Napoleonic rule and its consequences

The reform efforts of Charles III and his ministers led to a profound gap between partisans of the Enlightenment (Afrancesados) and partisans of the Old Spain. The subsequent war with France in 1793 polarized the country in an apparent reaction against the Gallicised elites. Spain made peace with France in 1795, and in 1796, Spain, in support of France, declared war against Britain and Portugal. The disastrous Spanish economic situation, and controversial relations with the juggernaut that was Napoleonic France, led to the Mutiny of Aranjuez on March 17, 1808, and forced the abdication of the king in favour of Joseph Bonaparte. The abdication was masterminded by Napoleon, who distrusted the unreliable ally that Spain was under the House of Bourbon.

The new foreign monarch was regarded with scorn. On May 2, 1808, the people of Madrid took up arms in a nationalist uprising against the French army. A massively destructive and savage war ensued, known to the Spanish as the War of Independence, and to the English as the Peninsular War. Napoleon was forced to intervene personally, bringing the Spanish army to its knees and driving the Anglo-Portuguese forces out — but triggering a massive guerrilla war as a result. The guerrillas and Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese army were very effective: their actions, combined with Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, led to the ousting of the French from Spain in 1814, and the return of King Ferdinand VII.

The French invasion had numerous consequences for Spain. The war proved disastrous for Spain's economy, reversing the improvements of the late 18th century. It also brought a political and territorial legacy, and left a deeply divided country that was prone to political instability for more than a century. In 1812, the Liberal Courts of Cádiz redacted a Constitution, bringing to the country a new form of government under which future monarchs would be obliged to rule, more or less willingly. The power vacuum between 1808 and 1814 enabled local juntas in the Spanish colonies in the Americas to rule independently. Starting in 1809, the hemisphere began the process of freeing itself from Spanish rule. By 1825, Spain had lost all of its colonies in Latin America, with the exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico.