Whilst this is a complex chapter that begins to describe the beginning of the rebel movements for the American Revolution, Independence wars, and land claims between the Spanish, English and the French; the alliances that were created and the continued need for the native people as a source of support: to take up an onlookers perspective I found elements of romanticism within the discoveries of the lush lands, the joy of description, as sources were discovered for economic gain, strength and survival. Spain became amongst the first to bring the idea of commerce. Encouraging imports and exports to Spanish sea-ports in 1778. Ideas such as these were also published in Adam Smith’s 1776 book: The Wealth of Nations, but did not reach Castille until translation (Gibson, 2019, p. 110).
The British regulated trade with the creation of The Sugar Act 1764, The Stamp Act 1765, and the Townshend Act 1767 (2019, p. 115). These were sources of tension and led to the compilation of a series of grievances from Thomas Jefferson in the 1776 Declaration of Independence. Spain did not understand the seriousness of the “United States” movements for Independence. Although beginning with subtle support, Spain understood that it must support these efforts, especially for the strength of Europe. It was also at this time that France and Spain needed to align. Bernardo de Gálvez was prominent to win victory battles with the British. The British surrendered in 1781 and peace negotiations began under the Treaty of Paris (p. 119).
Florida was once again in the hands of the Spanish, now with Pensacola as the largest French settlement. Spain also retained Louisiana, New Orleans and Cuba. Spanish America continued to offer sanctuary to runaway slaves, but in 1970 they were forced to stop this (p. 121). Securing access to the Mississippi River became a priority, the Spanish were also encouraged to welcome non-Catholic settlers to continue to strengthen the Spanish Empire.
I found that within this chapter additional research is required to understand the events that led up to the actual independence and formation of America. Another point of interests was that Florida did not originally sign documents desired for independence.
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Notes: Please note that these are my thoughts and views upon my reading to gain an understanding of American history of what interested me within this chapter, there are many more points that have not been discussed within my writing. Thank You!
REFERENCES:
- CHAPTER 5 | New Madrid, Missouri, ca. 1760-90
- Gibson, C. (2019). EL NORTE The Epic and Forgotten History of Hispanic North America. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press.
- BOOK READING NOTES!
- “EL NORTE”
- EMERGING VOICES!
- ST. AUGUSTINE
- SUMMARY | CHAPTER 3!
- CHAPTER 4 | SUMMARY!
- REFLECTION | UNCOVERED HISTORY
Image 1 – Link
Galveston Beach, Texas – The city of Galveston was named after Bernardo de Gálvez
Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on June 5th 2021.
With Love & Kindness! 🙂
{HEART'S, FOREVER!} 
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