A manuscript copy of the famous but mysterious 1783 memorial attributed to the Conde de Aranda first appeared in 1825, sent by Rafael Morant, an official in the Ministry of the Overseas Treasury, to the Duque del Infantado, the minister of state. It appeared in published form two years later in Andrés Muriel's French translation of William Coxe's history of the Bourbon dynasty (the afrancesado Spanish cleric inserted it into chapter 3 of volume 6). Dated 1783 (but without month or day) from Madrid and addressed to the king, the memorial expressed apprehension about the recently signed Treaty of Paris and the danger posed by the United States, and it advocated for the establishment of a kind of Hispanic confederation, with Spanish infantes assuming thrones in Mexico, Peru, and Costa Firme and with the Spanish king becoming emperor. No original copy of the document has ever been located. Prominent historians...

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