Spain under Joseph Bonaparte

The abdications of Ferdinand VII and Charles IV Spain had been allied with France against Great Britain since the Second Treaty of San Ildefonso (1796), which aligned Spanish foreign policy with that of the French Republic during the Revolutionary Wars. The alliance suffered a major blow when the combined Franco-Spanish fleet was defeated by the British Royal Navy at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), resulting in the destruction of much of Spain's naval power and weakening its position as a maritime empire. Relations between the allies grew increasingly strained in the aftermath of Trafalgar. Spain resented both the loss of its fleet and the economic consequences of adherence to Napoleon’s Continental System, which aimed to exclude British trade from European markets. Despite these tensions, France and Spain agreed to the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807), which provided for the partition of Portugal, a long-standing ally of Britain that had refused to comply with the Continental System. Napoleon was well aware of Spain's internal political instability and the weakness of the Bourbon monarchy under Charles IV of Spain. Under the pretext of preparing the invasion of Portugal, French troops were permitted to enter Spain. However, additional forces continued to arrive even after Portugal had been occupied, creating suspicion that Napoleon intended to intervene directly in Spanish affairs. The growing French military presence intensified domestic tensions within Spain, contributing to the Tumult of Aranjuez (March 1808), a popular uprising led by supporters of the heir apparent Ferdinand VII. The revolt forced Charles IV to abdicate in favor of his son, while the king’s chief minister Manuel de Godoy was dismissed and arrested. Ferdinand VII entered Madrid as king, but Napoleon summoned both Ferdinand and Charles IV to Bayonne in France. There, in a series of negotiations known as the Abdications of Bayonne (1808), Napoleon compelled Ferdinand to renounce the throne in favor of his father, who in turn ceded his rights to Napoleon. Napoleon then installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. The carefully staged abdications were intended to provide a veneer of dynastic legitimacy for the new Bonapartist regime. The installation of Joseph Bonaparte Charles IV hoped that Napoleon I, who by this time had 100,000 troops stationed in Spain, would help him regain the throne. However, Napoleon I refused to help Charles IV, and also refused to recognize his son - Ferdinand VII, as the new king. Instead, he succeeded in pressuring both Charles IV and Ferdinand VII to cede the crown to his brother, Joseph Bonaparte. The head of the French forces in Spain, Marshal Joachim Murat, meanwhile pressed for the former Prime Minister of Spain, Manuel de Godoy, whose role in inviting the French forces into Spain had led to the mutiny of Aranjuez, to be set free. The failure of the remaining Spanish government to stand up to Murat caused popular anger. On 2 May 1808, the younger son of Charles IV, the Infante Francisco de Paula, left Spain for France, leading to a widespread rebellion in the streets of Madrid. The Council of Castile, the main organ of central government in Spain under Charles IV, was now in Napoleon's control. However, due to the popular anger at French rule, it quickly lost authority outside the population centers which were directly French-occupied. To oppose this occupation, former regional governing institutions, such as the Cortes of Aragon and the Board of the Principality of Asturias, resurfaced in parts of Spain; elsewhere, juntas (councils) were created to fill the power vacuum and lead the struggle against French imperial forces. Provincial juntas began to coordinate their actions; regional juntas were formed to oversee the provincial ones. Finally, on 25 September 1808, a single Supreme Central Junta was established in Aranjuez to serve as the acting resistance government for all of Spain. The Supreme Central Junta were be pushed out of Aranjuez in November 1808. The Junta relocated to Alcázar of Seville, and resided there from 16 December 1808 until 23 January 1810. The French occupation Joachim Murat initiated military operations intended to suppress centers of resistance loyal to Ferdinand VII. French forces advanced along key strategic routes linking Madrid with northern Spain, besieging important strongholds such as Zaragoza, Girona, and Valencia. Another French army, commanded by General Pierre Dupont de l'Étang, advanced south into Andalusia and captured Córdoba, where the city was subjected to significant plundering. Rather than continuing toward Cádiz as originally intended, Dupont was ordered to reverse his advance and return toward Madrid. During this withdrawal, his forces encountered a Spanish army under General Francisco Javier Castaños. On 22 July 1808, the French suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Bailén, marking the first major open-field defeat of Napoleonic forces in Europe. The capitulation of Dupont’s army had significant political repercussions, strengthening resistance movements both within Spain and elsewhere in Europe by demonstrating that French imperial forces were not invincible. Following the defeat, King Joseph I temporarily abandoned Madrid and withdrew northward to Vitoria. In the autumn of 1808, Napoleon I personally entered Spain at the head of a large army. French forces recaptured Madrid on 2 December 1808, restoring Joseph Bonaparte to the capital and reasserting French control over much of central Spain. At the same time, a British expeditionary force under Sir John Moore advanced into Spain from Portugal in support of Spanish resistance. Faced with Napoleon’s superior forces, Moore was compelled to retreat toward the northwestern coast, culminating in evacuation by sea following the Battle of Corunna (January 1809). French offensives continued in subsequent campaigns. By early 1810, French forces had advanced deep into the Iberian Peninsula and approached Lisbon. However, they were unable to overcome the extensive defensive fortifications known as the Lines of Torres Vedras, constructed under the direction of Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington. These fortifications successfully halted the French advance and preserved Portugal as a base for continued Allied operations. Calls for Spanish resistance The juntas forming after the installation of Joseph issued public appeals for their countrymen to take up arms to restore the Spanish monarchy. These juntas used many ideals from the French revolution; many would invoke the doctrine of national sovereignty. The Supreme Junta of Government called on their countrymen in the Proclamation of Seville, May 29, 1808. "The fundamental laws of the monarchy have been trampled on; our property is being threatened along with our customs, our women, and everything else that is precious to the nation". The proclamation brought up duty "the scared obligations we swore as Spaniards" and liberty "your liberty, your monarchs, your holy religion... is in clear, immediate, and urgent danger". ==Reign of Joseph I==

