French Occupation of Spain

Situation in Europe 1807-1812

France occupation of Spain

In 1808 king Charles IV relinquished the throne to his son Ferdinand
The French occupied Madrid and Napoleon forced Charles and Ferdinand to give
up the throne
Napoleon then placed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as the king of Spain

The power transitioned from

Ferdinand and to Joseph

Spanish resistance
In May of 1808 people in Madrid rose up against the French this sparked rebellions all over Spain
Juntas (governing councils) had asserted themselves as a imperial government in the defiance of the
French called the Supreme Junta Seville
However it didnt last long

In 1810 French eliminated the Seville except in Cadiz

The Supreme Junta was replaced by a Regency Council

Since both systems were incompetent it was only a matter of time before Napoleon took complete control

All that was in Napoleon's way was Cazid which blocked off all ships

Constitution of 1812
Being under liberal influence, the Regency Council wanted to to create equality
for everyone in the Empire
They brought all delegates from Spain to form a constituent assembly

In 1812 a liberal Constitution was established in Cadiz

It was intended to limit the crown and the Cortes (Spanish Parliament) would be
accountable for individual rights (freedom of press)

This document inspired much of liberal Europe and Latin American

However, the proposal was rejected from many Latin American delegates early on

Situation in Spanish America 1808-1809

Many of the colonists rejected the authority of Joseph Bonaparte. It raised questions
like: Where did legitimate authority lay? This question separated the Creoles and
Spaniards, allowing for the mestizo armies to have greater amounts of men.

Return of Ferdinand
In 1814 Napoleon was defeated, and Ferdinand was restored to the throne
Once he was restored to the throne, he abolished the Constitution of 1812 and restored absolute power to the crown
His beneficial actions included

Pacifying Mexico

Restoring of royalist control in Venezuela, Uruguay, Paraguay, Per, and Chile

At the end of Napoleonic War meant that Spanish troops could return to America to fight rebellion

By 1815 the counter-revolution was almost complete, but the royalist faced several weakening factors

The royalist were almost too violent and focussed on the mass execution of rebels rather than reconciliation making the counterrevolution counter-productive

There was no guarantee of social order

Creoles supported self-rule

Amerindians and blacks were promised equality under the new government