Spanish War of Independence (1788-1833) PDF

## LA CRISIS DEL ANTIGUO REGIMEN (1788-1833) ### BLOQUE 4. LA CRISIS DEL ANTIGUO RÉGIMEN (1788-1833) #### 4.1. Reinado de Carlos IV. La Guerra de Independencia ##### Reinado de Carlos IV The reign of Carlos IV was conditioned by the outbreak in 1789 of the French revolution and its subsequent ev...

## LA CRISIS DEL ANTIGUO REGIMEN (1788-1833) ### BLOQUE 4. LA CRISIS DEL ANTIGUO RÉGIMEN (1788-1833) #### 4.1. Reinado de Carlos IV. La Guerra de Independencia ##### Reinado de Carlos IV The reign of Carlos IV was conditioned by the outbreak in 1789 of the French revolution and its subsequent evolution. An event of this magnitude created great concern throughout Europe, for fear that the revolutionary proposals would spread. But this fear was very understandable in Spain due to the geographical proximity and the family ties between the monarchs of both countries. Spanish foreign policy, since the War of Succession and the arrival of the Bourbons, had been marked by the alliance with France through the pacts of _"family"_ but the French revolution forced Spain to rethink its attitude towards the new France that was emerging. Thus, relations with the revolutionary neighboring country went through three phases: 1. Phase of neutrality between 1789 and 1792. 2. Phase of war between 1793 and 1795. 3. Phase of alliance between 1796 and 1808. ##### Prevention and neutrality (1789 - 1792) When Carlos IV acceded to the throne, he kept Count Floridablanca as Prime Minister, whose policy was characterized by a vigilant and neutral attitude towards France, and repression against revolutionary propaganda (they inspected the mail coming from France, newspapers could not publish news about the revolution, the Inquisition was reinforced...). ##### Ascenso de Godoy and war against France (1793 - 1795) Due to the influence of the queen, Maria Luisa de Parma, a young body guard, Manuel Godoy, rose to the position of Prime Minister. In this way, he became the true ruler of Spain from 1792 until the end of the reign in 1808. The French Revolution had entered a phase of radicalization and had abolished the monarchy. Godoy's policy aimed, in a first moment, at saving the life of the French king, Louis XVI, although he was guillotined in January 1793. Soon after, in March, France declared war on Spain, and a war began that was intended to be presented in Spain as a crusade against the forces of evil, embodied in revolutionary France. The military inferiority of Spain forced the war to end. In the Peace of Basel of 1795, all the territories conquered by France during the war were returned to Spain. Godoy received the title of Prince of Peace. ##### The alliance with revolutionary France (1796 - 1808) In 1796, the first Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed, which was equivalent to a renewal of the old Family Pacts, by which Spain was linked to France in a policy of collaboration and defense. This meant, therefore, assuming the confrontation with England and its ally Portugal, which were the main enemies of France. The rivalry with England had serious consequences for Spain, such as English attacks on Spanish ships in trade with America or, more particularly, the Franco-Spanish defeat at Trafalgar (1805), which meant the sinking of Spain as a maritime power. ##### The crisis of 1808 The situation in Spain in 1808 was one of economic, political and social crisis: * Uncontrolled rise in prices. * Foreign trade collapsed after the destruction of the fleet at Trafalgar 1805. * State indebtedness to finance the wars * Indignation against Carlos IV and Godoy (his Prime Minister). All these factors caused the emergence of a group opposed to the king and his favorite, who organized around the Prince of Asturias Fernando (future Fernando VII) in what was known as the "Perdido Fernand ino". During this period the following events occurred: * Treaty of Fontainebleau (October 1807), signed by Godoy and Napoleon. Permission is granted to the French army to cross Spain to occupy Portugal, thus collaborating in the continental blockade against England. However, Napoleon's plan included the invasion of Spain and French troops were taking positions. * Motín de Aranjuez (March 1808). Popular attack on Godoy's palace, provoked by the Fernandinos, who managed to get Carlos IV to dismiss Godoy and abdicate in favor of his son Fernando. * Abdications of Bayona (May 1808). This is the name given to the renunciation of the throne of Spain by Carlos IV and Fernando VII in favor of Napoleon, who gave the crown to his brother José 1. The privileged classes and many institutions accepted the French authority, especially the afrancesados (people heavily influenced by the Enlightenment who supported José I during the War of Independence [1808-14] to help implement the necessary reforms to modernize Spain. At the end of the war they were persecuted). ##### The War of Independence On May 2nd 1808, the people of Madrid rose up against the French invaders. The Marshal Murat (who led the French troops in Madrid) repressed the popular uprising (executions on May 13th) but to no avail. The rebellion against the French spread throughout Spain, marking the beginning of the War of Independence. The War of Independence was a national war of liberation against the invasion of the French army. In the war they faced: * The French army, at the service of José I Bonaparte's government. It counted on the support of the afrancesados, who saw the arrival of the French as an opportunity to spread their Enlightenment ideas. It had a very large and well-organized army. * The Spanish army and people, in the name of the legitimate king of Spain Fernando VII. Despite the inferiority of their army and their lack of organization, the guerrilla warfare and the Portuguese and British aid (Wellington) played a key role. Outstanding generals were Palafox in