kingdom · Iberia
Bonapartist Spain
Origins
In 1808 Napoleon summoned Charles IV and his son Ferdinand VII to Bayonne and forced both to abdicate. He gave the throne to his brother Joseph, who was proclaimed Joseph I and granted the Statute of Bayonne, Spain's first constitution, while the Madrid rising of 2 May was brutally suppressed.
Rule and society
Joseph's government, supported by reformist afrancesados, abolished the Inquisition, seigneurial rights and many convents. But it depended entirely on French armies and never controlled the whole country. Patriot juntas, the Cortes of Cádiz with its Constitution of 1812, guerrillas and Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese army fought it throughout the Peninsular War.
Decline and legacy
After the defeat at Vitoria in June 1813 Joseph left Spain. By the Treaty of Valençay in December 1813 Napoleon restored Ferdinand VII, returning the country to Bourbon Spain.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (1)
- Bonapartist Spain was a vassal of French Empire1808 CE – 1813 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Bonapartist Spain. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bonapartist-spain
- MLA
- “Bonapartist Spain.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bonapartist-spain. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Bonapartist Spain.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bonapartist-spain.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Bonapartist Spain’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bonapartist-spain (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