Treaty of Madrid (1801)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1801 Treaty of Madrid was signed on 29 September 1801 by Portugal and France. Portugal made territorial concessions to France in Northern Brazil, closed its ports to British shipping and paid an indemnity of 20 million
francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
.


Background

In 1793, Portugal and Spain joined the
First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...
against
French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
but Spain dropped out in 1795 after a series of defeats in the
War of the Pyrenees The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenean front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of Spain and Portuga ...
. It then allied with France in the 1796
Second Treaty of San Ildefonso The Second Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed on 19 August 1796 between the Spanish Empire and the First French Republic. Based on the terms of the agreement, France and Spain would become allies and combine their forces against the Kingdom of Grea ...
and declared war on Britain. During the 1798–1802
War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, N ...
, on 20 May 1801 Spain invaded Portugal in the
War of the Oranges The War of the Oranges ( pt, Guerra das Laranjas; french: Guerre des Oranges; es, Guerra de las Naranjas) was a brief conflict in 1801 in which Spanish forces, instigated by the government of France, and ultimately supported by the French mil ...
under pressure from France, which was anxious to deny Britain access to Portuguese ports. Portugal and Spain signed the Treaty of Badajoz on 6 June; on the same day, Portugal also agreed a second and separate Treaty of Badajoz with France, granting it substantial territorial gains in South America. The modern border between
French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
and Brazil is the
Oyapock River The Oyapock or Oiapoque (; ; ) is a long river in South America that forms most of the border between the France, French Overseas departments of France, overseas department of French Guiana and the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of Amapá. ...
, which was agreed in 1713; the proposed Treaty moved it south to the Araguari or Amapá River, taking in large parts of Northern Brazil. Portugal also agreed to close its ports to British shipping, pay an indemnity of 2 million francs and allow the import of French woollen goods.
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
refused to ratify the Treaty of Badajoz, claiming his Foreign Minister Talleyrand who agreed the terms and his younger brother
Lucien Bonaparte Lucien Bonaparte, 1st Prince of Canino and Musignano (born Luciano Buonaparte; 21 May 1775 – 29 June 1840), was French politician and diplomat of the French Revolution and the Consulate. He served as Minister of the Interior from 1799 to 1800 ...
, who signed it had both been bribed by the Portuguese.


Provisions

At the time, European settlement in much of South America was restricted to coastal areas, making access to waterways vital; Portuguese
Bandeirantes The ''Bandeirantes'' (), literally "flag-carriers", were slavers, explorers, adventurers, and fortune hunters in early Colonial Brazil. They are largely responsible for Brazil's great expansion westward, far beyond the Tordesillas Line of 1494 ...
had used the rivers to expand into the interior, discovering both gold and diamonds. The Treaty of Madrid moved the border of French Guiana further south to the Carapanatuba River, a tributary of the Amazon, giving France navigation rights in the Amazon estuary. This greatly enhanced the economic potential of French Guiana. Portugal repeated the undertaking given to Spain in the Treaty of Badajoz to close its ports to British shipping, as well as providing commercial access for French woollen goods, Portugal's primary import from Britain. In addition, a secret clause increased the indemnity paid by Portugal to France from 2 million to 20 million
francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
.


Aftermath

Even before the Treaty of Madrid was signed, Britain and France had begun negotiating the
Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...
which ended the War of the Second Coalition in March 1802. The Treaty of Amiens re-opened Portuguese ports to Britain and moved the border with French Guiana back to the Araguari River, as previously agreed. The 1796–1808 Anglo-Spanish War was also suspended and there was a pause until Britain and France recommenced hostilities in 1803. Spain declared war on Britain in December 1804; Portugal remained neutral until Spain and France signed the 1807 Treaty of Fontainebleau dividing Portugal between them. The Treaties of Badajoz and Madrid contained clauses making them void if any of the terms were breached; Portugal declared Fontainebleau constituted such a breach. After the invasion of Portugal in 1807, the Royal Family relocated to Brazil where it remained until 1821; Portuguese forces occupied French Guiana from 1809 to 1817. In one of the ironies of history, by 1825 the vast majority of Spanish and Portuguese colonies in South America had gained their independence while French Guiana remains part of France.


Footnotes


References

{{reflist


Sources

* Cobbett, William; ''Cobbett's Political Register;'' (Nabu Books, 2018 ed); * Buist, Marten Gerbertus; ''At Spes non Fracta: Hope & Co. 1770–1815;'' (Springer, 1974); * Hecht, Susanna; ''The Scramble for the Amazon and the Lost Paradise of Euclides Da Cunha;'' (University of Chicago, 2003);


See also

*
List of treaties This list of treaties contains known agreements, pacts, peaces, and major contracts between states, armies, governments, and tribal groups. Before 1200 CE 1200–1299 1300–1399 1400–1499 1500–1599 1600–1699 1700–1799 ...
*
War of the Oranges The War of the Oranges ( pt, Guerra das Laranjas; french: Guerre des Oranges; es, Guerra de las Naranjas) was a brief conflict in 1801 in which Spanish forces, instigated by the government of France, and ultimately supported by the French mil ...
1801 in Portugal 1801 in France 1801 treaties
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
France–Portugal relations