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An exploration of the Spanish colonial reaction to the threat of Napoleonic subversion A Great Fear: Luís de Onís and the Shadow War against Napoleon in Spanish America, 1808–1812 explores why Spanish Americans did not take the opportunity to seize independence in this critical period when Spain was overrun by French armies and, arguably, in its weakest state. In the first years after his appointment as Spanish ambassador to the United States, Luís de Onís claimed the heavy responsibility of defending Spanish America from the wave of French spies, subversives, and soldiers whom he believed Napoleon was sending across the Atlantic to undermine the empire. As a leading representative of ...
Published in 1954, Rembert Patrick's Florida Fiasco details the aggressive schemes developed by President Madison and Secretary of State Monroe in the attempted acquisition of Florida. Patrick shows that George Matthews's influence over General John McIntosh inspired him to plan a revolt in east Florida in the hopes of turning the conquered territory over to Matthews. The plot was thwarted when Spanish minister Luis de Onis heard of the coming attack and appealed to the British. Thus begins the five-year attempt which was led in succession by George Matthews, David Mitchell, and Thomas A. Mitchell. Patrick's account includes the plotting of undercover agents, manipulation of discontented nationals, denials by high officials, and adventurers seeking rich rewards.
This is the story of a man, a treaty, and a nation. The man was John Quincy Adams, regarded by most historians as America's greatest secretary of state. The treaty was the Transcontinental Treaty of 1819, of which Adams was the architect. It acquired Florida for the young United States, secured a western boundary extending to the Pacific, and bolstered the nation's position internationally. As William Weeks persuasively argues, the document also represented the first determined step in the creation of an American global empire. Weeks follows the course of the often labyrinthine negotiations by which Adams wrested the treaty from a recalcitrant Spain. The task required all of Adams's skill in...