The Portuguese War 1807-1808




A.) The Pre-History of the War

Portugal, by neglecting to strictly implement the Continental System, angered Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1807, Spain and Portugal signed the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau, in which they agreed on partitioning Portugal into a Duchy for the Duke of Godoy, a Kingdom for the Spanish Bourbon sideline that held Etruria and a part to be annexed into Spain; Etruria was to be annexed by France.


B.) The War

The Campaign against Portugal began on October 12th 1807. King John IV. boarded a British ship and went to Brazil. Brazilian troops occupied French Guiana and attacked the Spanish in Uruguay. On October 27th, France and Portugal signed a secret treaty; Lisbon was taken by Junot October 30th. .
On July 31st, a British force landed at Lisbon; on August 30th, Junot surrendered at Cintra.


B.) The Legacy

With the enforced abdication of Spanish King Ferdinand VII. in 1808, him being succeeded by Napoleon's brother Joseph, the Popular War began in Spain, and with Spain becoming the theatre of war, Portugal, in her shadow, was free.


EXTERNAL
FILES 		O Exercito Portugues em finais do Antigo Regime (On the Portuguese Army at the End of the Ancien Regime), by Manuel Amaral, in Portuguese
Tableau recapitulatif des armees en Espagne de 1807 a 1814, from L'Aigle Conquerant
Chronologie : Consulat et Empire, 1799-1815, from France Diplomatie, scroll down for 1807
1807-1808, from Encyclopedia of World History
Cronologia das Invasoes Fanceses, 1807, 1808, from O Portal da Historia, detailed timelines, in Portuguese
Biography of Andoche Junot, from EB 1911, from Wikipedia
Article Convention of Sintra, from Wikipedia
DOCUMENTS Treaties concerning Olivenza, from Olivenza International Dispute, has treaty excerpts in English translation
Documentos, from O Exercito Portugues em finais do Antigo Regime
Portugal, from Annuaire 1789-1815, in French
World Statesmen : Portugal, by Ben Cahoon
Correspondance de Napoleon : Sept. 1807
Documents pertaining to the Convention of Cintra, 1808, posted by Napoleon Series
The Battle of Vimiero 1808, posted by Hillsdale
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on June 17th 2003, last revised on November 19th 2004

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