Morocco first recognized the United States by opening its ports to American ships in 1777, an early diplomatic milestone before America250.
Sultan Mohammed III issued a decree granting American ships protection and access to Moroccan ports on June 23, 1777. This act is generally described as Morocco’s implicit recognition of the United States, making Morocco the first country to take that step during the Revolutionary War.
The timing mattered because the United States was still fighting Britain and had few international partners. Morocco’s policy gave American merchants access to ports along the Atlantic and Mediterranean trade routes, even before the two countries concluded a formal treaty.
Morocco formally recognized the United States through the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, signed in 1786. France is sometimes mistakenly given as the first country because it signed a formal alliance with the United States in 1778, but Morocco’s earlier port policy came first.