conferred the title "Prince of Spain" to be hereditary on his children and grandchildren in the male and female line. The Josephine State had its legal basis in the Bayonne Statute. When Ferdinand VII left Bayonne, in May 1808, he asked that all institutions co-operate with the French authorities. On 15 June 1808 Joseph Bonaparte, the elder brother of Napoleon I was made King. The Council of Castile assembled in Bayonne, though only 65 of the total 150 members attended. The Assembly ratified the transfer of the Crown to Joseph Bonaparte and adopted with little change apart from a constitutional text drafted by Napoleon I. Most of those assembled did not perceive any contradiction between patriotism and collaboration with the new king. Moreover, it was not the first time a foreign dynasty had assumed the Spanish Crown: at the start of the eighteenth century, the House of Bourbon came to Spain from France after the last of the Spanish Habsburgs, Charles II, died without offspring. Napoleon Bonaparte and Joseph Bonaparte both underestimated the level of opposition that the appointment would create. Having successfully appointed Joseph I King of Naples in 1806 and other family rulers in Holland in 1806 and Westphalia in 1807, it came as a surprise to have created a political and later military disaster. Joseph Bonaparte promulgated the Bayonne Statute on 7 July 1808. As a constitutional text, it is a royal charter, because it was not the result of a sovereign act of the nation assembled in Parliament, but a royal edict. The text was imbued with a spirit of reform, in line with the Bonaparte ideals, but adapted to the Spanish culture so as to win the support of the elites of the old regime. It recognized the Catholic religion as the official religion and forbade the exercise of other religions. It did not contain an explicit statement about the separation of powers, but asserted the independence of the judiciary. Executive power lay in the King and his ministers. The courts, in the manner of the old regime, were constituted of the estates of the clergy, the nobility and the people. Except with regard to the budget, its ability to make laws was influenced by the power of the monarch. In fact, the King was only forced to call Parliament every three years. It contained no explicit references to legal equality of citizens, although it was implicit in the equality in taxation, the abolition of privileges and equal rights between Spanish and American citizens. The Constitution also recognized the freedom of industry and trade, the abolition of trade privileges and the elimination of internal customs. The Constitution established the Cortes Generales, an advisory body composed of the Senate which was formed by the male members of the royal family and 24 members appointed by the king from the nobles and the clergy, and a legislative assembly, with representatives from the estates of the nobility and the clergy. The Constitution established an authoritarian regime that included some enlightened projects, such as the abolition of torture, but preserving the Inquisition. The Spanish uprising resulted in the Battle of Bailén on 16–19 July 1808, which resulted in a French defeat and Joseph I with the French high command fleeing Madrid and abandoning much of Spain. initially in New York City and Philadelphia, where his house became the center of activity for French expatriates, he married American Ann Savage in Society Hill. Joseph Bonaparte returned to Europe, where he died in Florence, Tuscany (present day Italy), and was buried in the Les Invalides building complex in Paris, France. == Spanish colonial affairs ==

The Spanish world rejected Napoleon placing his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. The instability caused by this event had the effect of Spanish America forming their own Juntas. Many of the newly formed Juntas did not recognize the claim of other Juntas claiming authority over the empire. With the formation of the Supreme Central Junta in 1808, it was agreed that the kingdoms on the peninsula would send 2 representatives while the overseas kingdoms would only send 1. The overseas kingdoms were defined as "the viceroyalties of New Spain (Mexico), Peru, New Granada (Colombia), and Buenos Aires, and the independent captaincies general of the island of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Chile, Province of Venezuela, and the Philippines." Spanish America criticized the unequal representation but would participate until the Junta's disillusion in 1810. When the government would move to Cadiz, many local juntas formed in the colonies. These juntas would have limited success only in New Granada, Venezuela, Chile, and Río de la Plata (Argentina). Most of Spanish America would remain loyal, participating in the Cortes of Cádiz. ==Second government of Spain – Cortes of Cádiz==

In 1810, the Cortes of Cádiz was created, operating as a government in exile. The Cortes Generales had to move from Seville to Cádiz to escape the French advance (The French enforced the Siege of Cádiz from 5 February 1810 to 24 August 1812, and the port city never surrendered). Its members disbanded and transferred its powers to a Council of Regency. The five regents convened the meeting of the Cortes in Cadiz. Cortes were representatives of the estates but were unable to hold elections either in Spain or in the American colonies. The assembly thus lost its estates in favor of territorial representation. Upon returning to Spain, the Cortes of Cádiz would invite Ferdinand VII to meet with them in Madrid. Ferdinand VII would instead stay at Valencia with officers that shared his views on the Cortes and the new constitution. On May 4, 1814, while still in Valencia Ferdinand would abolish the constitution and reinstate an absolute monarchy. ==The Allied victory==

'' by George Jones, 1822. In March 1813, threatened by the Anglo-Spanish army, Joseph I had left the capital and the Coalition offensive intensified and culminated in the Battle of Vitoria in June. French troops were finally evicted from Spain following the conclusion of the Siege of San Sebastián in September 1813, so removing any possibility of a return. In December 1813, the Treaty of Valençay provided for the restoration of Ferdinand VII. ==See also==