What was the Treaty of Fontainebleau?

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The end of the old regime in Spain it was preceded by a series of events that would mark the future of Spain throughout the nineteenth century both in the political and economic spheres. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will explain what was the treaty of Fointaineblau, an agreement between France and Spain to invade the kingdom of Portugal, which had allied with England, seriously affecting the balance of power imposed by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Index

1. The aftermath of the Battle of Trafalgar
2. The Treaty of Fointaineblau
3. The war against Portugal
4. Direct consequences of the Treaty of Fointaineblau

On October 21, 1805, thebattle of trafalgar where the French and Spanish squadrons faced the naval might of England; the result was the victory of England.

From that moment on, Great Britain became the nation with the most powerful naval squadron, while Spain was plunged into a deep crisis, because until then it held the first position in the power of ships but from that moment on it was almost impossible to maintain the Fleet of the Indies. For the part of it, France, was defeated at sea but not on land, for which, it was prepared to carry out a continental blockade of England to destroy it economically.

To understand what the treaty of Fointaineblau consisted of, we must place ourselves in the year 1807 when Napoleon bonaparte He urged the kingdom of Spain to sign a treaty in which they promised to jointly attack the kingdom of Portugal, since it had aligned itself with England. Thus, for the European blockade to be total and absolute, they had to control that nation.

It was for this reason that the October 27, 1807, was signed in the city ​​of Fontainebleau said treaty that allowed the passage of Napoleonic soldiers through Spanish territory.

In this other lesson we propose a summary on the Old Regime.

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The two ministers who signed this document were, on the part of Spain, Manuel Godoy, who held the position of Prime Minister of the monarch Carlos IV and who was represented by the War Councilor, Eugenio Izquierdo. And on the French side we will find Gérad Duroc.

The treated Fontainebleau It consisted of a series of satisfying points for both kingdoms. In the first place, Spain was committed to let the Napoleonic troops pass on Spanish soil. These would go through the north of the peninsula to enter Portugal from the north while the Spanish troops should enter from the south, creating a pincer that would quickly finish off their enemy common.

In a second instance, the territorial distribution would take place, which divided the territory into three well-defined parts:

• The north, which corresponded to the areas between the Miño River and the Duero, would become the kingdom of Northern Lusitania, which would be ceded to Carlos Luis de Parma, in compensation for the lost territories in Italy.
• The center would remain as a possible exchange with Great Britain, which would receive said lands in exchange for Gibraltar and the island of Trinidad.
• The south of Portugal, that is, the Alentejo and the Algarve, would be handed over to Manuel Godoy and his family, becoming known as Principality of the Algarves.

In this way, the colonies belonging to the kingdom of Portugal, would be divided between Spain and France in a later treaty.

Days after the signing of the treaty, the most powerful troops of the Spanish army had crossed the border taking Porto and Setúbal. For their part, the French troops were crossing the Peninsula to cross through Alcántara, on November 20, 1807. It is interesting to know that the portuguese court, on November 19 of that same year, had embarked towards the coasts of Brazil where they would be installed until 1821.

Although at first the two kingdoms followed the established plan, it must be borne in mind that the French troops, as they passed through Spain, were causing a series of altercations and robberies that were warning Manuel Godoy, who ordered the transfer of the court to Aranjuez before a possible Gallic attack.

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To conclude with the lesson on what the Fointaineblau treaty consisted of, we must mention that, after the abuses committed by Napoleonic troops on Spanish soil, society and especially a large part of the aristocracy put on against Carlos IV and Manuel Godoy, leaning on the prince of Asturias.

In this way, on March 17, 1808, the Mutiny of Aranjuezin which Carlos IV was forced to abdicate and Manuel Godoy was arrested; Thus, Ferdinand VII ascended to the throne. After that, a series of confrontations between father and son ended with a meeting with Bonaparte, who imprisoned both monarchs and forced them to abdicate in the person of him.

That way Spain became a Napoleonic satellite kingdom and with it began in the kingdom the period known as War of Independence.

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