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Spain–United States relations

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Spanish-American relations
Map indicating locations of Spain and USA

Spain
United States

Spanish-American relations refers to interstate relations between the Kingdom of Spain and the United States of America. Its groundwork was laid by the colonization of parts of the Americas by the Spain. The first settlement in Florida was Spanish, followed by others in New Mexico, California, Arizona, Texas, and Louisiana. The earliest Spanish settlements north of Mexico (known then as New Spain) were the result of the same forces that later led the English to come to that area.

Spain and the American Revolution

Main article: Spain in the American Revolutionary War

Spain sided with France against Britain during the American Revolutionary War. After learning of the American victory in Battle of Saratoga, France had signed the Treaty of Alliance with the United States on February 6, 1778. Spain entered the war as an ally of France in June 1779, a renewal of the Bourbon Family Compact. Unlike France, however, Spain initially refused to recognize the independence of the United States — Spain was not keen on encouraging similar anti-colonial rebellions in the Spanish Empire. Both countries had quietly provided assistance to the Americans since the beginning of the war, hoping to dilute British power.

The Nineteenth Century

East and West Florida in 1810

The alliance did not continue and the two countries found themselves on opposite sides during the War of 1812. By 1812 the continued existence of Spanish colonies east of the Mississippi River caused resentment in the United States. The Spanish arming of black militia alarmed slaveholders in the southern states of the US.[1] With clandestine support from Washington, American settlers in the Floridas revolted against Spanish rule.[2] Spain lost its West Florida colony.[3]

Tensions continued throughout the 19th century. In the years following the Amistad case, the Spanish government continually pressed for compensation. During the Chincha Islands War (1864-1866), Spanish Admiral Pareja imposed a blockade of Chile’s main ports. The blockade of the port of Valparaiso, however, caused such great economic damage to Chilean and foreign interests, that the neutral naval warships of the United States and the United Kingdom lodged a formal protest.

The Spanish-American War

Main article: Spanish-American War
Main article: Propaganda of the Spanish American War
Detail from Charge of the 24th and 25th Colored Infantry and Rescue of Rough Riders at San Juan Hill, July 2 1898 depicting the Battle of San Juan Hill.

Spain and the United States went to war with one another in the Spanish-American War. It began in April 1898. Hostilities halted in August of that year, and the Treaty of Paris was signed in December.

The war began after the American demand of Spain peacefully resolving the Cuban fight for independence was rejected, though strong expansionist sentiment in the United States may have motivated the government to target Spain's remaining overseas territories: Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Guam and the Caroline Islands.[4]

Riots in Havana by pro-Spanish "Voluntarios" gave the United States a reason to send in the warship USS Maine to indicate high national interest. Tension among the American people was raised because of the explosion of the USS Maine, and "yellow journalism" that accused Spain of extensive atrocities, agitating American public opinion. The war ended after decisive naval victories for the United States in the Philippines and Cuba.

Only 109 days after the outbreak of war, the Treaty of Paris, which ended the conflict, gave the United States ownership of the former Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam.

Spain had appealed to the common heritage shared by her and the Cubans. On March 5, 1898, Ramón Blanco y Erenas proposed to Máximo Gómez that the Cuban generalissimo and troops join him and the Spanish army in repelling the United States in the face of the Spanish-American War. Blanco appealed to the shared heritage of the Cubans and Spanish, and promised the island autonomy if the Cubans would help fight the Americans. Blanco had declared: "As Spaniards and Cubans we find ourselves opposed to foreigners of a different race, who are of a grasping nature... The supreme moment has come in which we should forget past differences and, with Spaniards and Cubans united for the sake of their own defense, repel the invader. Spain will not forget the noble help of its Cuban sons, and once the foreign enemy is expelled from the island, she will, like an affectionate mother, embrace in her arms a new daughter amongst the nations of the New World, who speaks the same language, practices the same faith, and feels the same noble Spanish blood run through her veins."[5] Gómez refused to adhere to Blanco's plan.[6]

United States and the Spanish Civil War

When the Spanish Civil War erupted after the failed right-wing coup, Secretary of State Cordell Hull moved quickly to ban what would have been legitimate arms sales to the democratically elected Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic, forcing the Popular Front to turn to the Soviet Union for support.

