Charles IV of Spain: Foreign Policy and the 1808–1814 War

Charles IV: End of the Old Regime in Spain

Charles IV: The crisis of the Old Regime in Spain began during the reign of Charles IV. One year after his accession, the French Revolution erupted, bringing an end to the political and social foundations of the Ancien Régime and setting in motion political dynamics whose internal and external impact continued throughout his reign.

Foreign Policy: Three Stages (1788–1808)

Foreign policy during Charles IV's reign is commonly divided into three stages. Key measures and events included border controls, censorship of students traveling abroad, and the temporary revival of repressive institutions to combat revolutionary ideas.

• Isolation and neutrality (1788–1792): The spread of revolutionary ideas led the government to close borders as a cordon sanitaire to isolate the contagion of the French Revolution. Students were forbidden to travel abroad without royal permission, and the Inquisition was revived as a repressive apparatus against new ideas. The Count of Aranda advocated a more conciliatory approach toward France and the monarchy of Louis XVI.
• Hostility against France (1792–1795): After the fall and execution of Louis XVI, Spain joined other monarchies in opposing revolutionary France. Under the influence of Manuel Godoy, Spain entered conflict and ultimately had to accept the Peace of Basel (1795). By that treaty Spain ceded the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola (Santo Domingo) to France.
• Alliance with France (1796–1808): The peace and diplomatic settlements produced a realignment: Spain returned to a traditional alliance with France against Britain, shaping policy and military commitments until the Peninsular crisis.

War of Independence (1808–1814)

War of Independence 1808–1814: The conflict began with the popular uprising in Madrid on May 2, 1808, after members of the royal family were transferred to Bayonne, France. The uprising was harshly repressed. Local juntas were created throughout Spain to organize and lead the resistance against the French occupation. To coordinate efforts, a Junta Central was formed, acting as a unifying organ among the provincial juntas.

Within Spanish society two broad and opposing attitudes emerged:

• Afrancesados: A minority of intellectuals and senior officials who, influenced by Enlightenment ideas or pragmatic interests, accepted the new regime and the French reforms or the new monarchs.
• Patriots: A heterogeneous group united by rejection of the invader and by recognizing Fernando VII as the legitimate Spanish king.

Cortes of Cádiz and the 1812 Constitution

The Cortes of Cádiz: The Central Junta convened the Cortes Generales in Cádiz in 1810 with the goal of drafting a constitution. The constitution adopted in 1812 effectively dismantled many economic, social, and political pillars of the Old Regime and established a new liberal system based on:

• National sovereignty
• Constitutional monarchy
• Separation of powers
• Abolition of the estate-based (sociedad estamental) system

These changes had profound consequences for Spain's internal structure and for the political order after the Napoleonic era.