1st Edition
The United Kingdom and Spain in the Eighteenth Century Beloved Enemy
This book seeks to bridge a gap in the historiography of Spain and Great Britain by arguing that while the 18th century witnessed periods of tension, conflict, and hostility between the two powers, their relationship remained multifaceted and significant across other domains.
Throughout the 18th century, Spain and Great Britain cycled through phases of open warfare, armed peace, and deep suspicion. The British captures of Gibraltar and Menorca dealt a severe blow to the newly established Bourbon dynasty in Spain. However, even in times of war, not all communication channels are closed, and through these, numerous formal and informal contacts managed to transcend the volatile political climate and enmities. The contributors of this volume delve beyond the well-known animosity and conflicts to explore the spectrum of interactions, encompassing cultural exchange, traditional diplomacy, trade, espionage, and a multitude of other facets.
This volume is a valuable resource for researchers and students interested in the intricate dynamics between Great Britain and Spain during the 18th century, as well as to a broader audience of historians and both undergraduate and postgraduate students of history and international relations.
Introduction
Manuel-Reyes García Hurtado
1. The Royal Navy in Anglo-Spanish Relations, 1714–1739
Richard Harding
2. The Royal Navy in the Backyard: The Effects of the New Context in the Western Mediterranean as Portrayed in the Correspondence of the Spanish Military Serving in the Wars of Italy (1718–1750)
Víctor García-González
3. The Global Enemy: Spanish Global Awareness and British Expansion (c. 1750–1800)
Pablo Ortega-del-Cerro
4. A Forgotten Frontier: Spanish Florida and British Georgia, 1748–1763
Pablo de la Fuente de Pablo and Cezary Taracha
5. British Naval Intelligence in Spain: “Will Keep an Eye on Ferrol"
Manuel-Reyes García Hurtado
6. Spanish Printing in London in the Eighteenth Century
Barry Taylor
7. The Image of the Englishman in the Spanish Literature of Enlightenment
Beate Möller
8. Government Censorship of English Narrative in 18th-Century Spain (1769–1810)
Elena de Lorenzo Álvarez
9. The Anglo-Spanish Rivalry in the Eighteenth-Century Literary Space: English Translations of Spanish Picaresque Fiction and the Rise of the Novel
Joanna Maciulewicz
10. English Influence on Santiago de Compostela Clockmaking During the Eighteenth Century
Daniel Mena Acevedo
11. The Alhambra and the Peninsular War: William Gell and the British in Spain, 1808–1814
Rosemary Sweet and Richard Ansell
12. Stately Quadrille: British and Spanish Contredanses Around the Congress of Soissons
Pelayo Fernández García
13. “Under the Duke of Liria’s Nose”: Anglo-Spanish Diplomatic Encounters in Vienna, 1731–1732
Stephen Griffin
14. Between Enmity and Friendship: The Diplomacy of Great Britain, Spain and France at the End of the Old Regime (1793–1796)
Ainoa Chinchilla Galarzo
15. Between the Portuguese and the Spanish, British Smuggling in the Río de la Plata (1715–1735)
Paulo Cesar Possamai
16. English Men in the Periphery of the Spanish Empire: Neighbours and Surveillance of the Foreigner in the Cabildo of Buenos Aires in the First Half of the 18th Century
Silvina Andrea Mondragón and Osvaldo Víctor Pereyra
17. A War for “A Few Cabbages Planted Within an Enclosure”: Debates in the British Parliament About the Nootka Crisis (1789)
José-Ramón Cumplido Muñoz
18. Enemies and Clients: The Investment of the English and Irish Community in the Low Andalusia in the Export and Production of Citrus Fruits During the 18th Century
María Grove-Gordillo, Mercedes Gamero Rojas, and Manuel Francisco Fernández Chaves
19. Merchants, Sailors and Privateers: Maritime Affairs Between Spain and England During Wartime as Revealed in the Prize Papers
Michael Limberger and Wim De Winter
Biography
Manuel-Reyes García Hurtado is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of La Corunna (Spain). He is the author and editor of many books, most recently Conflictos y tensiones en las sociedades portuarias del norte peninsular (siglos XVI-XIX) (2022).
