Last night's lecture at SAIS by Dr. Jerome B. Bookin-Weiner, sponsored by Friends of Morocco, described the origins of the United States' longest standing treaty, between Morocco and the United States, and the story behind Morocco's being the first state to recognize the independence of the United States on December 20, 1777. Recognition was more the result of Sidi Mohammed bin Abdullah's attempt to reform the fiscal underpinnings of the Moroccan state than of any direct exchange between the Sultan and the Americas. The Sultan was eager to conclude trade treaties with as many nations as possible in order to open an alternative to direct taxation as a source of revenue to the Makhzen (Moroccan state). From the time of the initial recognition of American independence, which coincided with recognition of a number of Italian city-states, it took several years for the Makhzen to get the attention of the Americans and conclude the famous treaty in 1786. The Americans, after all, were busy playing the French against the British for the sake of survival during the years in question, and Bookin-Weiner pointed out that, at the time at least, Moroccan and American interests were truly peripheral to each other. More information can be found in Bookin-Weiner's book, the Atlantic Connection.