near and Far East: The Diplomatic and Personal History of Edmund Q. Roberts (1784-1836) Hermann Frederick Eilts, New Academia Publishing, 2012, $34, hardcover, 255 pages. Reviewed by Jason Vorderstrasse Hermann Frederick Eilts’ final book, completed before his 2006 death but only recently published, fills a sizable gap in our knowledge of Edmund Q. Roberts, a key diplomat during the administration of President Andrew Jackson. Any student of U.S. rela- tions with Southeast Asia, the Arabian Peninsula or East Africa will greatly benefit from reading Early American Diplomacy in the Near and Far East: The Diplomatic and Personal History of Edmund Q. Roberts (1784-1836) . Until now, anyone wishing to learn about Roberts’ exploits had to read his own Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam and Muscat; Ben- jamin Ticknor’s Voyage of the Peacock: A Journal ; or W.S.W. Ruschenberger’s A Voyage Around the World . While all three books have merit, the fact that they are contemporaneous accounts deprives them of the historical perspective found in Eilts’ new work. He also does an excellent job of furnishing details on Roberts’ per- sonal life that is lacking in those other accounts. Edmund Q. Roberts’ family was active in the shipping industry, and he traveled widely from an early age. His time in Zanzibar and friendship with New Hampshire Senator Levi Wood- bury led Roberts to propose leading a mission to Muscat (which controlled Zanzibar) to conclude a commercial treaty. Woodbury, who had become Pres. Jackson’s Secretary of the Navy, suc- ceeded in having Roberts named as a special diplomatic agent empowered to negotiate such agreements. The govern- ment also asked him to pursue treaties of commerce with Cochin-China (Viet- nam) and Siam (Thailand). His mission departed in early 1832. Drawing on accounts of previous visits to Cochin- China and Siam, primar- ily by Britons and Ameri- cans, Eilts illustrates the many challenges 19th-century diplomats faced. For instance, Roberts encountered severe cultural misun- derstandings because his information about the countries he visited was inaccu- rate or outdated. Although he was not successful in Cochin-China, he did conclude a commercial treaty with Siam. Extremely slow communication constrained Roberts in his negotiations, leading him to craft extensive explana- tions of his work for the ratification process. These were useful during the surprisingly active debate over the trea- ties in several American newspapers. Following his travels to Southeast Asia, Roberts continued to Muscat, where he was able to conclude a treaty of commerce relatively quickly. Once the Senate had ratified both treaties, Roberts was tapped to return to the same countries to deliver the instru- ments of ratification. He departed for Muscat on this second mission, which also included the possibility of a visit to Japan, in April 1835. While the delivery of instruments of ratification sounds simple, it was anything but. For instance, because of the reverence given official documents in Siam, a special stand was constructed to hold the box containing the signed treaty. Roberts died in Macau of dysentery on June 12, 1836, before reaching Japan. But thanks to his complicated financial affairs, his death is far from the end of the saga. Drawing on Roberts’ diaries and letters and other primary docu- ments, Eilts concludes this account by thoughtfully assessing his legacy. Anyone interested in the history of U.S. diplomatic relations in the Middle East and East Asia, or early American history, will be grateful that Eilts’ fam- ily pushed for this book’s posthumous publication as part of the ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy series. Jason Vorderstrasse, an FSO since 2004, is currently the Chile desk officer; he previ- ously served in Hong Kong and Kingston. In 2009, he successfully nominated Ed- mund Q. Roberts for inclusion in the AFSA Memorial Plaques. The views expressed in this article are his own and do not neces- sarily reflect the views of the Department of State or the United States government. Roberts crafted detailed accounts of his negotiations for the ratification process, which were useful during the debate over the treaties. books