ABSTRACT

Though the participation of France in the American Revolution is well established in the historiography, the role of Spain, France’s ally, is relatively understudied and underappreciated. Spain's involvement in the conflict formed part of a global struggle between empires and directly influenced the outcome of the clash between Britain and its North American colonists. Following the establishment of American independence, the Spanish empire became one of the nascent republic's most significant neighbors and, often illicitly, trading partners. Bringing together essays from a range of well-regarded historians, this volume contributes significantly to the international history of the Age of Atlantic Revolutions.

chapter 1|36 pages

Introduction

Spain and the American Revolution

chapter 4|14 pages

José’s secrets

Minister Gálvez’s master plan for Spain’s participation in the American Revolution

chapter 5|9 pages

“Foreseeing what great occasions might come”

American independence and Spanish naval reformers

chapter 7|13 pages

Spain’s bid for the American interior?

The imperial contest over the revolutionary Great Lakes

chapter 8|12 pages

Spain and the American Revolution

A Pacific perspective

chapter 9|12 pages

Law in early modern diplomacy

The Jay–Floridablanca negotiations of 1780

chapter 10|12 pages

Sarah Livingston Jay (1756–1802)

A republican lady in Spain

chapter 11|13 pages

Securing the borderlands/seas in the American Revolution

Spanish–American cooperation and regional security against the British Empire

chapter 12|13 pages

Spain and the birth of the American Republic

Establishing lasting bonds of kinship in the Revolutionary Era

chapter 13|13 pages

A new guardian

The values of the American Revolution in post-Revolutionary Spanish Louisiana settlements