Samuel Rene Gummeré (; 1849 – May 28, 1920) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as US

Consul-General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

from 1898–1905, and Ambassador to Morocco from 1905–09, and became well known for his roles in the Perdicaris incident of 1904 and the

Algeciras Conference The Algeciras Conference of 1906 took place in Algeciras, Spain, and lasted from 16 January to 7 April. The purpose of the conference was to find a solution to the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905 between France and Germany, which arose as Germany ...

two years later.

Biography

Born in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, Gummeré ran a law practice for several years. He traveled Europe extensively during the 1880s and became interested in politics. In 1898, having served in minor diplomatic posts, he was appointed Counsel-General in Tangier by President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

and was later made Ambassador. He was considered a "diplomat of polish and ability, and a brilliant conversationalist and raconteur." A brother, William Stryker Gummere, served as chief justice of the

Supreme Court of New Jersey The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases cha ...

. Gummeré became an important player in the Perdicaris incident, in which Berber chieftain Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli kidnapped American expatriates Ion Perdicaris and his stepson, Cromwell Varley. Gummeré, a personal friend and former business partner of Perdicaris, initially advocated military action, but President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

and Secretary of State

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a Secretary to the President of the United States, private secretary for Abraha ...

were more cautious, arguing that the situation in Morocco — which was maintaining a precarious independence due to the intrigues of foreign powers such as

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

— made military action impractical. Gummeré met with the Ambassadors of France and Britain, and they agreed to help pressure the Sultan to meet Raisuli's demands. Raisuli agreed to release his hostage, but after this Hay sent Gummeré the famous telegraph which read: "Perdicaris Alive or Raisuli Dead!" largely as a matter of saving face. Gummeré later found out that Perdicaris was not in fact an American citizen (having become a naturalized citizen of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

during 1862) and angrily demanded an explanation, leading to a falling out between the former friends. Gummeré was appointed as the first US Minister to Morocco as a reward for his service in resolving the crisis. Later, he served as one of the American mediators, under Ambassador to Italy Henry White, in the Algeciras Conference of 1906, which helped resolve European tensions over Morocco. The conference called for the organization of a State Bank for Morocco and the organization of a Moroccan native police force — albeit under European supervision. While the Europeans backed this plan, Moroccan Sultan Abdelaziz was initially reluctant, finally agreeing to sign it on June 18. The conference also rebuked French attempts to establish Morocco as a protectorate; but ultimately, French control of Morocco was only staved off for six years. After 1909 Gummeré retired from public life, dying eleven years later. In the heavily fictionalized film ''

The Wind and the Lion ''The Wind and the Lion'' is a 1975 American epic historical adventure film written and directed by John Milius, and starring Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, and John Huston. The film is loosely based on the real-life Perdicaris affa ...

'' (1975), which deals with the Perdicaris incident, he was portrayed by Geoffrey Lewis.

Awards and honors

Gummeré was awarded an honorary degree from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 1865.

Notes

External links

Capital Century Article: "Perdicaris Alive or Raisuli Dead!"History of the US Legation in Tangier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gummere, Samuel R. 1849 births 1920 deaths Foreign relations of Morocco People from Trenton, New Jersey Ambassadors of the United States to Morocco