And before looking at the map I would not have had Morocco as doing so before France.
The UK would finally recognise the United States as being independent in 1783 following the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
From the map creator:
In the aftermath of its independence, the United States sought international recognition to legitimize its place on the world stage. he first country to acknowledge the fledgling nation was Morocco, whose Sultan Mohammed III opened Moroccan ports to American ships on December 20, 1777, making Morocco the first to formally recognize the U.S.
France followed soon after, becoming the first major power to do so by signing the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance on February 6, 1778. This recognition came with vital military and financial aid that proved decisive in the Revolutionary War.
The Netherlands offered formal recognition on April 19, 1782, accepting John Adams as U.S. minister and hosting the first American embassy in The Hague. Spain, though initially cautious, officially recognized the United States on February 20, 1783, shortly before the Treaty of Paris concluded the war.
Sweden became the fifth country to recognize the new nation, signing a Treaty of Amity and Commerce on April 3, 1783. These early alliances were not only symbolic victories for American diplomacy but also practical lifelines, helping to secure trade, military support and international standing for the new republic.
Here’s a list of when they either first recognised the United States and/or began formal diplomatic relations.
| Rank | Country | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morocco | 23 June 1777 |
| 2 | France | 6 February 1778 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 19 April 1782 |
| 4 | Portugal | 15 February 1783 |
| 5 | Spain | 20 February 1783 |
| 6 | Sweden | 3 April 1783 |
| 7 | Ragusa | 7 July 1783 |
| 8 | Venice | August 1783 |
| 9 | United Kingdom | 3 September 1783 |
| 10 | Papal States | 15 December 1784 |
| 11 | Prussia | 18 September 1785 |
| 12 | Mysore | 11 June 1788 |
| 13 | Hamburg | 17 June 17 1790 |
| 14 | Genoa | 25 October 25 1791 |
| 15 | Denmark-Norway | 9 June 1792 |
| 16 | Bremen | 28 May 1794 |
| 17 | Tuscany | 29 May 1794 |
| 18 | Tunisia | 28 March 1795 |
| 19 | Algeria | 5 September 1795 |
| 20 | Naples | 20 May 1796 |
| 21 | Tripolitania | 4 November 1796 |
| 22 | Austria | 1797 |
| 23 | Piedmont-Sardinia | 1802 |
| 24 | Russian Empire | 28 October 1803 |
| 25 | Mecklenburg-Schwerin | 22 January 1816 |
| 26 | Gran Colombia | 19 June 1822 |
| 27 | Mexico | 12 December 1822 |
| 28 | Argentina | 27 December 1823 |
| 29 | Chile | 23 April 1824 |
| 30 | Brazil | 26 May 1824 |
| 31 | Guatemala | 4 August 1824 |
| 32 | Nicaragua | 4 August 1824 |
| 33 | Württemberg | 21 November 1825 |
| 34 | Hawaii | 23 December 1826 |
| 35 | Peru | 21 May 1827 |
| 36 | Hesse | 14 May 1829 |
| 37 | Switzerland | 30 November 1829 |
| 38 | Oldenburg | 2 December 1829 |
| 39 | Hanover | 8 January 1830 |
| 40 | Ottoman Empire | 11 February 1830 |
| 41 | Belgium | 6 January 1832 |
| 42 | Baden | 13 July 1832 |
| 43 | Bavaria | 4 July 1833 |
| 44 | Oman | 21 September 1833 |
| 45 | Venezuela | 30 June 1835 |
| 46 | Republic of Texas | 3 March 1837 |
| 47 | Chinese Empire | 16 June 1844 |
| 48 | Nassau | 27 May 1846 |
| 49 | Brunswick | 5 April 1848 |
| 50 | Ecuador | 12 August 1848 |
| 51 | Bolivia | 3 January 1849 |
