ES+ | No.3 | 2025/2026 Although history has tended to highlight the Franco- the complex, changing but enduring relationship between American alliance, Spain’s contribution to the inde- Spain and the United States. pendence of the United States was equally decisive. In the United States, cities including Washington DC During the reign of Charles III, Spain provided financial, will host celebrations featuring parades, exhibitions and military and logistical support to the Thirteen Colonies, cultural events recognising Spain’s contribution to inde- and from 1777 onwards facilitated the insurgents’ war ef- pendence. In Spain, academic and cultural institutions will fort via routes including the Mississippi River and the port organise conferences, publications and educational activ- of New Orleans, marking the beginning of a relationship ities to publicise this shared heritage. spanning two and a half centuries. The commemoration of this anniversary is also an op- Spain officially entered the war in 1779 by declaring portunity to strengthen present and future ties between war on the United Kingdom, opening a second front that Spain and the United States, at a particularly turbulent relieved pressure on the American rebels. The campaigns time in international geopolitics and amid a cooling of re- led by Bernardo de Gálvez, governor of Louisiana, resulted lations between the US administration and Spain and the in the capture of strategic locationsincludingBtoRougan e, European Union as a whole in terms of trade and diplomacy. Mobile, and Pensacola. Spain also permitted the use of its Relations between the two countries have solidified, ports in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, facilitating however, since the restoration of democracy in Spain, cre- trade and offering refuge to American ships. These actions ating a strong bridge between the two nations from a com- consolidated Spanish influence in the region and strength- mercial and cultural standpoint. The main symbolic event ened the position of the colonies in the area during the war. in this new relationship took place in 1976, when the United Spanish influence on the formation of the United States, States was celebrating its bicentennial and the King and however, goes far beyond its military support. The Real de a Queen of Spain, Juan Carlos I and Sofia of Greece, chose Ocho, the first coin to becomeinternationally recognised in the United States as the destination for their first state modern history, inspired the design of the US dollar, while visit. Welcomed at the White House by President Gerald Hispanic culture, language and traditions have left their mark Ford and First Lady Betty Ford, Juan Carlos I became one on American identity,especially in states such as Florida, of three heads of state who delivered a speech before the Texas and California, where the percentage of Spanish speak- United States Congress that remarkable year. ers is much higher than in the rest of the country. Today, the United Statesis one of the top ten recipi- To mark the 250th anniversary of relations between ents of Spanish goods exports, while Spain, a much smaller Spain and the United States, various activities have been country in terms of populationsize, is one of the top twenty organised in both countries to commemorate the beginning customers for US exports. In 2024, Spain’s sales to America of these relations. Initiatives such as America&Spain250, totalled €18,179 billion, while the flow of goods in the op- promoted by the Ramón Areces Foundation and the Queen posite direction reached €28,193 billion. This trade deficit, Sofia Spanish Institute, aim to enrich understanding of which is negative for Spain, is reversed in the case of ser- J Bernardo de Gálvez, governor of Louisiana, was a key figure in the American War of Independence. In 2014, he was named an honorary citizen of the United States by President Barack Obama for his contribution to the British defeat in the war. 125