Spain under Joseph Bonaparte

Kingdom of Spain
Royaume d’Espagne (French)
Reino de España (Spanish)
1808–1813
Motto: Plus Ultra (Latin)
"Further Beyond"
Anthem: Marcha Real (Spanish)
"Royal March"
  Spanish territory controlled at some point during the war by King Joseph Bonaparte.
  Military governments dependent on Paris (since 1810): Biscay, Navarre and Aragon
  Military government of Catalonia, dependent on Paris (since 1810) / Territory annexed to the French Empire (since 1812).
  Territory never controlled by Joseph Bonaparte's government, besides Spanish America: Canary Islands, Cadiz, Ceuta, Melilla, Cartagena, Alicante and Balearic Islands.
StatusClient state of the French Empire
CapitalMadrid
Official languagesFrench (dynastic)
Common languagesSpanish
Religion
Catholicism (State Religion)
Demonym(s)Spaniard, Spanish
GovernmentAbsolute monarchy
King 
• 1808–1813
Joseph I
Regent 
• 1808
Joachim Murat
First Secretary of State 
• 1808–1813
Mariano Luis de Urquijo
• 1813
Juan O'Donoju O'Ryan
• 1813
Fernando de Laserna
LegislatureCortes Generales
Historical eraNapoleonic Wars
6 May 1808
8 July 1808
21 June 1813
11 December 1813
CurrencySpanish real
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kingdom of Spain
Spain
Today part ofSpain

Napoleonic Spain was the part of Spain loyal to Joseph I during the Peninsular War (1808–1813), forming a Bonapartist client state officially known as the Kingdom of Spain after the country was partially occupied by forces of the First French Empire.

The Napoleonic government was opposed by various regions remaining loyal to Ferdinand VII of the old Bourbon kingdom, which formed a series of Juntas allied with the Coalition forces of Britain and Portugal. Fighting across the Peninsula would be largely inconclusive until a series of Coalition victories from 1812 to 1813 at Salamanca and Vitoria meant the defeat of the Bonapartist régime and the expulsion of Napoleon's troops. The Treaty of Valençay recognized Ferdinand VII as the legitimate King of Spain.[1]

  1. ^ José Luis Comellas (1988). Historia de España Contemporánea. Ediciones Rialp. ISBN 978-84-321-2441-9. Retrieved 3 August 2012.

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