CHAPTER III SPANISH POLICY IN THE SOUTHWEST. PART I More dangerous than either the British or French designs on Louisiana was the threatening westward expansion of the United States, hence the great object of Spanish diplomacy centered upon a bulwark against this advance. With the definite purpose of 1 keeping the Americans back, the keynote of Spanish erce.2 policy aimed at "isolation from foreign connections" and a "Spanish Gulf". Obviously the Mississippi must be closed to foreign commerce. In keeping with this policy, Spain cancelled the privilege of trade on the lower Mississippi, which it had opened to the Americans during the Revolution as a concession to the United 1. Adams, p. 42. 2. G. L. Rives, "Spain and the United States in 1795", in American Historical Review, IV (1899), States, following the Spanish alliance with France in 3 1779. 4 Spain never recognized the cession. In 1787, when John Jay negotiated for free trade on the Mississippi, the Spanish agents assured him that it was "one of the maxims of policy to exclude all mankind from their Ameri15 can shores. There was a uniformity of opinion among the Spaniards concerning the desirability of a barrier between the Great Northern Republic and the SpanishAmerican Colonies, but there was a decided difference of opinion as to the best method of erecting a permanent wall. Some claimed that the Mississippi should be closed, for this would lead the Westerners to join the Spanish. Others held that privileges should be granted to a few, in order that the others might realize how profitable the trade was, and that this method would promote the Western 3. W. R. Shepherd, "Wilkinson and the Beginning of the Spanish Conspiracy", in American Historical Review IX (1904), p. 4917 4. After the Treaty of 1783, Florida went to Spain, which gave to that power control over both banks of the Mississippi. Regardless of the clamor in the West that the Americans had the right of free navigation because they lived in the upper lands, the Americans only had the right if Spain gave it. ers' desire to ally with Spain. As a result, the series of intrigues with Wilkinson followed. 6 The separatist movement in the West received the support of such men as George P. Clark, John Sevier of Franklin, and James Robertson of Cumberland. When the Government failed to secure the navigation of the Mississippi for the Westerners, the frontiersmen considered negotiating for it themselves, and the general feeling was to accept another flag in return for free transportation. The economic advantage was of vital importance Intense lo to them, political sovereignty, secondary. calism was the dominant characteristic of the Western settlements, nationalism was still dormant. Even Governor Shelly, in 1794, refused to prevent an armed expedition against New Orleans and the Spanish possessions in order to hurry the Federal Government into securing a commercial 7 treaty with Spain. More specific evidence of the loose bonds of union between the East and the West is the vote 6. Wilkinson promised to urge annexation to Spain, or to establish an independent Western nation to become allied with Spain. One method of strengthening friendly relations between Spain and the Western settlements was to pension the influential frontiersmen. 7. Albert V. Goodpasture, "Andrew Jackson, Tennessee and the Union", in American Historical Magazine, |