“Allying with Heretics”: An Entangled History of Spain and England from European and Transatlantic Perspectives, 1665–80

Having taken place months after Spain and Britain concluded the Tratado de Americas (July 1670), the Siege of Panama by English pirates became a major source of embarrassment and outrage. Spain took immediate action with the imprisonment of the English consul, confiscation of merchandise, and preparations to send an armada to punish and expel the pirates. After intense negotiations and proffering of apologies, however, the situation calmed down and a surprisingly swift compromise was reached by the end of the year. Spain’s willingness to accommodate was the result of well-thought-out policy that had been pursued since 1665 and that had engendered a level of collaboration between the two monarchies that was in many ways unprecedented. Spain and Britain concluded peace and commercial treaties, defensive leagues and neutrality agreements, and consistently protected each other’s interests in the European stage. A theological disquisition on whether or not “allying with heretics” was admissible for a Spanish ruler justified this new approach to international politics. These entanglements resulted in the opening of Spanish markets in Europe for English merchants and the recognition of Britain’s possessions in the New World. The diplomatic and military alliances with Britain—often part of the secret clauses of the treaties—was critical in Spain’s successes against the French Bourbons. Spain’s calculated trade offs reveal a monarchy in the process of adapting to new circumstances and highlight the inadequacy of the decline paradigm to explain its policies in the New World as well as in Europe.