Brooks: Diplomacy and the Borderland 21

 Rumors of the United States' projects soon prompted him to in-
tensify his frequent warnings of the need of defending the neigh-
boring Spanish colonies. In October he wrote that apparently the
first moves would be to prohibit the sending of aid to the Peninsula
and to take the Floridas." He always urged close cooperation with
England for maritime defense, and on this occasion, as on others,
suggested the possibility of secretly stirring up a slave revolt in
the South to distract attention and impede the advance toward
the Floridas.
 Meanwhile a special meeting of the Consejo de Estado (council
 of state) was held at Cadiz in August to consider Spain's policy
 toward the war. It resulted in a note from the foreign minister,
 Ignacio Pezuela, to the British representative, Henry Wellesley,
 stating that "in all our possessions British forces will receive the
 reception becoming to the intimate friendship and alliance which
 exists between the two powers."m Wellesley asked for a more specific
 explanation, and a month later Pezuela, in instructions to Ons,
 described his statement of Spanish policy as follows:
 Spain has for a long time had abundant motives for considering herself in
 a state of war with the United states, but in the ritieal situation in which she
 see herself, having to sustain destructive wars in both bemispheres [against
 Napoleon and against her own colonies] which absorb all her reourees, she
 cannot count on the neceary force to oppose the insults of the American
 government with probability of success. Considering this, and seeing that by
 a declaration of war on the United states the Peninsula would be deprived
 of the supplies of four and other neeemary article of subsistence which she
 receives from that country, the Begency has determined to adopt a policy of
 temporising with the Ameriea government. This is conceived in such term
 that our relations with the American should not prejudice the interests of
 England, which we must favor by all considerations of gratefulnes and
 due friendship, although being careful not to give pretext to the Ameriesan
 government to earry the exees of its complacency toward France to the
 point of making a war which could suit neither Spain nor England. ... Thee
 vi ... I transmit to you advising you at the sme time that the Begency
 has made opportune exertions to obtain [an agreement] from the English
 government that its ships should protect the boats, possessions, and properties
 of Spain, and especially the Florida from the usurpations of the Amerleans.

 Spain was of course bound to support England, generally speak-
 ing, by her treaty of January, 1809; furthermore, she showed here
 the anxiety which she so frequently demonstrated in leaning for
 naval, military, and diplomatic support on the island kingdom.