Irene Martín Morales I Málaga, (EFE).– The Colombian writer Antonio García Lozada recounts in his latest book the “deeds” in the United States of the Málaga politician and soldier Bernardo de Gálvez, who supported George Washington and was a “key piece” in the country’s War of Independence.
“It seemed very significant to me that a Spaniard had supported George Washington with his troops” and that he contributed to “the liberation of Louisiana, Florida and Texas”, which remained under British rule, García points out in an interview with EFE.
The author, who lives in the United States, has just published “The forgotten history: Bernardo de Gálvez and the independence of the United States”, an illustrated bilingual biography suitable for all audiences, children, young people and adults, published by the Malaga publisher ExLibric .
García reviews in detail the history of this peculiar character, who he defines as a “hero”, from his birth in the small town of Macharaviaya to his passage through the American continent, where he became governor of Louisiana and managed to expel the British. from the lower basin of the Mississippi and Florida, participating in battles such as that of Pensacola (1781).
Bernardo de Gálvez, in the Capitol
Such was the military importance of Bernardo De Gálvez in the United States that he was recognized as an “honorary citizen” by President George Washington and gave his name to the town of Galveston, Texas.
In addition, his portrait adorns the room dedicated to the founders of the country in the Capitol in Washington, a recognition granted by former US President Barack Obama.
García, who has worked as a university professor in the United States for 36 years, believes that there is great ignorance about the figure of Bernardo de Gálvez, despite the decisive role he played in the history of the American country.
“I noticed that there was a great lack of data on Bernardo de Gálvez,” since “he is not mentioned in any of the United States history books used in universities and high schools,” the author points out.
The independence of the USA in the Axarquía
“They are unaware that there is a very long history of the Spanish presence at the beginning and later in Latin America and the Caribbean,” adds García, who calls for recognition of these feats and the “contributions that Spaniards or Hispanic Americans have made” there.
In the biography, the result of hard documentation work, other characters also appear, such as Luis de Unzaga, a Spaniard and brother-in-law of Bernardo de Gálvez, who also supported the United States in its independence, and Francisco de Miranda, precursor of the Independence of Venezuela. and Latin America who fought with Simón Bolívar.
García, who has visited Malaga three times to inquire about the protagonist of this biography, hopes that the work “will spread or at least generate curiosity” among young people and adults beyond Macharaviaya, a town in the Axarquía region of Malaga, where every year the 4th of July is celebrated – US Independence Day – and there is a house-museum dedicated to De Gálvez and his family. EFE