Timothy Hawkins - A Great Fear. Luís de Onís and the Shadow War against Napoleon in Spanish America, 1808–1812

As is the case with many second books, this project had a long gestation. The original idea for this book arose in the mid-1990s when I was deep into the research that eventually resulted in an earlier work, Jos de Bustamante and Central American Independence. As I explored the Guatemala City archives for information on the Spanish kingdoms response to the imperial crisis of 1808, I took note of the frequent expressions of concern on the part of local officials about French subversive activity. In some cases, the colonial administrative records included names of suspected French agents. Additionally, prosecutors who brought cases before Guatemalas various judicial institutions often emphasized links (or at least sympathy) between local malcontents accused of acts of disloyalty and foreign conspirators. The possibility that a French espionage network had in fact operated in Central America intrigued me, especially since the archival evidence left little doubt that Spanish officials governed as if one existed. Consequently, while my first book would make mention of the Guatemalan cases, I became convinced that a second projectdevoted to the origins, impact, and larger context of Napoleonic subversion in the Americaswas warranted. Fifteen years of following the emisario francs (French emissary) back and forth across the Atlantic has led me to this point.

I completed most of the research for this book in Spanish archives. The Archivo Histrico Nacional (AHN) in Madrid in particular stores the bulk of the diplomatic correspondence and government records used here. Documents from the Archivo General de Centroamrica (AGCA) and the Newberry Library are central to the case study at the heart of chapter 6. The George A. Smathers Libraries of the University of Florida, notably the Department of Special and Area Studies Collections, provided access to valuable material from its East Florida Papers and the Papeles de Cuba holdings from the Archives of the Indies (AGI). Details about the southwest borderlands came from holdings in the Latin American Library atTulane University and the Bexar Archives of the University of Texas. A visit to the Archivo General de la Nacin (AGN) in Buenos Aires allowed me to explore the unique history of the Ro de la Plata in the decades following the French Revolution. Microfilms of the National Archives Notes on the Spanish Legation provided a major source of information about both the American and Spanish diplomatic posturing during this period, as did the Thomas Jefferson and James Madison Papers. All scholars of the period owe a debt of gratitude to the librarians and archivists working at the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and various state archives, who provide public access to such valuable historical material through publications and online websites.