Historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto, known for his work on colonialism and the Hispanic influence on the Americas, has highlighted the significant yet often overlooked role of Spanish support in the American Revolution and the early identity of what became the United States.

In a recent discussion, Fernández-Armesto emphasized that the Declaration of Independence, while celebrated as a foundational document asserting liberty and equality, should be understood within its 18th-century context. He described it as a committee product crafted not only to announce separation from Britain but also to persuade a hesitant international audience of the revolution’s legitimacy. Liberty, according to Fernández-Armesto, was regarded by the founders as a natural right limited by civil society and tied to the sovereignty of the emerging nation, contrasting with the more expansive, individualistic notions common in contemporary American thought.

The concept of equality, he noted, presented even greater contradictions. Thomas Jefferson’s assertion that “all men are created equal” was drafted amidst a society deeply entrenched in slavery. Fernández-Armesto pointed out that enslaved Africans were explicitly excluded from this vision. Jefferson had initially sought to condemn slavery as a British crime, but that language was removed from the final document due to concerns among revolutionaries that independence might reinforce, rather than dismantle, the institution of slavery. This tension, Fernández-Armesto suggested, reflects both the historical ubiquity of slavery and the ongoing presence of coercive labor practices in the United States.

Moreover, Fernández-Armesto argued that Spanish assistance was crucial to the success of the American Revolution. Beyond the commonly recognized French aid, Spain provided funding, military resources, and personnel, contributions frequently overlooked in U.S. educational narratives. He urged a reevaluation of the United States as inherently connected to Latin America rather than a separate cultural sphere. Fernández-Armesto highlighted that Spanish was spoken in large parts of present-day U.S. territory long before permanent English settlements existed, with states like Colorado retaining their Hispanic heritage through place names.

In his view, contemporary Hispanic migration represents in many respects a return of descendants from early Spanish and Indigenous inhabitants crossing borders established long after their ancestors settled the region. This perspective challenges traditional national narratives and underscores the deep historical interconnections within the Americas that continue to shape identities and societies today.