/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000073409a4 rename

Spain – United States relations refers to interstate relations between the Kingdom of Spain and the...

Spain – United States relations refers to interstate relations between the Kingdom of Spain and the United States of America. Its groundwork was laid by the colonization of parts of the Americas by Spain. The first settlement in Florida was Spanish, followed by others in New Mexico, California, Arizona, Texas, and Louisiana. The earliest Spanish settlements north of Mexico (known then as New Spain) were the results of the same forces that later led the English to come to that area. The history of Spanish-American relations has been defined as one of "love and hate." Relations between the North American mainland and the Spanish colony of Cuba began in the early 18th century through illicit commercial contracts between the European colonies of the New World, trading to elude colonial taxes. As both legal and illegal trade increased, the Spanish colony of Cuba became a comparatively prosperous trading partner in the region, and a center of tobacco and sugar production. During this period Cuban merchants increasingly traveled to North American ports, establishing trade contracts that endured for many years. The British occupation of Havana in 1762 opened up trade with the British