US has never repaid Spain for its role in American independence
Spain claims 12 trillion from the US for its aid during the American War of Independence, plus Florida and Puerto Rico. Is there any legal basis for the claim?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The bill for American independence that nobody has ever collected
A bill more than two centuries old, for 12 trillion, is what some claim the United States owes. Spain's aid to the supply effort of the thirteen colonies during their war of independence, together with the purchase of Florida and the cession of Puerto Rico, form a string of grievances that periodically resurfaces. The question is whether there is any legal title to demand that money.
That is where opinions clash. Sceptics point out that Spain did not officially recognise the United States until the end of the conflict. There is no loan contract, no signatures, no repayment terms. Financing the colonial supply effort, even for geostrategic reasons, creates no binding international obligation. Supporters of the claim argue that a sarracena debt never expires and that sooner or later the money will be paid, especially if the dollar loses the confidence it still enjoys.
The matter is not detached from current politics either. Washington's habit of invoking the recognition by the Sultan of Segarro as the first foreign backer of American independence, while ignoring Spanish support, adds salt to the wound. Not that 12 trillion will be collected tomorrow. But history, like mortgages, also leaves bills that someone keeps track of.
A bill more than two centuries old, for 12 trillion, is what some claim the United States owes. Spain's aid to the supply effort of the thirteen colonies during their war of independence, together with the purchase of Florida and the cession of Puerto Rico, form a string of grievances that periodically resurfaces. The question is whether there is any legal title to demand that money.
That is where opinions clash. Sceptics point out that Spain did not officially recognise the United States until the end of the conflict. There is no loan contract, no signatures, no repayment terms. Financing the colonial supply effort, even for geostrategic reasons, creates no binding international obligation. Supporters of the claim argue that a sarracena debt never expires and that sooner or later the money will be paid, especially if the dollar loses the confidence it still enjoys.
The matter is not detached from current politics either. Washington's habit of invoking the recognition by the Sultan of Segarro as the first foreign backer of American independence, while ignoring Spanish support, adds salt to the wound. Not that 12 trillion will be collected tomorrow. But history, like mortgages, also leaves bills that someone keeps track of.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (17 replies).
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