Treaty of Madrid (1670)

Last updated
Treaty of Madrid
Three-quarter left side head and chest portrait of Sir William Godolphin.jpg
ContextA treaty for the composing of differences, restraining of depredations, and establishing of peace in America, between the crowns of Great Britain and Spain, concluded at Madrid the 8/18 day of July, in the year of our Lord 1670.
Signed8 July 1670 (1670-07-08)
Location Madrid
Condition28 September 1670
Negotiators Flag of England.svg William Godolphin
Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg Gaspar de Bracamonte
Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg Count of Peñaranda
Signatories Flag of England.svg William Godolphin
Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg Gaspar de Bracamonte
Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg Count of Peñaranda
PartiesFlag of England.svg  England
Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg  Spain
Ratifiers Flag of England.svg Charles II of England
Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg Mariana of Austria for Charles II of Spain
LanguageLatin

The Treaty of Madrid, also known as the Godolphin Treaty, was a treaty between England and Spain that was agreed to in July 1670 "for the settlement of all disputes in America". [1] The treaty officially ended the war begun in 1654 in the Caribbean in which England had conquered Jamaica. [2]

Contents

The 1670 Treaty of Madrid was highly favourable to England, as its adverse possession in the Caribbean Sea and the rest of the Americas was confirmed and made legal by Spain. Before 1670, Spain had exclusively regarded the Americas as Spanish territory with the exception of Brazil, which was Portuguese according to the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas that had confirmed Christopher Columbus' claim of the New World for Spain since 12 October 1494. [3] [4]

Background

The Anglo-Spanish War had begun in late 1654, as England joined France in its conflict with Spain. In Europe, the conflict ended with the Treaty of the Pyrenees (between France and Spain) and King Charles II of England's restoration in 1660, but a treaty between England and Spain was never signed. The conflict in the Caribbean began with the English failed attempt on Hispaniola, followed by a successful invasion of Jamaica. [5] The region thus remained in a state of war, and privateer raids were launched on the Spanish Main led by buccaneers notably Christopher Myngs and Henry Morgan under the behest of Jamaican Governor Thomas Modyford [2] As far as Modyford was concerned, Jamaica would never be secure until Spain had acknowledged England's possession of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands and in a treaty. [6] In 1667 the Treaty of Madrid was signed between England and Spain. Although favourable to the former in terms of trade, there was no mention of the American colonies or the Caribbean as rightful possessions. [7] Attacks, therefore, continued, notably Morgan's brutal attack and sackings of Portobello and Lake Maracaibo over the next two years. [8] [9]

In 1669, Mariana, the Queen Regent of Spain, in response ordered attacks on English shipping in the Caribbean. Charles II ordered Modyford to issue official letters of marque against the Spanish. Modyford commissioned Morgan once more to raid the Spanish Main. Spain was politically, economically and militarily weak after years of war and political infighting. [2] Charles saw an opportunity that he could not miss and felt the time was right to negotiate a treaty with Spain since England held a great advantage. The only way Spain could be at an advantage was to recapture Jamaica or France and Holland to join in a potential war, which Charles was seeking to avoid. [5]

Negotiations began in the autumn of 1669 between the Spanish representative Gaspar de Bracamonte, Count of Peñaranda, with William Godolphin, Envoy Extraordinary from England. [5]

The original language of the treaty was in Latin, and the complete English title was "A treaty for the composing of differences, restraining of depredations, and establishing of peace in America, between the crowns of Great Britain and Spain, concluded at Madrid the 8/18 day of July, in the year of our Lord 1670". [10]

Terms

Spain began to legally recognize in Article VII of the 1670 Treaty of Madrid, any territories in the Americas known as the Western Hemisphere that England's subjects had illegally settled by adverse possession. Before the 1670 treaty, Spain legally considered the Western Hemisphere exclusively as Spanish territory with the exception of Brazil which according to the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas was Portuguese. That treaty acknowledged Christopher Columbus' claiming the Western Hemisphere for Spain on October 12, 1492. The Madrid treaty modified Tordesillas in favour of an English legal presence in the Americas. [11]

Article VII. All offences, damages, losses, injuries, which the Nations and People of Great Britain and Spain have at anytime heretofore, upon what cause and pretext soever, suffered by each other in America, shall be expunged out of remembrance and buried in oblivion, as if no such thing had ever past. Moreover, it is agreed, that the Most Serene King of Great Britain, his Heirs and Successors, shall have, hold, keep, and enjoy for ever, with plenary right of Sovereignty, Dominion, Possession, and Propriety, all those Lands, Regions, Islands, Colonies, and places whatsoever, being situated in the West Indies, or in any part of America, which the said King of Great Britain and his Subjects do at present hold and possess, so as that in regard thereof, or upon any colour or pretence whatsoever, nothing more may or ought to be urged, nor any question or controversy be ever moved concerning the same hereafter. [12]

Under the terms of the treaty, all letters of reprisal were revoked by Spain, and reciprocal aid to ships in distress along with permission to repair in each others ports were required. [5]

