The French settlement, however, was seen as a strategic threat to Spanish interests in South America; the Spanish government claimed that the islands were rightfully Spanish and in 1767 forced the handover of the French establishment to Spain.
The French settlement was seen as a strategic threat to Spanish interests in South America. This was however. The islands were rightfully Spanish. This was what the Spanish government claimed. The Spanish government in 1767 forced the handover of the French establishment to Spain.