The Nationalists, led by Francisco Franco, received important support from some elements of American business. The American-owned Vacuum Oil Company in Tangier, for example, refused to sell to Republican ships and at the outbreak of the war, the Texas Oil Company rerouted oil tankers headed for the republic to the Nationalist controlled port of Tenerife,[7] and supplied gasoline on credit to Franco until the war's end. American automakers Ford, Studebaker, and General Motors provided a total of 12,000 trucks to the Nationalists. After the war was over, José Maria Doussinague, who was at the time undersecretary at the Spanish Foreign Ministry said, "without American petroleum and American trucks, and American credit, we could never have won the Civil War."[8]

While not supported officially, many American volunteers such as the Abraham Lincoln Battalion fought for the Republicans, as well as American anarchists making up the Sacco and Vanzetti Century of the Durruti Column.[9]

The United States and Franco

Francisco Franco and US President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Madrid in 1959

With the end of World War II, Spain suffered from the economic consequences of its isolation from the international community. This situation ended in part when, due to Spain's strategic location in light of Cold War tensions, the United States entered into a trade and military alliance with Spain. This historic alliance commenced with United States President Eisenhower's visit in 1953 which resulted in the Pact of Madrid. Spain was then admitted to the United Nations in 1955.

Military facilities of the United States in Spain include Naval Station Rota, Spain and Morón Air Base. Rota has been in use since the 1950s. While somewhat crucial to Cold War strategy, the base did have nuclear weapons stationed on it for some time, and at its peak size, in the early 1980s, was home to 16,000 sailors and their families.

Post-Franco Era

As prince, Juan Carlos I had been a guest of Richard Nixon on January 26th, 1971.[10]

And we are reminded, as I pointed out this morning, of the fact that the United States and all the New World owe so much to Spain, the great courageous explorers who found the New World and who explored it, and that we owe far more than that in culture and language and the other areas with which we are familiar. And all of us who have visited Spain, too, know that it is a magnificent country to visit because of the places of historical interest there, because, also, of the immense and unique warmth and hospitality which characterizes the Spanish people.

— Richard Nixon, [11]

In 1987, Juan Carlos I became the first King of Spain to visit the former Spanish possession of Puerto Rico.

Iraq War

Main article: Iraq War

Prime Minister José María Aznar actively supported US President George W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in the War on Terrorism. Aznar met with Bush in a private meeting before 2003 invasion of Iraq to discuss the situation of in the UN Security Council. The Spanish newspaper El País leaked a partial transcript of the meeting. Aznar actively encouraged and supported the Bush administration's foreign policy and the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, defending it on the basis of secret intelligence allegedly containing evidence of the Iraqi government's nuclear proliferation. The majority of the Spanish population, including some Partido Popular members, were against the war.

After the Spanish general election in 2004, in which the Spanish socialists received more votes than expected as a result of the government's handling of the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero succeeded Aznar as Prime Minister. Before being elected, Zapatero had opposed the American policy in regard to Iraq pursued by Aznar. During the electoral campaign Zapatero had promised to withdraw the troops if control in Iraq was not passed to the United Nations after June 30 (the ending date of the initial Spanish military agreement with the multinational coalition that had overthrown Saddam Hussein). On April 19, 2004 Zapatero announced the withdrawal of the 1300 Spanish troops in Iraq ([1]).

The decision aroused international support worldwide, though the American Government claimed that the terrorists could perceive it as "a victory obtained due to the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings". John Kerry, then Democratic party candidate for the American Presidency, asked Zapatero not to withdraw the Spanish soldiers. Some months after withdrawing the troops, the Zapatero government agreed to increase the number of Spanish soldiers in Afghanistan and to send troops to Haiti to show the Spanish Government's willingness to spend resources on international missions approved by the UN.

