Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808)
| Anglo-Spanish War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars | |||||||||
 La Reconquista de Buenos Aires: Beresford surrenders to Santiago de Liniers, by Charles Fouqueray. |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
|
1796–1802: 1804–1808: |
1796–1801: 1801-1802, 1804-1808: Supported by: |
||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 38 ships of the line (1796) 70 ships of the line (1805) 200,000 (1801) 50,000 (1807) |
100+ ships of the line 80,000 (1801) 50,000 (1807) |
||||||||
Indecisive
1796–1802:
1804–1808:
1796–1801:
1801-1802, 1804-1808:
Supported by:
The Anglo-Spanish War was a conflict fought between 1796 and 1802, and again from 1804 to 1808, as part of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The war ended when an alliance was signed between the UK and Kingdom of Spain, which was now under French invasion.
In the War of the First Coalition, Spain declared war on the newly formed French Republic, joined the Coalition in attempting to restore the Bourbon Monarchy. The main Spanish general was Antonio Ricardos, however he failed to secure a decisive victory, despite initial successes. French forces elsewhere quickly overran the Austrian Netherlands after the Battle of Fleurus, and the Dutch Republic collapsed under huge pressure. The Spanish were having similarly bad times. The Spanish navy did little, with the exception of combing with the British and therefor participating the Siege of Toulon.
Following the Battle of the Black Mountain, the French Republic gained a huge advantage, and by 1795, the Peace of Basel was signed, forcing the Kingdom of Spain and Kingdom of Prussia to exit the Coalition. in 1796, encouraged by massive French gains in the Rhine Campaign and Italian Campaign, Manuel Godoy signed the Treaty of Ildefonso, establishing a Franco-Spanish alliance and common war against Great Britain. The hope was that victorious France would also win over land and money for Spain.
The war was a disaster for the once mighty Spanish Empire, with the British blockading trading ports, preventing large amounts of wealth from the colonies from arriving. Unlike in the American Revolutionary War, Spain could do little against the substantial amounts of debts gained. A main Spanish fleet, under Jose de Cordoba y Ramos, had 27 ships of the line, however, and planned to link with the French and protect coveys of valuable goods. The British Mediterranean fleet had 15 ships of the line - heavily outnumbered by Franco-Spanish threats, forcing a retreat from Corsica and Elba by 1797.
...
Wikipedia