The Anglo-Spanish War was fought between 1796 and 1802, and again from 1804 to 1808, as part of the
Coalition Wars
The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (sometimes called the Great French War or the Wars of the Revolution and the Empire) were a series of conflicts between the French and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompas ...
. The war ended when an unexpected alliance was formed between Great Britain and the
Spanish Bourbon dynasty, resulting in the
French invasion. The Anglo-Spanish alliance eventually ended in military victory against Napoleonic France, instrumental in ending
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's reign and dominance over
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
Background
In the
War of the First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...
, Spain declared
war
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
on the newly formed French Republic, and joined the Coalition in attempting to restore the Bourbon Monarchy. The main Spanish general was
Antonio Ricardos, who failed to secure a decisive victory, despite initial successes. French forces elsewhere quickly overran the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...
after the
Battle of Fleurus, and the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
collapsed under huge pressure. The Spanish were having similarly bad times. The Spanish navy did little, with the exception of combining with the British and participating in the
Siege of Toulon
The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts and the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by forces of the French Re ...
.
Following the
Battle of the Black Mountain, the French Republican forces gained a huge advantage, and by 1795, the
Peace of Basel
The Peace of Basel of 1795 consists of three peace treaties involving France during the French Revolution (represented by François de Barthélemy).
*The first was with Prussia (represented by Karl August von Hardenberg) on 5 April;
*The s ...
was signed, forcing Spain and the
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
to exit the Coalition. In 1796, encouraged by massive French gains in the
Rhine campaign and the
Italian campaign, Spanish prime minister
Manuel Godoy
Manuel de Godoy y Álvarez de Faria Ríos (12 May 1767 – 4 October 1851), 1st ''Prince of the Peace'', 1st ''Duke of Alcudia'', 1st ''Duke of Sueca'', 1st ''Baron of Mascalbó'', was the First Secretary of State of the Kingdom of Spain from ...
signed the
Second Treaty of San Ildefonso
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...
, establishing a Franco-Spanish alliance and common war against Great Britain. The hope was that victorious France would also win over land and money for Spain, particularly against Spain's then main naval threat, Britain. The alliance continued the longstanding cooperation between France and Spain established by the
Pacte de Famille
The ''Pacte de Famille'' (, Family Compact; ) is one of three separate, but similar alliances between the Bourbon kings of France and Spain. As part of the settlement of the War of the Spanish Succession that brought the House of Bourbon of Fr ...
in 1733, broken only by the French Revolution.
War
1796–1802
The war was damaging for Spain and for the Spanish Crown's revenues, with the British blockade greatly reducing the amount of wealth arriving from the colonies. A main Spanish fleet, under
José de Córdoba y Ramos, had 27
ships of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...
, however, and planned to link with the French and protect convoys of valuable goods. The British Mediterranean fleet had 15 ships of the line—heavily outnumbered by Franco-Spanish threats, forcing a retreat from
Corsica
Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
and
Elba
Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...
by 1797. However, the Spanish Navy proved incapable of coordinating with its French Republican allies, and was heavily defeated at the
Battle of Cape St. Vincent. This left Spain in a disadvantaged position at sea for the rest of the war, even if they repulsed two British assaults on
Cádiz
Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...
and
Tenerife
Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
and a later
British expedition to Ferrol.
The war extended to the Pacific, where in early 1797 the Spanish captured a number of British merchantmen and
whaling ships
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...
.
In 1797, a British force led by General Sir
Ralph Abercromby
Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Trinidad in 1797. Rising to the rank ...
launched the invasion of Trinidad. His squadron sailed through the Bocas and anchored off the coast of Chaguaramas. The Spanish Governor Chacón decided to capitulate without fighting. Trinidad thus became a British crown colony, with a French-speaking population and Spanish law. Afterwards, Abercromby secured possession of the settlements of Demerara and Essequibo in South America. A major assault on the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico, in April 1797 failed after fierce fighting where both sides suffered heavy losses.
Also in 1797, the British
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
(EIC) at
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
chartered a number of
East Indiamen
East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European Trading company, trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belon ...
and local vessels to serve as transports for a planned attack on Manila. However, the Government cancelled the invasion following a peace treaty with Spain and the EIC released the vessels it had engaged.
1804–1808
The
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens (, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it set t ...
in 1802 provided for a temporary truce in hostilities, only to be broken in 1804 when, by surprise and without declaration of war,
British ships attacked a Spanish squadron of
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
s that was carrying gold and silver bullion to
Cádiz
Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...
. Spanish frigate ''
Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes'' blew up and the British captured the rest.
The French planned an invasion of Britain in the coming year; the Spanish fleet was to be an integral part in assisting this invasion. At the
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...
, in 1805, a combined Franco-Spanish fleet, attempting to join forces with the French fleets in the north for the invasion, were attacked by a British fleet and lost in a decisive engagement. The British victory ended the immediate threat of an invasion of Britain by Napoleon. It also seriously shook the resolve of the unpopular Godoy-led Spanish government, which began to doubt the utility of its uncertain alliance with Napoleon. Meanwhile, a
British campaign (1806–1807) to conquer the strategically important
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...
region in Spanish South America met with failure.
Godoy withdrew from the
Continental System that Napoleon had devised to combat Britain, only to join it again in 1807, after Napoleon had defeated the Prussians. Napoleon, however, had lost his faith in Godoy and Spanish King
Charles IV. There was also growing support in Spain for the king's son,
Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
, who opposed the widely despised Godoy. Ferdinand, however, favoured an alliance with Britain, and Napoleon had always doubted the trustworthiness of any Bourbon royalty.
Aftermath
In 1807, France and Spain invaded Portugal, and, on 1 December, Lisbon was captured with no military opposition. In the beginning of 1808, the French presence in Spain was so dominating that it led to revolt. Napoleon then removed King Charles and his son Ferdinand to
Bayonne
Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...
and forced them both to abdicate on 5 May, giving the throne to his brother
Joseph
Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
. This led to the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
and the de facto end of the Anglo-Spanish War, as
George Canning
George Canning (; 11 April 17708 August 1827) was a British Tory statesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as foreign secretary, finally becoming Prime Minister of the U ...
,
foreign secretary of His Majesty's Government, declared:
:''"No longer remember that war has existed between Spain and Great Britain. Every nation which resists the exorbitant power of France becomes immediately, and whatever may have been its previous relations with us, the natural ally of Great Britain."''
[Foy, p. 213]
With this, the Bourbon government of Spain, along with any
Juntas claiming to represent it, became allies of Britain, as the Peninsular War developed and ended in victory for both Britain and Spain.
Notes
References
* Esdaile, Charles. "Latin America and the Anglo-Spanish Alliance against Napoleon, 1808-14." ''Bulletin of Hispanic Studies'' 69.1 (1992): 55+.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anglo-Spanish War (1796-1808)
1790s conflicts
1800s conflicts
19th-century military history of the United Kingdom
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Spain–United Kingdom military relations
Military history of Great Britain