the siege of Zaragoza and General Castaños in the Battle of Bailén (July 1808). Notable guerrillas were Espoz y Mina, El Empecinado and the priest Merino Two ideological factions were distinguished: * Liberals. Their aim was to establish a constitutional monarchy. * Absolutists. Their aim was for Fernando VII to return to the throne of Spain and restore absolutism. The development of the War of Independence went through three phases: * **Until November 1808**. Characterized by the reaction of the majority of Spaniards to the invasion. The French armies systematically occupied the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish army faced them at Bailen (1808), led by General Castaños, inflicting a severe defeat on the French troops of Marshal Dupont, which forced them to retreat as far as Madrid. In the outskirts of Barcelona, they also suffered two defeats of relative importance, in the area of El Bruch, which gave rise to the famous legend of the Tambor del Bruch. Another part of the French army marched to Portugal, commanded by the Marshal Junot, and faced the Portuguese troops and their British allies led by Lord Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington. Due to the equality of forces, the French signed the Convention of Sintra in August 1808, and they retreated back to Spain, giving up the attempt to take Lisbon and the southern regions of Portugal. In the face of these military failures, King José I decided to retreat north of the peninsula, occupying a narrow strip of Spanish territory between the Ebro and the Western Pyrenees and moved his capital to Vitoria. * **From November 1808 to January 1812**. Stage of French dominance. England enters the conflict on the Spanish side, while Napoleon takes command of military operations in Spain. Guerrilla warfare appears as a new tactic of struggle against the French army. Upon learning about the course of the war in Spain, Napoleon, with 250,000 soldiers, entered Spanish territory through Irún in November 1808. The Spaniards had organized into four armies to block the invasion: west, with General Joaquín Blake facing the Basque Country; center, Castile with General Francisco Javier Castaños; east, in Catalonia with General Vives; and the reserve, in Aragon with General José Palafox. However, the advance of the emperor was unstoppable and he defeated Blake's troops at Espinosa de los Morteros (Burgos) and Castaños's troops at Tudela. The great French victory at Somosierra on November 30th opened the gates of Madrid to the emperor, who entered on December 4th. Some of the most important cities also resisted the conquest, such as Gerona or Zaragoza, and against them the French undertook a harsh siege. The siege of Zaragoza lasted until 1809 and figures like General Palafox and the heroine Agustina de Aragón stood out. The cities were falling and by 1812 all the major provincial capitals, except Cadiz, were under the control of the invaders. In 1810 the French conquered Seville, Tarragona in 1811 and Valencia in 1812. With the fall of the cities, guerrilla warfare was the only form of resistance and its activity remained constant. These were groups of armed civilians who attacked the French troops without following war protocols and who were supported by civilians. Their attacks were unexpected, cruel and very violent, and aimed at disrupting supplies, causing fear and distrust among the soldiers and limiting the advance of the invading troops. These guerrillas dominated areas of the territory, such as those of Espoz y Mina in Navarre, Juan Martín "El Empecinado" between Madrid and Burgos or the priest Merino, also in Castile. * **From 1812 to August 1813**. The Spanish troops and the British troops of Wellington, with the support of Portugal in the rearguard, achieved the victories of Arapiles (Salamanca, July 1812), Vitoria (June 1813) and San Marcial (Irún 1813). The progressive withdrawal of French troops over the course of 1813 is attributable to two factors: 1. The defeat of Napoleon on the Russian front and the sending of 150,000 troops to France to try to recover the defeat. 2. The counterattack of British troops under Wellington, coming from Portugal. The British troops detained the French at Torres Vedras (Portugal) and harassed the French troops, expelling them from Badajoz. They won the great victory of Arapiles (Salamanca) in July 1812, alongside Spanish troops who joined the campaign. Wellington led the attack against the French, seizing Valladolid and Madrid, and culminating in the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. Finally, the French suffered the defeat of San Marcial in 1813 when they tried to counterattack. However, Napoleon's troops remained in the east of the country, both in Catalonia, which had been taken from Spain and incorporated as a new region of the Empire, and in the former Kingdom of Valencia. Finally, throughout the first few months of 1814, Napoleon's troops retreated from the eastern regions of Spain, until leaving the Iberian Peninsula in the early days of summer 1814. The war resulted in approximately one million deaths, which was almost 10% of the Spanish population, and a multitude of exiles in France who fled the persecution for their collaboration with the French, or their passivity in the face of French atrocities, some of which were depicted by Goya in his series of engravings "The Disasters of War." Many churches were destroyed, many works of art were looted or stolen, and many documents and historical treasures were plundered. By the Treaty of Valençay (December 11, 1813) Napoleon restored the throne of Spain to Fernando VII. The last French troops left Spain in 1814. ##### Consequences of the War of Independence * **Human losses**: loss of approximately 10% of the population (deaths, exiles). * **Material damage**: destruction of infrastructure, cities, agriculture, industry and cultural heritage.