-
The uprising against the French
The fight was popular in character. In effect, the military garrisons in Madrid had the order not to intervene against the French; only a few officers. The French army, under the command of General Murat, Napoleon's lieutenant in Spain, with an army of 30,000 men, harshly repressed the popular uprising.
Fernando VII before going to Bayonne, who advocated collaborating with the French troops, the popular reaction was very different.
The rebellion spread through all the cities of the country. -
ABDICATIONS OF BAYONA
Napoleon obtained the abdications of the monarchs, Carlos IV and Fernando VII, renouncing his rights to the Spanish crown. Napoleon then decided to hand over the kingdom of Spain to his brother José I, which would lead to the opposition of the Spanish people and the beginning of the War of Independence (1808–1813) that began with the uprising of the people of Madrid on May 2 of 1808. -
The monarchy of José I Bonaparte
The king arrived in Madrid in July 1808. He was an unpopular monarch, whose personality was far from the image that the Spanish patriots gave about him, calling him "Pepe bottle" or "the king of glasses". He had the support of the “afrancesados”
Most of the country did not recognize the official authorities and only saw Fernando VII as king. -
The war of Independence
In the month of June, the first siege of Zaragoza took place.
The battle of Bailén, where a French army led by General Dupont was defeated on July 19 by a Spanish army improvised by some provincial boards of Andalusia, and notably by that of Seville, commanded by General Castaños. Bailén's defeat had a double impact: strategic and propaganda. For the first time a Napoleonic army was defeated in the open field.
José I left Madrid. Napoleon sent the Grande Armée. -
The second phase: the French apogee (November 1808-spring 1812).
The French emperor, who had initially underestimated the Spanish capacity for resistance, at the head of the Grande Armée entered Spain in November 1808. In December he took Madrid, where he returned to place his brother.
A decisive event in this phase of the war was the action of the guerrillas who knew how to apply a war of attrition, with which the morale of the French troops was undermined and effective control of the territory was prevented. -
The third and final phase of the war: the final Anglo-Spanish offensive (spring 1812-August 1813). The consequences of war.
Napoleon was forced to withdraw a very important part of his troops from Spain to swell the Grande Armée that was preparing for the invasion of Russia. The weakening of the French troops was taken advantage of by the Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish troops of the Duke of Wellington. A prudent and experienced military man, he led the English army that had landed in Lisbon in 1809.
In the battle of Vitoria (June 1813) the French were defeated.