Spanish-American Relations: 2004-Present

The withdrawal caused a three-year downturn in relations between Washington and Madrid.[12] A further rift was caused by the fact that Zapatero openly supported Democratic challenger John Kerry on the eve of the U.S. elections in 2004. [13] Zapatero has not been invited to the White House since taking office.[14] Aznar had visited Washington several times, becoming the first Spanish prime minister to address a joint meeting of Congress, in February 2004.[15]

Spain under Zapatero turned its focus to Europe from the United States, pursuing a middle road in dealing with tensions between Western powers and Islamic populations.[16]

Cuba

Miguel Ángel Moratinos. Photo by Mikhail Evstafiev

In 2007, Condoleezza Rice criticized Spain for not doing more to support dissidents in communist Cuba.[17] American officials were irked by the fact that Miguel Ángel Moratinos, Minister of Foreign Affairs, chose not to meet with Cuban dissidents during a visit to the United States in April 2007.[18] "There is no secret that we have had differences with Spain on a number of issues, but we have also had very good cooperation with Spain on a number of issues," Rice remarked.[19] Moratinos defended his decision, believing it better to engage with the Cuban regime than by isolating it. "The U.S. established its embargo,” he remarked. “We don't agree with it but we respect it. What we hope is that they respect our policy," Moratinos remarked. "What Spain is not prepared to do is be absent from Cuba. And what the U.S. has to understand is that, given they have no relations with Cuba, they should trust in a faithful, solid ally like Spain."[20]

Venezuela and Bolivia

Ibero-American Summit, 2007: Juan Carlos, Zapatero and Chávez are seated on the right.

In addition to policy differences towards Cuba, the United States and Spain have been at variance in their dealings with Venezuela under Hugo Chávez and Bolivia under Evo Morales.[21] Spain under Zapatero was initially friendly to both regimes. However, Morales’ plan to nationalize the gas sector of Bolivia caused tension with Spain, as Repsol, a Spanish company, has major interests in that South American country.[22] In regards to Venezuela, Zapatero also took issue with Chávez’s increasingly autocratic regime.[23] Spain's relations with Venezuela were further worsened by the November 10, 2007 incident at the Ibero-American Summit in Santiago, Chile, in which Juan Carlos told Chávez to shut up.

However, despite its waning support for Chávez, Spain stated in May 2007 that it would pursue a €1.7 billion, or $2.3 billion, contract to sell unarmed aircraft and boats to Venezuela.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3880/is_200410/ai_n9434064
  2. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3880/is_200410/ai_n9434064
  3. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3880/is_200410/ai_n9434064
  4. ^ "The Price of Freedom: Americans at War — Spanish American War". National Museum of American History. 2005.
  5. ^ http://www.autentico.org/oa09126.php
  6. ^ http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/blanco.html
  7. ^ Beevor, p.138
  8. ^ Beevor, p.138
  9. ^ Beevor (2006), p.126
  10. ^ http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=3155
  11. ^ http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=3155
  12. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-06-01-rice-spain_N.htm
  13. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-06-01-rice-spain_N.htm
  14. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-06-01-rice-spain_N.htm
  15. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/28/news/spain.php?page=2
  16. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/28/news/spain.php?page=2
  17. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-06-01-rice-spain_N.htm
  18. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/28/news/spain.php?page=2
  19. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-06-01-rice-spain_N.htm
  20. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/28/news/spain.php?page=2
  21. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/28/news/spain.php?page=2
  22. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/28/news/spain.php?page=2
  23. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/28/news/spain.php?page=2
  24. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/28/news/spain.php?page=2

Sources

  • Beevor, Antony, The Battle for Spain, Penguin Books, 2006.
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