Ángel Calderón de la Barca

Ángel Calderón de la Barca entered diplomatic service after experience in the wars of the early nineteenth century. He served in the United States in several distinct phases. His refusal to swear to the restored constitution led to dismissal in May 1837, followed by reinstatement in 1838. ^{1, 2}

He married Frances Erskine Inglis and went to Mexico as Spain’s representative after recognition of Mexican independence. Her account of life there became widely read. Calderón returned to the United States in 1844 and remained until 1853, when he became Spain’s foreign minister. ^{2, 3}

Cuba brought Calderón into disputes over private military expeditions launched from the United States. He gathered information on planned invasions while American officials faced pressure from supporters of territorial expansion. Narciso López’s final expedition ended with his capture and execution in Havana in 1851. News of the executions provoked violence against Spanish residents in New Orleans, creating a further problem for the Spanish minister: obtaining redress for people attacked because of their nationality. ^{4, 5}

On 14 June 1852, President Millard Fillmore submitted Calderón’s compensation claim to Congress. Fillmore explained that the minister invoked the spirit of Article XIII of the 1795 treaty, while admitting that a provision concerning wartime injuries did not literally cover the case. Fillmore recommended payment on another ground: Spain had pardoned surviving Americans who had invaded Cuba, and compensation to innocent Spanish victims would reciprocate that clemency. ⁵