MEMOIRE SUR UN PROJET POUR FORMER DES ETATS MONARCHIQUES INDÉPENDANTS SUR LE CONTINENT DE L'AMERIQUE ESPAGNOLE. I. MOTIFS ET MOYENS D'ÉXÉCUTION. II. AVANTAGES QUE ANGLETERRE RETIRERAIT DE CETTE ENTREPRISE. III. OBJECTIONS ET R

Book Description

London. Jan. 2 and 7, 1805.. Approximately [58]pp. of neat manuscript text in English and French. Folio. Original gatherings with silk ribbon ties. Crisp and overall very fine. In a half morocco and cloth box. This exceedingly interesting and important set of documents comprises Antoine François de Bertrand- Moleville's original manuscript plans for the liberation of Spanish America, including his cover letter conveying the proposal to Jonathan McArthur, evidently a government official, requesting that the latter convey the document to Lord Melville, the First Lord of the Admiralty, and the closest political confidant of the Prime Minister, William Pitt. Also included here is an autograph letter from McArthur to Lord Melville, transmitting Bertrand-Moleville's manuscript, together with a précis in English of the proposal. Bertrand-Moleville, an important French statesman under Louis XVI, was Minister of the French Royal Marine at the outbreak of the Revolution, and fled to England as a refugee. In exile, he was a close associate of the Duc d'Orléans, cousin of Louis XVI. Orléans' court in exile represented the right wing of French royalist sentiment. In Bertrand-Moleville's letter, he requests that McArthur bring the enclosed manuscripts to the notice of Lord Melville, offering his services in the execution of his proposed plan. In his letter to Lord Melville, McArthur states that he has had submitted for his perusal "a plan for alienating the Continent of South America from Spain, and establishing the Province of Mexico an independent State," which he forwards to Lord Melville, together with his own "Translation of the Substance of Bertrand de Moleville's plan." In a postscript he remarks: "Mons. de Moleville is preparing a plan to be submitted to Mr. Pitt through Mr. Long, relative to the means to be employed for effecting a Counter Revolution in France, on principles different from those hitherto proposed or attempted." Bertrand- Moleville argues that it would be futile for England to attempt a defensive war only against France, and that since the Spanish monarchy has become part of the French empire, it is necessary to secure the vast Spanish American territory from Napoleon. Since a war is about to be declared against Spain, England is advised to act. Bertrand-Moleville recommends a bold action as the opening salvo: England should strike at the eastern coast of New Spain, and reap the glory of giving the Mexican people their independence. He describes Mexico as the part of Spanish America most vulnerable to a British attack, as her coastal fortifications are scanty and poorly protected. The plan is not to conquer Mexico in the traditional sense, but to establish the country as an economic dependency, and a revolution is seen as the easiest and best means of bringing that to pass. The country would be "seduced," a leader chosen for the people to rally around, and the stated object of the insurrection would be "the regeneration of the Natives and Empire of Mexico." According to Bertrand- Moleville, the best leader that could be chosen for Mexico would be the Duc d'Orléans, seconded by his brother, and assisted by a British army of some fifteen thousand men and an adequate naval force, together with any necessary financial backing. Bertrand- Moleville considers that the Spanish forces in Mexico would be no match for such an army, as they are "badly disciplined and not at all warlike." It is further suggested that the invading army might include about five or six thousand European troops in the employ of England, and British soldiers from Gibraltar, Malta, the West Indies, and India, all of whom would be sufficiently acclimatized. Black troops from British colonies might be employed, and additional men could be recruited from the forces of Dessalines, the black emperor of Haiti. England might create a diversion by leading Spain to expect an attack at Havana, while in the meantime landing her forces at Vera Cruz, which place might be quickly overcome. The army could then march into Mexico as friendly "liberators," recruiting "free Corps" en route to support the new "independent" monarchy. The remainder of the manuscript is comprised of various profound political reflections on the motives and means for carrying out the plan. This is augmented by observations on Mexican topography, the civil and military administration, population, wealth, revenue, and manufactures, as well as the all- important benefits which would accrue to England. Bertrand-Moleville provides an outline of the Proclamation that the Duc d'Orléans might deliver in Mexico, and admits that an initial South American attack would be advantageous, but much too difficult to undertake. At the end of the translation McArthur suggests several amendments, one of which is that there should be cooperation on the Pacific coast. He also makes several objections, among which are the great number of troops needed, the apparent contradiction of installing a foreign prince to govern a free Mexico, the use of black troops, etc. Bertrand-Moleville's plan for the Independence of Spanish America was a product of the overall economic and political turmoil then boiling between the European powers, as well as a long-standing interest on the part of the British to deprive Spain of her American colonies. British officials had been sympathetic to revolutionary projects in Spanish America for some time, as England stood to gain much from the smoother flow of commerce in America that might result from such plans. However, continental concerns were of the foremost importance, and any American campaigns would be subordinate to dealing with France. The two great battles between England and France in 1805 (Austerlitz and Trafalgar) had established Napoleon's control of the continent and England's naval supremacy. With her control of the seas, England saw an opportunity to perhaps indemnify losses in Europe via the economically important New World possessions of her enemies. By 1805, with Napoleon in control of Spain, the Spanish dominions in America became a weak point in the French- Spanish alliance, ripe for exploitation by England. Bertrand- Moleville's plan can then be considered in the context of Britain's overall foreign policy priority of quelling French influence while increasing British economic dominance. Bertrand-Moleville's manuscript provides vivid evidence of how the British seriously considered a bold expedition to Spanish America to achieve foreign policy goals. The example of another plan of intervention in Spanish America sheds some light on why Bertrand-Moleville's proposal was not put into practice. Among the most important of several intervention plans was that of Francisco Miranda, who in 1803 led an effort to obtain British aid to initiate a Spanish American revolution in Venezuela. He had sympathetic listeners in William Pitt and Lord Melville, both of whom believed in the value of Miranda's plan. In the end, Britain failed to provide any real military or financial support for Miranda's cause. The general indecisiveness of the ministry with regard to Miranda's proposed expedition underscores how Bertrand- Moleville's even bolder plan failed to take off. It was the death of Pitt in January 1806, combined with the impeachment of Lord Melville in the same year, that provided the final blow to the revolutionary projects. Nevertheless, the immediacy and highly detailed nature of Bertrand- Moleville's plan illustrate how close such plans came to being acted out. A remarkable manuscript artifact detailing a little-known secret plan of British intervention in the independence of New Spain. MAGGS BIBLIOTHECA AMERICANA 2337 (this manuscript). William Spence Robertson, THE LIFE OF MIRANDA (1929) I, p.282 and passim. John Rydjord, FOREIGN INTEREST IN THE INDEPENDENCE OF NEW SPAIN (1935), p.227 and passim. Guadalupe Jimenez Codinach, LA GRAN BRETANA Y LA INDEPENDENCIA DE MEXICO 1808-1821 (1991), pp.108-9.

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