Spain in the American Revolution

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Bernardo de Galvez
Question

Why didn't Spain fight in the American Revolutionary War? I would have thought that they would have assisted the colonies, and then taken advantage of their post-war weakness to add North America to their empire.

Answer

Spain was not a bystander to the American Revolutionary War, although that fact is rarely mentioned in cursory historical surveys. Spain's motivation to help the American colonists was driven by a desire to regain the land it had lost to Britain and, with other European powers, make incremental gains against British possessions in other parts of the world. Although some dreamers in Spain perhaps envisioned its eventual possession of the entire New World, I have found no evidence that such an idea guided its assistance to the American colonists.

Spain was not a bystander to the American Revolutionary War

France and Spain were at that time both under Bourbon kings, Louis XVI and Carlos III, respectively, whose American possessions had been significantly reduced by the 1763 Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years' (the French and Indian) War. At the beginning of the American War of Independence, American commissioners were sent to Europe by the Continental Congress to seek support for their cause. John Jay, American representative in Spain, found success. Americans promised both France and Spain the restoration of much of the land they had lost to the British in America. In April 1779, Spain committed to helping the Americans.

Financial Support

This help did not consist of Spanish troops to fight alongside Americans, but it was extensive nevertheless. The Spanish and French kings provided large loans and outright contributions of money to the Americans. Spain laundered this money, as we would say today, through a fictitious private trading company, Roderique Hortalez and Company, operating out of the Lesser Antilles, which sent both money and war material directly to the Americans. The money helped support the Americans' new currency, the Continental, and also made it possible for the Americans to bring in foreign military officers, such as Augustus von Steuben, Casimir Pulaski, and Thaddeus Kosciuszko, to fight for them.

Land Battles

Spain began a military campaign of its own against the British in Florida and Louisiana. From 1779 through 1782, the Spanish Governor of Louisiana, Don Bernardo de Gàlvez, conducted a series of military actions against the British to retake forts that Spain had earlier lost to the British, succeeding in the Mississippi River Valley, and at Baton Rouge, Natchez, Mobile, and Pensacola. In 1782, Spain also succeeded in wresting back the Bahamas from the British.

Naval Support

A very substantial form of Spain's support for the Americans involved a strategy of joining Britain's other European competitors in tying up British naval resources by engaging them elsewhere than in Britain's American colonies. Spain did this, for example, against Gibraltar and Minorca, and together with France sent a fleet into the English Channel to menace the British coast and tie up more British ships. Most of the European maritime powers, including Spain, united against Britain's effort to interrupt their trade with America. With both France and Spain (and Holland) indirectly in the fray, Britain's navy was outmatched and could not effectively concentrate its military force in America. Spanish ships joined with French ships in the naval blockade of the British army at Yorktown in 1781, preventing General Cornwallis's resupply by the British navy, resulting in his surrender.

Bibliography

Thomas E. Chàvez, Spain and the Independence of the United States: An Intrinsic Gift (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2002).

Light Townsend Cummins, Spanish Observers and the American Revolution, 1775-1783 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1991).

Winston De Ville, ed., Yo Solo: The Battle Journal of Bernardo de Gàlvez during the American Revolution (New Orleans: Polyanthos, 1978).

David French, The British Way in Warfare, 1688-2000 (London: Unwin Hyman, 1990).

Images:
"Prise de Pensacola," Illus. in: Recueil d'estampes representant les différents événements de la Guerre qui a procuré l'indépendance aux Etats Unis de l'Amérique ... / Nicolas Ponce. Paris : Ponce et Godefroy, [1784?], Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

"El Ecsmo Senor Conde De Galves," Museo Nacional de Historia, Castillo de Chapultepec, Mexico.

Detail from A. R. Mengs' 1761 portrait of Carlos III, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.

Spanish Louisiana vs. Great Britain

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John Jay, minister plenipotentiary to Spain
Question

When did the government of Spanish Louisiana begin its involvement in the American revolution?

Answer

Perhaps this question was stimulated by another recent question and answer. Please consider that exchange as preliminary background for what follows here.

After Spain's public acknowledgment in June 1779 that it would join with France to wage war on Britain, the Governor General of Spanish Louisiana, Bernardo de Gálvez, began his successful military campaign against British forces in Florida, Louisiana, and in the Mississippi River Valley.

John Jay's mission to Spain, which began in September of that year resulted in no additional direct aid to the American colonies, although Spain funneled some money to them indirectly, which helped the Colonies stabilize its currency. But Spain had had reasons of its own to harass Britain militarily and it had begun to do just that, conscious that Britain's world-wide military power would be occupied to some extent by the revolt of its colonies in America.

The Catholic monarchy of Spain, however, had little sympathy with the British colonies' budding republican ideals. The U.S. State Department's website, describing Jay's mission to Madrid, says that Carlos III's minister, with whom Jay dealt, "worried about American claims to lands west of the Appalachians and navigation rights on the Mississippi River and feared that the flames of the American revolution might spread to Spanish colonies in the Americas."

