Napoleonic Spain
| Kingdom of Spain | ||||||||||
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Royaume d’Espagne Reino de España |
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| Client state of the French Empire | ||||||||||
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Motto Plus Ultra "Further Beyond" |
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Anthem Marcha Real "Royal March" |
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.svg) Claimed territory, actual control was never fulfilled.
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| Capital | Madrid | |||||||||
| Languages | Spanish and French | |||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | |||||||||
| Government | Absolute Monarchy | |||||||||
| King | ||||||||||
| • | 1808–1813 | Joseph I | ||||||||
| Regent | ||||||||||
| • | 1808 | Joachim Murat | ||||||||
| First Secretary of State | ||||||||||
| • | 1808–1813 | Mariano Luis de Urquijo | ||||||||
| • | 1813 | Juan O'Donoju O'Ryan | ||||||||
| • | 1813 | Fernando de Laserna | ||||||||
| Legislature | Cortes Generales | |||||||||
| Historical era | Napoleonic Wars | |||||||||
| • | Abdications of Bayonne | 6 May 1808 | ||||||||
| • | Statute adopted | 8 July 1808 | ||||||||
| • | Battle of Vitoria | 21 June 1813 | ||||||||
| • | Treaty of Valençay | 11 December 1813 | ||||||||
| Currency | Spanish real | |||||||||
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Napoleonic Spain was the part of Spain loyal to Joseph I during the Peninsular War (1808–1813) after the country was partially occupied by French forces. During this period, the country was considered a client state of the First French Empire.
That part of Spain which continued to resist French occupation remained loyal to Ferdinand VII and allied with Britain and Portugal to expel Napoleon's armies from Spain. Allied victories at Salamanca and Vitoria meant the defeat of the Bonapartist régime and the expulsion of Napoleon's troops. The Treaty of Valençay recognized Ferdinand VII as the legitimate king of Spain.
Spain had been allied with France against the United Kingdom since the Second Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1796. However, after the defeat of the combined Spanish and French fleets by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, cracks began to appear in the alliance, with Spain preparing to invade France from the south after the outbreak of the War of the Fourth Coalition. In 1806, Spain readied for an invasion in case of a Prussia victory, but Napoleon's rout of the Prussian army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstaedt caused Spain to back down. However, Spain continued to resent the loss of their fleet at Trafalgar and the fact that they were forced to join the Continental System. Nevertheless, the two allies agreed to partition Portugal, a long-standing British trading partner and ally, and which refused to join the Continental System. Napoleon was fully aware of the disastrous state of Spain's economy and administration, and its political fragility, and came to believe that it had little value as an ally. He insisted on positioning French troops in Spain to prepare for a French invasion of Portugal, but once this was done, he continued to move additional French troops into Spain without any sign of an advance into Portugal. The presence of French troops on Spanish soil was extremely unpopular in Spain, resulting in the Mutiny of Aranjuez and the abdication of Charles IV of Spain in March 1808.
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Wikipedia