The title of Duke of Abrantès was a title of Napoleonic nobility created in 1808 by

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 ...

for

Jean-Andoche Junot Jean-Andoche Junot, Duke of Abrantes (; 25 September 1771 – 29 July 1813) was a French military officer who served in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known for leading the French invasion of Portugal in 1807. ...

. After the

King of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portugal, Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Thro ...

's refusal to join the

Continental Blockade The Continental System or Continental Blockade () was a large-scale embargo by French emperor Napoleon I against the British Empire from 21 November 1806 until 11 April 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree on 21 No ...

Napoleon I 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 ...

despatched General Jean-Andoche Junot in command of the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

invasion of Portugal. General Junot marched through Portugal and set up camp at the city of

Abrantes Abrantes () is a concelho, municipality in the central Médio Tejo Subregion, Médio Tejo subregion of Portugal. The population was 39,325, in an area of . The municipality includes several parishes divided by the Tagus River, which runs through ...

, before advancing on

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. After the French victory, Napoleon conferred the

victory title A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. The practice is first known in Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it was also adop ...

of Duke of Abrantès (French: ''Duc d'Abrantès'') upon General Junot. His wife was the French writer Laure ''née'' Martin de Permont, and she became styled as the Duchess of Abrantès. The dukedom, extinct since 1982 upon the death of Maurice Le Ray, 6th Duke of Abrantès, was never formally recognized by the

Portuguese government Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Bibliography

* Chartrand, René. ''Vimeiro 1808.'' London: Osprey Publishing, 2001. * Haythornthwaite, Philip. ''Napoleon's Commanders (1) c. 1792–1809.'' London: Osprey Publishing, 2001. {{ISBN, 1-84176-055-2 Dukedoms of France Dukes of the First French Empire

See also

Further reading

Bibliography