Today is the 4th of July, or for Americans – Independence day. Independence Day of the United States, also referred to as the Fourth of July or July Fourth in the U.S., is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, by the Continental Congress declaring that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America, and no longer part of the British Empire.
It is said that the Republic of Ragusa, a merchant republic centered at our Dubrovnik, was first of the foreign countries to recognize independence of the United States. According to Wikipedia, sources differ on when the recognition took place: some travel guides and tourist portals claim that Ragusa was the very first country to recognize the United States as early as 1776a document whose copy was presented to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in 2006 reportedly puts the date at 1783,while the Council of American Ambassadors claims that the recognition was extended during the term of the second President of the United States, John Adams, thus between 1797 and 1801.