ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the relationships that formed between prominent Americans and their Spanish peers during the late eighteenth century. Members of the Spanish Court received news of the American Revolutionary War with both enthusiasm and sympathy. During their encounter, Beaumarchais conveyed to the American representative that both France and Spain were willing to support the American colonists as they attempted to establish their independence. As assistance increased throughout 1776, so did British intuitions that the French and Spanish courts were supporting the American colonists. The American merchant, Oliver Pollock, became the main go-between for American and Spanish forces in the Mississippi Valley following the Declaration of Independence. The Spanish declaration of war against the British Empire in June of 1779 did little to change the preexisting relationships that existed between Miralles and prominent American figures. In the years following the failed Jay–Gardoqui Treaty, Americans continued to move throughout the continent.