| 52 | Parma | June 1850 |
| 53 | Costa Rica | 24 March 1851 |
| 54 | Schaumburg-Lippe | 16 June 1852 |
| 55 | Honduras | 19 April 1853 |
| 56 | Mecklenburg-Strelitz | 2 December 1853 |
| 57 | Ryukyu | 11 July 1854 |
| 58 | Japan | 29 July 1858 |
| 59 | Italy | 11 April 1861 |
| 60 | Paraguay | 26 November 1861 |
| 61 | Haiti | 1 October 1862 |
| 62 | El Salvador | 15 June 1863 |
| 63 | Liberia | 23 February 1864 |
| 64 | Uruguay | 2 October 1867 |
| 65 | Greece | 16 June 1868 |
| 66 | Orange Free State | 22 December 1871 |
| 67 | Romania | 11 June 1880 |
| 68 | Korea | 22 May 1882 |
| 69 | Thailand | 23 October 1882 |
| 70 | Serbia | 10 November 1882 |
| 71 | Iran | 11 June 1883 |
| 72 | Dominican Republic | 26 March 1884 |
| 73 | Cuba | 27 May 1902 |
| 74 | Luxembourg | 17 July 1903 |
| 75 | Bulgaria | 19 September 1903 |
| 76 | Panama | 13 November 1903 |
| 77 | Ethiopia | 27 December 1903 |
| 78 | Norway | 30 October 1905 |
| 79 | Czech Republic | 12 November 1918 |
| 80 | Poland | 02 May 1919 |
| 81 | Finland | 27 May 1919 |
| 82 | Hungary | 29 August 1921 |
| 83 | Austria | 08 November 1921 |
| 84 | Egypt | 26 April 1922 |
| 85 | Albania | 04 December 1922 |
| 86 | Ireland | 07 October 1924 |
| 87 | Turkey | 17 February 1927 |
| 88 | Canada | 18 February 1927 |
| 89 | South Africa | 05 November 1929 |
| 90 | Iraq | 30 March 1931 |
| 91 | Soviet Union | 16-Nov-33 |
| 92 | Afghanistan | 04 May 1935 |
| 93 | Australia | 08 January 1940 |
| 94 | Saudi Arabia | 04 February 1940 |
| 95 | Iceland | 30 September 1941 |
| 96 | New Zealand | 16 February 1942 |
| 97 | Lebanon | 16 November 1944 |
| 98 | Syria | 17 November 1944 |
| 99 | Yemen | 04 March 1946 |
| 100 | Philippines | 04 July 1946 |
| 101 | India | 01 November 1946 |
| 102 | Pakistan | 15 August 1947 |
| 103 | Myanmar | 18 September 1947 |
| 104 | Nepal | 16 February 1948 |
| 105 | Sri Lanka | 29 October 1948 |
| 106 | Jordan | 18 February 1949 |
| 107 | South Korea | 25 March 1949 |
| 108 | Israel | 28 March 1949 |
| 109 | Taiwan | 19 December 1949 |
| 110 | Indonesia | 28 December 1949 |
| 111 | South Vietnam | 07 February 1950 |
| 112 | Cambodia | 11 July 1950 |
| 113 | Laos | 29 July 1950 |
| 114 | Germany | 02 July 1951 |
| 115 | Libya | 24 December 1951 |
| 116 | Sudan | 15 February 1956 |
| 117 | Tunisia | 06 June 1956 |
| 118 | Morocco | 11 June 1956 |
| 119 | Ghana | 06 March 1957 |
| 120 | Malaysia | 31 August 1957 |
| 121 | Guinea | 13 February 1959 |
| 122 | Cameroon | 01 January 1960 |
| 123 | Togo | 27 April 1960 |
| 124 | Mali | 20 June 1960 |
| 125 | Madagascar | 25 June 1960 |
| 126 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 30 June 1960 |
| 127 | Somalia | 01 July 1960 |
| 128 | Benin | 01 August 1960 |
| 129 | Niger | 03 August 1960 |
| 130 | Burkina Faso | 05 August 1960 |
| 131 | Ivory Coast | 07 August 1960 |
| 132 | Chad | 11 August 1960 |
| 133 | Central African Republic | 13 August 1960 |
| 134 | Republic of the Congo | 15 August 1960 |
| 135 | Cyprus | 16 August 1960 |
| 136 | Gabon | 17 August 1960 |
| 137 | Senegal | 24 September 1960 |
| 138 | Nigeria | 01 October 1960 |
| 139 | Mauritania | 28 November 1960 |
| 140 | Sierra Leone | 27 April 1961 |
| 141 | Kuwait | 22 September 1961 |
| 142 | Tanzania | 09 December 1961 |
| 143 | Burundi | 01 July 1962 |
| 144 | Rwanda | 01 July 1962 |
| 145 | Jamaica | 16 August 1962 |
| 146 | Trinidad and Tobago | 31 August 1962 |
| 147 | Algeria | 29 September 1962 |