England agreed to suppress piracy in the Caribbean, and in return, Spain agreed to permit English ships freedom of movement. Both agreed to refrain from trading in the other's Caribbean territory and to limit trading to their own possessions. [13]

The treaty was then ratified on 28 September. [1]

Consequences

Map of Jamaica from the 1670s Jamaica 1676 (John Speed).jpg
Map of Jamaica from the 1670s

In Spain and its colonies, the treaty was hated and viewed by many as a humiliating surrender. [3] [5] Spain's military, economic and political weakness meant that it was unable to pose any will, which England had taken easy advantage of. [14] Spanish merchants in particular were unwilling to accept the treaty, and the Spanish crown had to give special tax Cédulas as compensation. [15]

The treaty was highly favourable to England, on the other hand, and the fact that Spain recognised England's colonies in the Americas was a major concession. [16] In previous treaties, Spain had always insisted that the New World west of Brazil belonged to it alone. [17] [18]

England effectively challenged Spain in the western Caribbean, and subsequently used Jamaica as a base to support settlements all along the Central American Caribbean coast from the Yucatán to (present day) Nicaragua. [19] The new logwood stations there were accepted by Spain but were not recognised and this increased as many ex privateers turned to logwooding.[ citation needed ] As such, the treaty did not establish any boundaries: Spain and England only adopted, in Article 7, the principle of actual possession. In Northern America, "this compact legalized England's ownership as far south as Charleston, and Spain's as far north as Santa Elena Sound, in 32°, 30' north latitude". [20] As a result, it was met with consternation by the Spanish in Florida, who, despite protests, had to accept the newly encroached English colony of Charleston. [18]

Although piracy was suppressed, English ships were now able to roam the Caribbean without hindrance. [5] England had sought that in negotiations with Spain in 1655, but the Spanish had refused. Spain's acquiescence reversed its previous position that defined any English person in the West Indies as an intruder or a pirate. [21]

News of the treaty, however, did not reach the Caribbean in time for Henry Morgan, who on 28 January 1671 launched a devastating raid on Panama City. [17] The Spanish were furious, and the English saw that Morgan and Modyford had violated the treaty. To restore relations, both Modyford and Morgan were recalled and arrested. They went unpunished, however, and were released. [22] Morgan was even knighted by Charles and made Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica.

Spain and England remained at peace until 1702 with the War of the Spanish Succession.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1670</span> Calendar year

1670 (MDCLXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar, the 1670th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 670th year of the 2nd millennium, the 70th year of the 17th century, and the 1st year of the 1670s decade. As of the start of 1670, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buccaneer</span> 17th / 18th-century Caribbean privateers

Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 until about 1688, during a time when governments in the Caribbean area were not strong enough to suppress them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Morgan</span> Privateer and political office holder in Jamaica (1635–1688)

Sir Henry Morgan was a Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those under his command raided settlements and shipping ports on the Spanish Main, becoming wealthy as they did so. With the prize money and loot from the raids, Morgan purchased three large sugar plantations on Jamaica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">15th century in Canada</span>

Events from the 15th century in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660)</span> War between the English Protectorate, under Oliver Cromwell, and Spain

The Anglo-Spanish War was a conflict between the English Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell, and Spain, between 1654 and 1660. It was caused by commercial rivalry. Each side attacked the other's commercial and colonial interests in various ways such as privateering and naval expeditions. In 1655, an English amphibious expedition invaded Spanish territory in the Caribbean, eventually capturing the island of Jamaica. In 1657, England formed an alliance with France, merging the Anglo-Spanish war with the larger Franco-Spanish War resulting in major land actions that took place in the Spanish Netherlands.

<i>Asiento de Negros</i> Spanish licence for monopoly of the slave trade in exchange for a loan

The Asiento de Negros was a monopoly contract between the Spanish Crown and various merchants for the right to provide enslaved Africans to colonies in the Spanish Americas. The Spanish Empire rarely engaged in the transatlantic slave trade directly from Africa itself, choosing instead to contract out the importation to foreign merchants from nations more prominent in that part of the world, typically Portuguese and Genoese, but later the Dutch, French, and British. The Asiento did not concern French or British Caribbean but Spanish America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Searle</span> English buccaneer on Jamaica

Robert Searle was one of the earliest and most active of the English buccaneers on Jamaica.

John Morris was an English buccaneer active in the Caribbean during the 1660s and early-1670s. His son, John Morris the Younger, held a command of his own ship during his father's later expeditions against Portobelo and Maracaibo. John Morris the Younger was one of the commanders killed in an explosion during a party on board Henry Morgan's flagship in 1670.

Colonel Sir Thomas Modyford, 1st Baronet was a planter of Barbados and Governor of Jamaica from 1664 to 1671.

