1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,160 Hello everyone, today we are going to talk about a very important person that participated in the Independence War of the United States, whose name was Bernardo de Galvez. 2 00:00:09,699 --> 00:00:17,079 Bernardo de Galvez was born in Malaga on July 23, 1746. He spent his adolescence between Madrid and Tenerife. 3 00:00:17,679 --> 00:00:23,000 At the age of 16, he participated in the Portuguese War, enlisting the French Royal Contraried Regiment. 4 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:29,980 At the end of the conflict, he went to France, where he spent almost 7 years perfecting his military training. 5 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:42,820 In 1768, he arrived in New Spain. His uncle, José de Galvez, was there, and he had been entrusted with the mission of restoring and reorganizing the Viceroyalty Administration. 6 00:00:43,420 --> 00:00:49,100 Bernardo de Galvez was assigned to Chihuahua, capital of the vast territory known as the Internal Provinces. 7 00:00:50,380 --> 00:00:55,259 Their defense against frequent attacks relied on a line of fortified posts called presidios. 8 00:00:56,259 --> 00:01:03,920 The young captain, Galvez, from Chihuahua, led several expeditions against the Apaches with troops from these presidios. 9 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:12,599 In one of the battles, he received three wounds, but an accidental fall from his horse forced him to return to the peninsula in 1772. 10 00:01:13,700 --> 00:01:21,260 He then entered the newly created military academy in Ávila and in 1775 participated in an expedition against Algiers. 11 00:01:22,219 --> 00:01:34,640 In May 1776, his uncle, José de Galvez, already minister of the Indies, appointed him colonel of the Luisiana Regiment and governor of that Spanish province, whose capital was near Orleans. 12 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:43,500 There, in 1777, being very ill, he married Cecilita Saint-Maxime in Artículo Mortis and they had ten kids. 13 00:01:43,500 --> 00:01:49,480 bernardo was known for being the supreme commander of the spanish and french troops 14 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:55,620 participating in the american revolutionary war he carried out military campaigns against british 15 00:01:55,620 --> 00:02:01,019 settlements along the mississippi river and he secretly supported the americans by providing 16 00:02:01,019 --> 00:02:08,580 them with gunpowder weapons medicines and supplies and by allowing ships carrying aid to the patriots 17 00:02:08,580 --> 00:02:16,039 to travel along the Mississippi River when, on July 4th, 1776, the 13 English colonies in North 18 00:02:16,039 --> 00:02:21,939 America rose up against the United Kingdom and declared their independence. This prevented the 19 00:02:21,939 --> 00:02:27,580 British from regrouping their land and naval forces to launch them against General George 20 00:02:27,580 --> 00:02:35,400 Washington's troops. These military victories marked important aspects of his life as a man of 21 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:40,979 Enlightenment, and a Viceroy of New Spain, where he played a pivotal role. 22 00:02:41,659 --> 00:02:44,460 He managed famine in Mexico during his term. 23 00:02:45,159 --> 00:02:48,419 He also designed and implemented Spanish colonial reforms. 24 00:02:49,180 --> 00:02:53,819 This led to regional peace for the remainder of Spain's presence in North America, 25 00:02:53,819 --> 00:02:59,360 for example, in the reorganization of the Viceroyalty's northern frontier. 26 00:03:00,500 --> 00:03:05,039 With the war declared against the English in September 1779, 27 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:09,520 Galvez, after suffering a violent hurricane, went to New Orleans. 28 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:15,680 He had only 1,400 men, of which only 400 men were professional soldiers. 29 00:03:16,219 --> 00:03:19,180 The rest were volunteers led by Oliver Pollock. 30 00:03:20,819 --> 00:03:29,400 Even having a high number difference, he was able to get Mantac, Baton Rouge, and Nantes, near the Mississippi. 31 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,139 Thanks to all this, he was promoted to field marshal. 32 00:03:33,740 --> 00:03:35,879 He was only 33 years old. 33 00:03:36,919 --> 00:03:42,139 The following year, after the effects of a violent storm that damaged most of his ships, 34 00:03:42,699 --> 00:03:44,500 he managed to regroup his forces. 35 00:03:45,099 --> 00:03:51,099 He then planned to advance toward Panzacola, but failed to secure the support of his commanders in Cuba. 36 00:03:52,099 --> 00:03:57,659 For the third time after another hurricane, he undertook this very important mission in February 1781, 37 00:03:58,219 --> 00:04:01,020 finally managing to land his troops on the island of Santa Rosa, 38 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:08,159 which left a narrow entrance channel to Panzacola Bay, defended by the powerful armed English fort of Barrancas Coloradas. 39 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:14,020 He entered the channel in command of the Galvez town, surviving 27 British artillery shots. 40 00:04:14,879 --> 00:04:19,000 After 15 days of fighting, he conquered Panzacola on 8th of May. 41 00:04:19,540 --> 00:04:24,639 Charles III recognized his victory with a promotion to general and the title of Count of Galvez, 42 00:04:25,079 --> 00:04:27,540 adding the nickname Jo Solo to his coat of arms. 43 00:04:28,319 --> 00:04:32,740 Bernardo de Galvez was appointed Viceroy of Mexico in 1785. 44 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:42,060 In 2014, because of the early death of Bernardo, President Obama designated him as an honorary citizen of the United States. 45 00:04:42,899 --> 00:04:46,459 Thanks for listening to us and we hope you liked this history of Bernardo de Galvez.