Browsing: Diary of John Adams, Volume 3

The Trèveszaal in the Binnenhof at The Hague where John Adams signed the Treaty of Commerce with the Dutch Republic on 8 October 1782. The room was built from designs by Daniel Marot in 1697. Portraits of the Stadholders, including William III of England, line the walls; the ceiling is painted with an allegorical representation of the union of the Seven Provinces by Theodorus van der Schuer. In a letter to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Robert R. Livingston, written on the day that the treaty was signed, Adams reported that he was “conducted into the Chamber of Business (Chambre de Besogne) an appartment adjoining to the Truce Chamber (Chambre de Treve) where were executed the Treaty of Commerce and the Convention concerning Recaptures, after an Exchange of Full Powers” (Adams Papers). The Trèveszaal is in that part of the Binnenhof now occupied by the Netherlands Ministry of Traffic and Waters. See the Diary entry of 8 October 1782 and note, p. 16–17.