Born July 23, 1746
Macharaviaya, Spain
Died November 30, 1786
Mexico City, Mexico

Governor of the Spanish province of Louisiana, viceroy of New Spain (Mexico)

"Whoever has honor and valour will follow me."
Portrait: Bernardo de Gálvez. Reproduced courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Bernardo de Gálvez, an aristocrat born in Spain and trained for a military career, became governor of the Spanish colony of Louisiana in 1777. When Spain entered the Revolutionary War on the side of the American colonies, he helped fight the British in Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida. He kept the British busy in the South, and finally drove them from the area, freeing it up for American trading. For these successes, he was named a don (an aristocratic title similar to the British earl) by the Spanish government, and eventually was made viceroy (overall ruler) of New...