Codfish Olé

In this episode, Dr. Joseph Stoltz sits down with Washington Library research fellow Dr. Elisa Vargas to discuss the early diplomatic relationship between Spain and the United States, focusing on the work of Diego María de Gardoqui, Spain’s First Diplomatic Envoy to the United States.

Elisa Vargas holds a Ph.D. in Spanish-American History from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, Spain based on her investigation “Territory, Landscape and the Construction of a New Republic.” She also holds an Advanced Studies Diploma in American History from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, a Master in International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, and a B.A. in Anthropology from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. Dr. Vargas was a fellow for the Program in Preventive Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution of the International Visitors Program of the U.S. Department of State after serving as political Advisor of the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia. She has served as a diplomat in the Mission of Colombia to the United Nations and has held a lecturer position at the History department/PLAS program at Johns Hopkins University.

Joseph Stoltz is a historian and the Deputy Director of Leadership Programs at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon. He is also the author of A Bloodless Victory: The Battle of New Orleans in History and Memory.