Spain’s 1808 Crisis: War, Revolution, and Transformation

Posted on Nov 14, 2024 in History

The Crisis of 1808: War, Revolution, and Transformation

Spain’s Situation Before the War

Spain in 1808 faced a deep crisis characterized by:

  • Demographic Crisis: Declining birth rates and high mortality.
  • Agrarian Crisis: Poor harvests led to rising agricultural prices, especially for bread, causing widespread discontent.
  • Commercial Crisis: Disrupted trade with the Americas.
  • Financial Crisis: State deficit and increasing public debt, leading to the seizure of church property and the issuing of vales reales by Godoy and Charles IV.

Four Events Leading to the War of Independence

  1. Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807): Allowed French troops passage through Spain to invade Portugal, but was used by the French to occupy Spanish cities.
  2. Mutiny of Aranjuez (March 17-18, 1808): Resulted in Godoy’s dismissal and Charles IV’s abdication in favor of his son, Ferdinand VII.
  3. Abdications of Bayonne (May 5, 1808): Napoleon forced Ferdinand VII to abdicate in favor of Charles IV, who then abdicated in favor of Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte (Joseph I).
  4. Events of May 2, 1808, in Madrid: Popular uprising against the French due to:
    1. Discomfort caused by the occupying army.
    2. News from Bayonne reaching Madrid.
    3. Rumors of the remaining Royal Family’s departure.

These events marked the beginning of the War of Independence.

Features and Phases of the War

The War of Independence was:

  • A war of liberation: Provoked by the presence of the invading French army.
  • A national war: Embodied the principle of a nation in arms, with the people fighting the French.
  • A civil war: Pitted two sectors of Spanish society against each other (Absolutists vs. Liberals).
  • Part of a larger war crisis: Affecting Spain during the first half of the 19th century, including the Spanish American wars of independence and the First Carlist War.

Phases of the War:

  1. First Phase (May 1808 – November 1808): French defeat at the Battle of Bailén, their first major setback, though the Spanish gained little advantage. Wellington expelled the French from Portugal.
  2. Second Phase (1808 – 1811): Napoleon’s arrival in Spain led to the conquest of most of the country, except for parts of the south, including Cadiz. Emergence of guerrilla warfare, based on acknowledging inferiority and employing total belligerence. Guerrilla tactics focused on attacking the French army’s rear, decreasing their effectiveness and requiring more soldiers for guard duty. Success depended on knowledge of the terrain and popular support.
  3. Third Phase (1812 – 1814): Return to conventional warfare, supported by guerrillas. Gradual French withdrawal northward, culminating in defeats at Arapiles (1812), Vitoria, and San Marcial (1813). The Treaty of Valençay (December 11, 1813) restored Ferdinand VII to the throne. The war ended in April 1814.

The Reign of Joseph I

Key features:

  • Popular rejection.
  • Constant intervention by Napoleon.
  • Shifting control of the territory.

Joseph I’s government was based on the Statute of Bayonne (1808), a document both absolutist (maintaining the absolute monarchy, Catholicism, and estate privileges) and reformist/liberal (recognizing rights like freedom of the press, the ability to publish texts, and free trade). Joseph I’s reign was supported by a minority group known as the afrancesados, drawn from the upper classes who had supported Charles III’s reforms. They saw Joseph’s reign as an opportunity for modernization. They fled Spain after the war.

The Juntas

Juntas were political bodies that emerged in opposition to the French, representing popular political participation. Initially formed at the local and provincial levels, they eventually led to the Supreme Central Junta. Its main functions were:

  1. Leading the war against the French, including establishing a military alliance with Great Britain (1809).
  2. Governing the country in the absence of Ferdinand VII.
  3. Convening the Cortes of Cádiz, a revolutionary act.

The Central Junta dissolved in February 1810, transferring power to the Regency Council, which governed unoccupied Spain.

Consequences of the War

  • Significant population losses (around 300,000).
  • Massive material destruction.
  • The effective end of the Spanish colonial empire in America, as it fostered independence movements.
  • Spain’s decline to a minor European power.
  • The foundation for a political revolution, ending absolutism and establishing a liberal regime.
  • Increased military prestige and intervention in 19th and 20th-century politics.