Dr. Samuel A. Forman — The Spanish Empire and Emerging United States in North America

Dr. Samuel A. Forman

In the Colonial and Revolutionary Eras, Spanish land claims in North America far exceeded the area of the thirteen original states. Spanish influence, dominion, and contests with both Native Americans and competing European imperial powers shaped the agendas from Florida, through modern-day Alabama, Mississippi, the Mississippi Valley, and the Louisiana Territory, up into the Southwest and Alta California in the Far West. This survey will place in context the notable people and events of the Spanish Dominion in North America. This presentation will start before European contact and include Conquistadors, establishment of Spanish missions and settlements, Spain’s pivotal support of American Independence, and post-war competition shaping the American Western and Southern frontiers. Attendees will appreciate the legacy of the Spanish presence in today’s United States. History Campers considering attending The Pursuit Of History’s immersive Weekend in Santa Fe this Autumn, and those rounding out their knowledge of American and European history, will find this presentation particularly interesting.