9781606188965_

Although Benjamin Franklin never set foot in Spain, from 1774 until his death in 1790 he maintained contact and correspondence with a wide range of Spanish officials and intellectuals. As a diplomat, Franklin carried papers to Paris naming him minister to Spain, yet he remained in the French capital where he dealt with Spains ambassador to France, the formidable Count of Aranda. Beginning with Franklins exchange of gifts with the Don Felipe Bourbon, the King of Spains third son, and ending with his induction into Spains Royal Academy of History, The Diplomacy of Independence explores a facet of Franklins life previously overlooked yet documented in the archives of Spain.

This book makes available more than seventy Franklin-related documents housed in various Spanish archives. The majority of documents are in Spanish or French, while a few are in original English. Some are in Franklins hand, while others relate meetings in which Franklin participated, or as in one case, the actual minutes in which Franklin was inducted into the Royal Academy. All documents are presented in their original language, as well as in an English translation. Annotations provide contextual information, each document has an introduction that relays pertinent information relative to their archival locale, so that historians and the curious will be able to locate the original with little effort.?

The Diplomacy of Independence not only contributes to the already extensive knowledge of Benjamin Franklin but also highlights Franklins and his colleagues efforts in assuring Spains key aid and involvement in the American Revolutionary war.

Contributors: Russ Davidson, Genoveva Enríquez, Patricia Kurz, and Celia López-Chávez.

...(*_*)9781606188965_

Presenting more than seventy documents from Spanish archives that provide a rare glimpse into Benjamin Franklins connection to Spain.

Contributors: Russ Davidson, Genoveva Enríquez, Patricia Kurz, and Celia López-Chávez.

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The Diplomacy of Independence

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