| 148 | Uganda | 09 October 1962 |
| 149 | Kenya | 02 March 1964 |
| 150 | Malawi | 06 July 1964 |
| 151 | Malta | 21 September 1964 |
| 152 | Zambia | 24 October 1964 |
| 153 | Gambia | 09 August 1965 |
| 154 | Singapore | 04 April 1966 |
| 155 | Maldives | 09 April 1966 |
| 156 | Guyana | 26 May 1966 |
| 157 | Botswana | 30 September 1966 |
| 158 | Lesotho | 04 October 1966 |
| 159 | Barbados | 30 November 1966 |
| 160 | Mauritius | 12 March 1968 |
| 161 | Eswatini | 06 September 1968 |
| 162 | Equatorial Guinea | 12 November 1968 |
| 163 | Samoa | 14 July 1971 |
| 164 | Fiji | 22 July 1971 |
| 165 | Bahrain | 21 September 1971 |
| 166 | Qatar | 19 March 1972 |
| 167 | United Arab Emirates | 20 March 1972 |
| 168 | Bangladesh | 18 May 1972 |
| 169 | Tonga | 06 November 1972 |
| 170 | Bahamas | 10 July 1973 |
| 171 | Grenada | 29 November 1974 |
| 172 | Cape Verde | 19 July 1975 |
| 173 | Guinea-Bissau | 03 September 1975 |
| 174 | Papua New Guinea | 16 September 1975 |
| 175 | Mozambique | 23 September 1975 |
| 176 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 10 October 1975 |
| 177 | Suriname | 25 November 1975 |
| 178 | Seychelles | 01 July 1976 |
| 179 | Nauru | 24 October 1976 |
| 180 | Djibouti | 27 June 1977 |
| 181 | Comoros | 15 August 1977 |
| 182 | Solomon Islands | 09 October 1978 |
| 183 | People's Republic of China | 01 January 1979 |
| 184 | Tuvalu | 10 May 1979 |
| 185 | Saint Lucia | 11 June 1979 |
| 186 | Dominica | 18 July 1979 |
| 187 | Zimbabwe | 18 April 1980 |
| 188 | Kiribati | 12 August 1980 |
| 189 | Belize | 29 October 1981 |
| 190 | Antigua and Barbuda | 01 November 1981 |
| 191 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 08 November 1981 |
| 192 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 20 September 1983 |
| 193 | Holy See | 10 January 1984 |
| 194 | Brunei | 10 March 1984 |
| 195 | Vanuatu | 30 September 1986 |
| 196 | Federated States of Micronesia | 03 November 1986 |
| 197 | Mongolia | 27 January 1987 |
| 198 | Marshall Islands | 26 July 1989 |
| 199 | Namibia | 21 March 1990 |
| 200 | Estonia | 04 September 1991 |
| 201 | Latvia | 05 September 1991 |
| 202 | Lithuania | 06 September 1991 |
| 203 | Armenia | 25 December 1991 |
| 204 | Belarus | 25 December 1991 |
| 205 | Kazakhstan | 25 December 1991 |
| 206 | Kyrgyzstan | 25 December 1991 |
| 207 | Ukraine | 25 December 1991 |
| 208 | Moldova | 18 February 1992 |
| 209 | Azerbaijan | 19 February 1992 |
| 210 | Tajikistan | 19 February 1992 |
| 211 | Turkmenistan | 19 February 1992 |
| 212 | Uzbekistan | 19 February 1992 |
| 213 | Georgia | 23 April 1992 |
| 214 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 06 August 1992 |
| 215 | Croatia | 06 August 1992 |
| 216 | Slovenia | 06 August 1992 |
| 217 | Slovakia | 04 January 1993 |
| 218 | Eritrea | 11 June 1993 |
| 219 | North Macedonia | 03 December 1993 |
| 220 | Angola | 14 July 1994 |
| 221 | Andorra | 21 February 1995 |
| 222 | Vietnam | 12 July 1995 |
| 223 | Palau | 06 December 1996 |
| 224 | Liechtenstein | 10 February 1997 |
| 225 | Timor-Leste | 20 May 2002 |
| 226 | Montenegro | 15 August 2006 |
| 227 | San Marino | 22 November 2006 |
| 228 | Monaco | 08 December 2006 |
| 229 | Kosovo | 18 February 2008 |
| 230 | South Sudan | 18 October 2011 |
| 231 | Cook Islands | 25 September 2023 |
| 232 | Niue | 25 September 2023 |
Which one surprised you the most?
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