Evening Speaker Series & Wine Reception: "Spain, United States Independence, and the Strategy that Made it Possible"

Details

Join author Thomas E. Chávez on Wednesday, November 12, at 6:00 PM, as he shares his research about how Spain supported our country’s independence. Chávez was the former director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque, and the former curator and director of the Palace of the Governors, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe. He has authored many publications and books on related topics. The evening will begin with a wine reception at The Heritage Society’s museum gallery at 1100 Bagby Street.

The role of Spain in the birth of the United States is a little known and little understood aspect of U.S. independence. Through actual fighting, provision of supplies, and money, Spain helped the young British colonies succeed in becoming an independent nation. Soldiers were recruited from all over the Spanish empire, from Spain itself and from throughout Spanish America. Many died fighting British soldiers and their allies in Central America, the Caribbean, along the Mississippi River from New Orleans to St. Louis and as far north as Michigan, along the Gulf Coast to Mobile and Pensacola, as well as in Europe.

Based on primary research in the archives of Spain, this book is about United States history at its very inception, placing the war in its broadest international context. In short, the information in this book should provide a clearer understanding of the independence of the United States, correct a longstanding omission in its history, and enrich its patrimony. It will appeal to anyone interested in the history of the Revolutionary War and in Spain's role in the development of the Americas.