The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute is pleased to collaborate in the academic program Spain and the Birth of the United States: A California Conversation, to be held on April 17–18, 2026 at The Huntington in San Marino, California.

Organized by the USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute, in partnership with Iberdrola and the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain in Washington, DC, the program brings together leading scholars to examine Spain’s role in the origins of the United States from a global and interdisciplinary perspective.

This program is part of the America&Spain250 initiative, led by QSSI, which aims to highlight Spain’s and the Spanish speaking world’s crucial contributions to the American Revolution and to the development of the United States.

Over the course of two days, the conference will explore key themes including Spain’s involvement in the American Revolutionary War on land and sea, the development of Spanish California, transatlantic trade and migration, and the cultural and urban legacy of the Spanish presence in North America.

The program features contributions from distinguished historians and researchers from institutions such as the University of Navarra, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), University of California system, and William & Mary, among others.

See the full program here.