This timeline of the history of piracy in the 1670s is a chronological list of key events involving pirates between 1670 and 1679.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portugal–Spain relations</span> Bilateral relations

Portugal and Spain enjoy a friendly relationship. They are both members of the Ibero-American Summit, Council of Europe, European Union, Eurozone, Schengen Area and NATO, and make up the vast majority of the Iberian Peninsula and Macaronesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Design</span> Cromwellian expedition to the Caribbean

The Western Design was an English expedition against the Spanish West Indies during the 1654 to 1660 Anglo-Spanish War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Invasion of Jamaica</span> 1655 English victory over Spain

The Invasion of Jamaica took place in May 1655, during the 1654 to 1660 Anglo-Spanish War, when an English expeditionary force captured Spanish Jamaica. It was part of an ambitious plan by Oliver Cromwell to acquire new colonies in the Americas, known as the Western Design.

Sir Thomas Lynch was the English governor of Jamaica on three separate occasions in the 17th century. He was also chief justice of Jamaica for a time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English overseas possessions</span> Territories ruled by Kingdom of England

The English overseas possessions comprised a variety of overseas territories that were colonised, conquered, or otherwise acquired by the Kingdom of England before 1707.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colony of Santiago</span> Former Spanish colony in the Caribbean

Santiago was a Spanish territory of the Spanish West Indies and within the Viceroyalty of New Spain, in the Caribbean region. Its location is the present-day island and nation of Jamaica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaican nationality law</span>

Jamaican nationality law is regulated by the 1962 Constitution of Jamaica, as amended; the Nationality Act of 1962, and its revisions; and various British Nationality laws. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Jamaica. Jamaican nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Jamaica; or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Jamaican nationality. It can also be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation. There is not currently a program in Jamaica for persons to acquire nationality through investment in the country. Nationality establishes one's international identity as a member of a sovereign nation. Though it is not synonymous with citizenship, for rights granted under domestic law for domestic purposes, the United Kingdom, and thus the commonwealth, have traditionally used the words interchangeably.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Madrid (1667)</span> Neutrality and commercial agreement between England and Spain

The Treaty of Madrid, also known as the Earl of Sandwich's Treaty, was signed on 23 May, 1667 by England and Spain. It was one of a series of agreements made in response to French expansion under King Louis XIV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Morgan's Panama expedition</span> Attack on Panama in 1670/1

Henry Morgan's Panama expedition also known as the Sack of Panama, was an expedition that took place between 16 December 1670 and 5 March 1671 during the later stage of the Anglo-Spanish War. English privateers and French pirates commanded by notable Buccaneer Henry Morgan launched an attack with an army of 1,400 men with the purpose of capturing the rich Spanish city of Panama off the Pacific coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Morgan's raid on Puerto del Príncipe</span>

Henry Morgan's raid on Puerto del Príncipe was a military event which took place during the latter stage of the Anglo-Spanish War between March and April 1668 on the Spanish island of Cuba. Some 700 Buccaneers in twelve ships led by Captain Henry Morgan landed in the Gulf of Santa María and marched to capture the inland town of Puerto del Príncipe.

References

  1. 1 2 "Treaty between Great Britain and Spain for the settlement of all disputes in America". The National Archives. gov.uk.
  2. 1 2 3 Pestana p. 185
  3. 1 2 Padron pp.xiv-xxi
  4. Fisher, Margaret Anne; Savelle, Max (1967). The origins of American diplomacy: the international history of Angloamerica, 1492-1763 American diplomatic history series Authors. Macmillan. pp. 66–70.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sankey pp. 663-64
  6. Davenport & Paulin p. 187
  7. Fisher/Savelle p.65 (1967)
  8. Talty pp. 163–165
  9. Zahedieh, Nuala (2004). "Morgan, Sir Henry (c.1635–1688)" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19224.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  10. Chalmers, George, ed. (1790). A Collection of Treaties Between Great Britain and Other Powers, vol. II. London: John Stockdale. p. 34.
  11. Calvo, Cárlos, ed. (1862). Colección histórica completa de los tratados: 1493-1694, vol. I. Paris: A. Durand. p. 169.
  12. Great Britain. Foreign Office (1841). British and Foreign State Papers, Volume 1, Part 1. H. M. Stationery Office. p. 609.
  13. Williams, Eric (1963). "Spanish-English Rivalry in the Caribbean, 1498–1670, Documents of West Indian History, vol. I: 1492–1655" (PDF). National Humanities Center . Port of Spain: PNM Publishing.
  14. Ehrengardt p. 61
  15. Stein pp. 63-64
  16. Davenport & Paulin pp. 99 & 188-89
  17. 1 2 Mirza p. 99
  18. 1 2 Grady p. 66
  19. Bolland, Nigel (January 1992). Merrill, Tim (ed.). "A Country Study: Belize". Library of Congress: Federal Research Division.
  20. Arredondo, Antonio de (1925). Herbert E. Bolton (ed.). Arredondo's Historical Proof of Spain's Title to Georgia: A Contribution to the History of One of the Spanish Borderlands. University of California Press. p. v–xiii, here p. vii.
  21. Pestana p. 2
  22. Walton p. 131

Bibliography