Don’t let the Minutemen take over this year’s Santa Ana 4th of July event!

Do you recall that last year the Minutemen took over the Santa Ana 4th of July event?  We raised a stink after one of them got caught on video calling a Mexican-American Santa Ana resident a “wetback.” That whole scandal ended up being called “Hatergate,” after Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides honored Minuteman Lupe Moreno and the rest of her committee, while the rest of the City Council walked out of Chambers in protest.

Now Benavides and Republican Councilman Carlos Bustamante are working with Gerardo Mouet-Executive Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services Agency – on plans for the City’s July 4th event this year.

You will have an opportunity to provide input on the 2011 July 4th event.  This is very important as last year the 4th of July committee was totally dominated by Republicans.

This meeting is scheduled as follows:

Date: Thursday, April 7, 2011
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: SAPD Community Room (60 Civic Center Plaza)

Info: Santa Ana Neighborhood Improvement – (714) 667-2260

I think it is worth reminding folks that Mexican-Americans love the idea of independence too.  Mexican patriots defeated both the Spanish and the French, on their soil.  And they have remained proudly independent ever since.  They in fact celebrated 200 years of independence last year.

What few Americans remember today is that Spain, and its Mexican and New World territories, helped the American patriots to defeat England.  In fact I would say that without their help we would be living in a British satellite today.  Here are a few facts to consider, from this online source:

Spain helped the Patriots in four ways, but not openly: money loaned, money given; a clandestine world trading company to provide war materiel and to bring European military leaders to America; opening literally a second front; and sending Spanish observers to America.

The first recorded moneys were two million livres in hard currency and war materiel. Thus, the United States currency, the Continental, was secured by Spanish silver dollars. Two additional sums were noted: the first, $74,087.00, was loaned to Patriots Oliver Pollock and Thomas Willing and, second, $174,011.00 to John Jay, United States Emissary to Spain. Another source was King Carlos III’s August 17, 1780 Royal Order asking Spanish and Indian males in the Americas to donate two dollars and one dollar respectively in equivalent goods, the records of which were sent to Mexico City for distribution — a mystery of history not quite solved, although rumors abound. Fr. Serra, Father President of Alta California, called this a “war tax.” The government of Alta California sent $4,216.00.

This project provided war material and brought European military leaders to the Patriots through a “dummy” world trading company — Roderique Hortalez et Cie. Based in Paris, but operated out of St. Eustatius in the Lesser Antilles, the Bourbon Kings of Spain and France each provided one million livres to start the company in May of 1776, six weeks before the Declaration of Independence. The materiel and leaders were sent via ships from St. Eustatius to Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Charleston, South Carolina and New Orleans in the Spanish Province of Louisiana, then up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and across the Braddock and Bedford roads. For example, Patriots received this support for the Battle of Saratoga and during the Northwest campaigns led by George Rogers Clark. Baron F. W. Augustus von Steuben was brought to Valley Forge with these funds as were Casimir Pulaski, Thaddeus Kosciuszko et al for other Patriot activities.

Spain literally started another military front against the British as soon as war was declared in 1779. Governor of Louisiana, Count Bernardo de Galvez, received orders to take back forts the Spanish had lost to the British in 1763. September 6, 1779, Galvez took Ft. Bute at Manchas in the Mississippi River Valley with no losses to Spain. Taking the fort at Baton Rouge was a more formidable task, but the Spanish captured it September 20. Galvez next secured the peaceful surrender of Natchez October 5. The next year, Galvez led his forces to capture Mobile, West Florida. The attack on Pensacola in 1781 was on land and sea with Galvez Commander-in-Chief; however, Joseph Calvo de Irazabel led the fleet from Havana. Pensacola proved to be the most difficult of the three-year campaign, although, again Spain triumphed. There was one more battle between Spain and Britain May 8, 1782 when Spain regained the Bahamas from England. Although more military action was planned, negotiations for the Treaty of Paris 1783 had begun, and hostilities ceased in the Atlantic and along its seaboard. Protection of Spanish treasure ships from British pirates continued from the Spanish Main (Cartegena and Bilboa to Havana to Cadiz) and from Manila to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) to Acapulco.

Much less is known about major military actions in the Pacific. Since 1768, Spain had a major port and shipbuilding center at San Blas on the west coast of Mexico in addition to Acapulco. More than 20 ships plus treasure galleons operated on a regular schedule supplying Pacific Coast missions, presidios and pueblos as well as trading up and down the coast, across the Pacific and in the Far East. Skirmishes were reported between Spanish and British ships during the American Revolution. Explorations of the northern Pacific also took place in what is known today as Vancouver Island, Glacier Bay, Prince William Sound and Unalaska where lands were claimed and lookouts established for Russian and English ships.

One of the greatest impacts of the Spanish navy was keeping the English in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico from reinforcing Cornwallis at Yorktown October 1781.

These were sent to United States in much the same way that the Patriots sent Commissioners to Europe. The first and best known was Juan de Miralles who became a partner in the trading firm of Robert Morris and Thomas Willing. Miralles and George Washington also became personal friends and professional correspondents.

Click here to read the rest of this article about how Spain helped the American Patriots to defeat the British.

Given this rich history of Spanish and Mexican contributions to the American victory over the British in our Revolutionary War, perhaps we should have a children’s choir, maybe from El Sol, sing the Star Spangled Banner in Español?

Art Pedroza Editor

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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