On July 9th, the virtual expedition ‘The Spanish Navy at the Birth of the USA’ will be presented as part of the activities programmed to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States.
The Naval Museum of Madrid, the Naval Museum Foundation, and Sol de la Quadra-Salcedo present a new virtual expedition-exhibition at Casa de América, based on the exhibition ‘From the Caribbean to the English Channel: The Spanish Navy in the Independence of the United States’.
This initiative, with educational aims, seeks to disseminate among young people the important aid that Spain provided to the Thirteen Colonies on their path to independence and the fundamental role played by the Spanish Navy in this process, which culminated in the birth of the United States.
The original exhibition, held at the Naval Museum in Madrid between October 12, 2022, and February 8, 2023, and curated by Berta Gasca Giménez and Inés Abril Benavides, showed the public how the Spanish Navy’s intervention in the American Revolutionary War allowed the emerging nation to achieve a swift and advantageous victory, thus becoming, along with France, a powerful ally against British naval power.
The digital conversion of the exhibition, funded by the Naval Museum Foundation, was developed by Sol de la Quadra-Salcedo and her team at Illustrated Scientific Virtual Expeditions by Sea, Land, and Network, based on the content, design, and pieces of the original exhibition. Slight changes were made to the exhibition’s narrative, and various educational resources were integrated to offer content more tailored to the American public.
Welcome:
– León de la Torre, Director General of Casa de América.
– Vice Admiral Enrique Torres Piñeyro, Director of the Institute of Naval History and Culture.
Participants:
– Eduardo Garrigues, Ambassador of Spain and President of the Toledo Chapter.
– Berta Gasca, Technical Director of the Naval Museum in Madrid and curator of the exhibition.
– Inés Abril, technician at the Naval Museum and curator of the exhibition.
– Sol de la Quadra-Salcedo, President of the Miguel de la Quadra-Salcedo Association – Royal Virtual Society of Enlightened Scientific Explorers. (Video presentation)
Closing Remarks:
– Begoña Santos, President and CEO of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute.
Date and Time:
Thursday, July 9, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.
Simón Bolívar Room, Casa de América (Plaza de la Cibeles, s/n, Madrid)
Free admission until capacity is reached
