Spain and the Independence of the United States

An Educating Conversation

January 29, 2026 | Featuring: Thomas E. Chávez – “Spain and the Independence of the United States”

Thomas E. Chávez, Historian with Phd. from the University of New Mexico, member of Spain’s Real Academia de la Historia, and the Orden de Isabel la Catolica. 

I have published fourteen books, including Spain and the Independence of the United States: An Intrinsic Gift, The Diplomacy of Independence: Benjamin Franklin Documents in the Archives of Spain, and Revolutionary Diplomacy: Spanish Connections and the Birth of the United States.

🗣 Without Spain’s covert aid and eventual declaration of war against Great Britain, our founding fathers could not have achieved their independence through the revolution. 

Spain turned a rebellion of thirteen British colonies into a world war that forced Britain to “make some hard decisions,” that resulted in the eventual peace and birth of the United States of America. 

Even Fray Junípero Serra was aware of and helped support Spain’s involvement in the rebel’s cause.

📍 Location: Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library, 2201 Laguna Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105 

💲 Cost: $30 public ($25 members) admission fee to support the work of the Archive-Library

ℹ️ Logistics: RSVP Required | Light Refreshments | Doors at 5:30pm