Juan de Miralles
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Juan de Miralles y Tizner (July 23, 1713, in Petrer, Province of Alicante,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
April 28, 1780 in Morristown, New Jersey) was a Spanish arms dealer who became friends with
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. He supported the American cause financially, and served as a liaison between the colonists and the Spanish Crown.


Biography

Juan de Miralles was born in Petrer, Alicante, Spain, on July 23, 1713.Castro, Tony. "How Hispanics helped win the American Revolution", ''La Opinion''. 4 July 2014
/ref> His parents were French émigreés; his father, Juan de Miralles (or Mirailles) y Tizner, was born in the city of
Monein Monein (; oc, Monenh) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. Geography Neighbouring Communes *North: Lahourcade and Pardies *West: Lucq-de-Béarn and Cardesse *South: Estialescq and Lasseube *East: ...
in the French province of Béarn, and served as a captain of infantry in the Royal Spanish Army under
Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...
. His mother, Gracia Trailhon, was a native of the Kingdom of Navarre on the French side of the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
. Consequently he learned both French and Spanish as a child. Although there is little information about Miralles's early life, it is known that he was in Spain at age 19, and was employed in
Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
by the Spanish firm Aguirre, Aristegui and Company, which traded with the British and Spanish colonies in the Americas, and held the monopoly on the slave trade of Cuba. It is likely that Miralles crossed the Atlantic Ocean on company business during this time, and learned the English language in the course of his duties. Miralles emigrated to Cuba still at a young age, and soon established himself as a merchant in Havana, then the center of Spanish maritime commerce in the Americas, and also of the intercolonial smuggling of contraband. Being by this time fluent in English, Miralles was one of the more active traders out of Havana doing business with the Thirteen Colonies. Given the possible threat represented by the British Royal Navy to the maritime commerce of the Spanish colonies, Spain took an officially neutral position in the American War of Independence. However, having lost Florida under the terms of the
Treaty of Paris (1763) The Treaty of Paris, also known as the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763 by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement, after Great Britain and Prussia's victory over France and Spain during the S ...
which ended the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
, the American Revolution provided a potential opportunity to regain lost territory, or at least a measure of revenge. Diego José Navarro García de Valladares, Governor of Cuba, sent Miralles as an observer to the Continentals in the then capital of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. He arrived from Havana early in 1778, allegedly having been on his way to Spain when some problem with the ship forced him to put in at Charleston, South Carolina. Miralles met Washington at a Christmas party and presented a letter of introduction from Navarro. Privateer John Macpherson leased his Mount Pleasant mansion to Miralles. Also while in Philadelphia, Miralles became affiliated with the prominent shipping-banking firm of Willing,
Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...
& Co. During the Seven Years' War, France had ceded Spain its
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
territory west of the Mississippi under the
Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762) The Treaty of Fontainebleau was a secret agreement of 1762 in which the Kingdom of France ceded Louisiana (New France), Louisiana to Spain. The treaty followed the last battle in the French and Indian War in North America, the Battle of Signal Hill ...
. In 1779, the two countries signed the Treaty of Aranjuez by which Charles III of Spain agreed to assist his first cousin,
Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
in his conflict with the British. In September 1779, the Governor of
Spanish Louisiana Spanish Louisiana ( es, link=no, la Luisiana) was a governorate and administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1762 to 1801 that consisted of a vast territory in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of t ...
,
Bernardo de Gálvez Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Count of Gálvez (23 July 1746 – 30 November 1786) was a Spanish military leader and government official who served as colonial governor of Spanish Louisiana and Cuba, and later as Viceroy of New Sp ...
launched a pre-emptive strike against the British and seized
Fort Bute Fort Bute (1766-1779) was a colonial fort built by the British in 1766 to protect the confluence of Bayou Manchac with the Mississippi River and was named in honor of the Earl of Bute. Fort Bute was located on Bayou Manchac, about 115 miles (185 ...
on the
Bayou Manchac Bayou Manchac is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 bayou in southeast Louisiana, USA. First called the Iberville River ("rivière d'Iberville") by its Frenc ...
, thus opening a second front. In February 1780 Miralles notified Washington that the Spanish had taken Baton Rouge and Natchez. Washington assured Miralles that he would notify him of any British movements that might be "of interest to your court". Miralles fell ill with a fever while on a visit to Washington's camp in Morristown, New Jersey, where he died on April 28, 1780. He was initially buried in the Presbyterian cemetery in Morristown. The French Minister Plenipotentiary, Anne-César, Chevalier de la Luzerne arranged for a requiem Mass to be celebrated for Miralles at St. Mary's Church in Philadelphia on 8 May 1780. After the war, the remains were moved, probably to Cuba, where his wife lived.


Family

Juan de Miralles married María Josefa de la Puente, the sister of Eligio de la Puente, in 1744. The de la Puente family was influential in Cuban political affairs. The couple had eight children, a son and seven daughters. Miralles was the uncle of merchant and politician Pedro Casanave, who served a term as mayor of Georgetown and presided over the ceremonial laying of the cornerstone of the President's House, later to be known as the White House, on October 13, 1792.


See also

*
Spain and the American Revolutionary War Spain, through its alliance with France and as part of its conflict with Britain, played a role in the independence of the United States. Spain declared war on Britain as an ally of France, itself an ally of the American colonies. Most notably ...


References


External links


Spain and the Independence of the United States: An Intrinsic Gift

Don Juan de Miralles y la Independencia de Los Estados Unidos

The Americas: International Dictionary of Historic Places
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miralles, Juan de 1713 births 1780 deaths Spanish diplomats Spanish expatriates in the United States