Spain's War of Independence (1808-1814): From French Occupation to Liberal Revolution

The crisis of 1808. The War of Independence and the beginnings of the liberal revolution.
Charles IV succeeded his father, Charles III, in 1788. His reign was affected by the outbreak of the French Revolution (1789), but until then Spanish foreign policy had been marked by the alliance with France (Covenants family) but the revolution forced Spain to reconsider their attitude and after an initial phase neutral start a fight (1793) ending with the Peace of Basel in 1795. In 1796 it signed the first Treaty of San Ildefonso.Por which Spain adopted a policy of collaboration with France that led to the defeat of Trafalgar in 1805, which led to the collapse of Spain as a maritime power.

When Charles VI succeeded to the throne remained as prime minister on the recommendation of his father to Floridablanca, but the influence of Queen Maria Luisa de Parma, Manuel Godoy, a young guard Corps advanced to the position of prime minister, being the real ruler of Spain from 1792 until the end of the reign, though for a brief period, 1798-1800, was relieved of his duties.
Godoy In 1807 Napoleon signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau, by which allowed the French troops passing through Spanish territory to conquer Portugal, England's ally. Portugal The aim was to divide into three parts, one of which would be a principality under the command of Godoy.
With this pretext, Napoleon ordered his troops in different parts of Spain. Godoy, realizing the danger, try to move the royal family in Andalusia, but in March 1808 riots broke out of Aranjuez, where the court was.
The origin of the riot was in the party that had formed around the crown prince, the future Fernando VII, as opposed to the excessive power and prominence of Godoy. This party fostered popular discontent among groups who staged the mutiny were assaulting the palace of Godoy.
Carlos IV was forced to remove Godoy and abdicate in favor of his son Fernando. Napoleon, then, failed to attract the French city of Bayonne to Carlos IV and Fernando VII, forcing him to abdicate the crown and turn cediéndosela his brother Joseph Bonaparte, who under the name of José I thus became king of Spain and promulgated the Constitution or Statute of Bayonne, in fact given a letter, which sought to modernize the Spanish political structures modeled on the French system.
On May 2, 1808, when the rest of the Spanish royal family wanted to leave the Palacio de Oriente, Madrid town mutinied, just hours after General Murat suppressed the revolt by shooting hundreds of people as a warning.
Upon learning the news of the abdication of Bayonne and Madrid events insurrection spread throughout the Spanish territory, being divided into two camps, which makes this conflict is not only a war against the invader, but a Civil War.
On the one hand, the territories occupied by the French army, which had the support of the French style, among which were some enlightened reformers who sought a peaceful and gradual modernization.
Moreover, resistance was claiming to fight on behalf of Ferdinand VII, but within this ideological side were two groups:
The Liberals, who wanted to establish a new type of monarchy.
The absolutists, supporters of the old regime and the return of Fernando VII as an absolute monarch.
To control the situation, in unoccupied areas local boards were created, which joined together provincial assumed authority in the name of Fernando VII. With delegates from the provincial boards were appointed in September 1808 under the chairmanship of Floridablanca, the Supreme Central Junta, which in 1810 transferred his powers to a Regency Council which was established in Cadiz and general courts summoned to carry out a set of decrees and above all, the 1812 Constitution which is the first attempt at liberal transformation, which occurred in Spain.
In June 1808 with the objective of suppressing popular uprisings and to establish the regime of Jose I, an army of 17,000 men got into trusting Spain deployed in range and thus control the key points of the country. But the unexpected resistance of the Spanish disrupted at first projects of Napoleon.
Resistance was assisted by the British army and the guerrillas, made up of former soldiers, civilian volunteers and even bandits, attacking by surprise the enemy with swift action, using his knowledge of the terrain and the complicity of the civilian population. Some leaders achieved great prestige, as the stubborn or Espoz and Mina.
Until November 1808, the resistance won some victories such as dancing, and some cities which sockets are provided for easy, as Zaragoza and Girona resisted the occupation, producing sites or sieges that lasted several months.
Joseph I was forced to leave Madrid and settle in Vitoria. Napoleon decided to run the same operations in Spain, where he remained a few months, leading an army of 25 000 men.
José I returned to Madrid, while the Central Board took refuge in Seville and then in Cadiz. Only a few areas were free.
But the situation changed in the spring of 1812, Napoleon needed cash in on the Russian front, which facilitated the victory of General Wellington, in front of British troops, Portuguese and Spanish, aided by guerrillas who defeated the French in Arapiles, expelled from Andalusia and pressured until his retirement. In 1813 he defeated at the battle of San Marcial, (Irun). At the end of 1813 was signed Valençay treaty, which recognized Napoleon as King Ferdinand VII of Spain.