War of the Oranges: causes and consequences

Its clashes between major European powers they were a constant throughout the Modern and Contemporary Ages. And especially those that faced those of the Iberian zone were very common, being Spain, France and Portugal assiduous nations to the confrontations. To talk about one of these wars, which was the precursor to the Spanish War of Independence, in this lesson from a teacher we are going to offer a summary of the War of the Oranges.

Index

1. Background and causes of the Orange War
2. Development of the War of Oranges
3. The end of the war
4. Consequences of the War of the Oranges

Shortly before the start of the Orange War, France had proclaimed Napoleon What emperor of France, initiating a campaign on the rest of European nations that looked for that the Gallic nation was the major power.

The main enemy of the French in their quest for power was United Kingdom, causing that the European nations chose side between these two powers, supporting Spain to the French and Portugal to the English.

In 1800, and after Napoleon defeated most of the English allies on the European continent, the French asked Portugal to change sides and go on to support the revolutionary ideas of Napoleon. The French Emperor and the Spanish Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy asked the Portuguese King for their surrender and the end of its alliance with the English, but Portugal refused at the end of the alliance, causing in 1801 the French and Spanish entered Portugal to take the nation.

The support of the Spanish was signed in the Treaty of Madrid, in which Godoy promised that, in the event that the Portuguese did not change sides, the Spanish would go to war against Portugal, leaving bases on Spanish soil so that the French could keep.

In May 1801 French and Spanish troops entered Portuguese territory to start the war of the Oranges. The invasion began by the Portuguese cities that were on the border, having little resistance as Portugal considered that Spain had no intention of conquering.

After taking small towns, the Spaniards moved on to somewhat larger cities, engaging in great sieges that sometimes ended with the Spanish troops leaving and returning shortly thereafter. The war only lasted for 18 days and most of this was a stalemate in which the Spanish besieged cities that were never to fall.

The other part of the war was that of French and Spanish troops trying to pass into the interior of Portugal, but this was the place where the one that the Portuguese had located most of their troops, making it impossible for the French to pass this area.

At the same time that all this was happening in the Peninsula, the war spread across the American zone, since Portuguese groups joined Guarani discontented with the Spanish to conquer the so-called Oriental Missions in Uruguay. The Portuguese contextualize the conquest of these areas within the War of the Oranges, although the reality is that the Portuguese had wanted to take these areas for their empire for years.

The end of the war, both in Portugal and in America, took place on June 6, 1801, with the signing of the Treaty of Badajoz.

The peace agreement returned to Portugal almost all regions conquered by the Spanish, but the Portuguese kept most of the Eastern Missions, which became part of Brazil and continue to this day.

Other agreements of the Treaty were that Portugal ended its alliance with the English, in addition to opening ports to the French and paying compensation.

To conclude this summary of the War of the Oranges, we must talk about the main consequences that brought this conflict between 3 so powerful European powers, since the results had importance in the later years and influenced in future wars.

Although, according to the Treaty of Badajoz, the Portuguese nation had to end its alliance with the United Kingdom, this did not last long, since after the French and Spanish defeat against the English in theBattle of Trafalgar, the the Portuguese re-allied themselves with the British.

France, seeing how Portugal breached the treaty, declared it invalid and crossed Spanish soil again to try to conquer Portugal now permanently.

Upon reaching Portugal, the French learned that the Portuguese monarchy had fled to the Brazilian colonies that the Portuguese had, placing the capital of Portugal in Rio de Janeiro for a time. Because of this Napoleon could not take the Portuguese country definitively, but it did conquer Spain, initiating the Spanish War of Independence.

After the defeat of Napoleon, Spain and Portugal again brought positions closer together, leaving each of the nations the conquered regions and ending for a time the conflicts between the two regions.

If you want to read more articles similar to War of the Oranges: summary, we recommend that you enter our category of History.

• Maturana, A. J. C. (2005). The War of the Oranges: a page torn from Spanish Military History. In Wars in the first third of the 19th century in Spain and America (pp. 145-162). Deimos.
• Jiménez, E. G. (1959). Spain and Portugal. Imp. Children of Vicente Mas.
• Galarzo, A. C. (2021). Napoleon mockery and double diplomacy: another vision of the Orange War. In In the shadow of the cathedrals: culture, power and war in the Modern Age (pp. 2109-2122). Institutional Image and Publications Service.