Nevertheless, his worry did not hinder Spain's pursuit of its own interests in America against the British and this certainly had the indirect but substantial effect of supporting the American colonists.

For more information

U.S. Department of State, "John Jay in Madrid."

Bibliography

Images:
Detail of ceiling painting in the Salon de Carlos III, Palacio Real, Madrid.

Drawing by Pierre Eugène Du Simitière, "His Excellency John Jay, President of Congress & Minister Plenipotentiary from Congress at Madrid," from Portraits of Generals, Ministers, Magistrates, Members of Congress, and Others, Who Have Rendered Themselves Illustrious in the Revolution of the United States of North America, Vol. 3. London: R. Wilkinson and J. Debrett, 1783.

Fort Laurens [OH]

Description

Named in honor of Henry Laurens, then president of the Continental Congress, Fort Laurens was built in 1778 in an ill-fated campaign to attack the British at Detroit. Supplying this wilderness outpost was its downfall, as its starving garrison survived on boiled moccasins and withstood a month-long siege by British-led Indians. The fort was abandoned in 1779. Today, only the outline of the fort remains, but a small museum commemorates the frontier soldier, presents a video giving the fort's history, and displays archaeological artifacts from the fort's excavation. The large park surrounding the museum is the location for periodic military reenactments. The remains of the soldiers who died defending the fort are buried in a crypt in the museum wall and at the Tomb of the Unknown Patriot of the American Revolution.

A second website covering the site, the Friends of Fort Laurens website, can be found here.

The site offers a short film; exhibits; and occasional recreational and educational events, including living history events.

Valley Forge National Historical Park [PA]

Description

The Valley Forge National Historical Park presents the social and military histories of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. In 1777, the British succeeded in capturing the then capital of the United States, Philadelphia. The Continental Army, under George Washington (1732-1799), encamped in Valley Forge that winter in order to keep pressure on the British in Philadelphia, while avoiding attack and the need for winter transportation, which was rendered nearly impossible given weather conditions. While at Valley Forge, the army received training from Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben (1730-1794), increasing its military prowess. Sites include a memorial chapel, Washington's headquarters, a brigade encampment, and the farmhouse in which General James Varnum (1748-1789) quartered.

The site offers an 18-minute introductory film, exhibits, guided tours, a cell phone tour, trolley tours, living history interpreters, educational programs, Junior Ranger tours and activities, library and archive access, a summer teachers' institute, and two sites which sell refreshments. The library and archive collections are non-circulating and only accessible by appointment. The website offers audio and video podcasts, a curriculum guide, and suggested reading. The park also offers a unique program, wherein children can muster into the Continental Army, learning about different aspects of army life each session. "Veteran" students assist with teaching newcomers.

Washington's headquarters is currently closed for restoration.

Ninety Six National Historic Site [SC]

Description

The Ninety Six National Historic Site preserves the original 1781 Star Fort and the field of two Revolutionary War battles.

The location offers tours of a variety of fully restored structures, as well as the reconstructed Stockade Fort and siege trenches and the Black Swan Tavern. The location also features a variety of programs throughout the year, including interpretive history events and demonstrations. The website offers a brief history of the location as well as visitor information, an events calendar, and resources for teachers including field trip information. In order to contact the website via email, use the "contact us" link located on the left side of the webpage.

Saratoga National Historical Park [NY]

Description

It was in Saratoga that in 1777 American forces forced a major British army to surrender. The victory secured foreign recognition and support that enabled the American forces to win the war. In addition to the battlefield, the park is host to the Schuyler House, the home of American General Philip Schuyler, and the Saratoga Monument, a 155-foot obelisk commentating the Battle of Saratoga.

The park offers walking tours, a visitor center, and tours of the Shuyler House. The website offers detailed historical information, visitor information, and a calendar of events. In order to contact the site via email, use the "contact us" link located on the left side of the webpage.

Yorktown Battlefield [VA]

Description

Yorktown Battlefield is notable for being the location of the British surrender during the Revolutionary War. The park hosts a variety of special events throughout the year commemorating the battle, as well as tours of the battlefield and town. Colonial Williamsburg and historic Jamestown are also located only minutes away from Yorktown.

The park offers ranger-led tours, as well as a variety of programs including the Young Soldiers Program, where kids join a costumed interpreter to learn about life as a soldier, and artillery demonstrations. The website offers a detailed history of the park, as well as visitor information, and an events calendar. In order to contact the park via email, use the "email us" link located on the left side of the webpage.

Stealing God's Thunder: Benjamin Franklin's Lightning Rod

Description

Author Philip Dray looks at Benjamin Franklin's work as a scientist, particularly his work with lightning and electricity. Dray examines opposition and detraction that Franklin faced based on religious grounds—objections that he was interfering with the weapons of God—and compares Franklin's struggles with these detractors to the American struggle to define itself after the Revolutionary War. His presentation includes slides.

Audio and video options are available.