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Vine

Second Lieutenant
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Aug 8, 2014
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As we know Napoleon I conquered all of Barcelona however, didn't find a Decent reason why. I didn't read about any oppressed French minorities so, did he conquer it so he could vacation there?
 
I think you mean why he ''annexated'' Barcelona (and Catalonia) to France, as opposed as the rest of Spain, which was ''just'' a puppet regime.

Catalonia had a long history of grievances against Castille/Spain and France and as long tradition to support them. Catalonia was seen by Napoleon as an easy annexation.
 
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also catalan is close to the language spoken in southern france

+ france had in the medieval ages tried multiple times to gain control of aragon
 
Basically, Napoleon felt it would be an easy conquest. He also annexed some German lands. Culture really didn't matter to him too much, he was more interested in building a strong empire. (either in influence or territory)
 
As we know Napoleon I conquered all of Barcelona however, didn't find a Decent reason why. I didn't read about any oppressed French minorities so, did he conquer it so he could vacation there?

I guess that you're refering to the annexation of Catalonia to the French empire in January 1812. It was not a sudden whim on Napoleon's part, as already in 1810 Catalonia had been officially removed from the control of Joseph Bonaparte's government in Madrid and put under a military administration led by Marshal Macdonald.

The reasons for the annexation were probably double: on one side, Catalonia and especially the city of Barcelona were one of the most dynamic territories of the Peninsula, and so one of the most economically rewarding; on another side France could stake a claim on Catalonia because Louis XIII and Louis XIV had been recognized (twice in Louis XIV's case) as Counts of Barcelona, and that gave Napoleon a historical pretext.

It was not a popular decision, for Catalonia was one of the peninsular territories which put up a staunchest resistance to the French occupation. By late 1811, all the major towns and cities were under French control and so the official step was taken to proclaim the annexation, but in the countryside the French soldiers only controlled the land they stood upon. The French administration was welcomed by a minority, most of them enlightened members of the commercial and industrial classes (the most famous example was Tomàs Puig, mayor of Figueres and later first prefect of the Département du Ter), who adhered to the liberal ideology and hoped that the French administration would help to propel the country forward, but as I said before these people were a very small minority. Much more common was an attitude in coastal commercial and manufacturing towns and cities of collaborating with the French while not getting involved at all in political matters; this attitude proved itself to be very lucrative, for example the textile manufacturers and merchants of the city of Barcelona thrived during the war thanks to the purchases of cloth made by the French army. Elsewhere in the interior and also in many coastal towns, there was a total opposition to the French authorities, who were seen as "godless" foreigners who wanted to destroy God's Church and usurp the throne from its legitimate heir.
 
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In 1789, at the start of the French Revolutionary War, Spain was allied with Great Britain against the new French government and in support of the French Royal family, who were related to the King of Spain.

At the start of Bonaparte's war in 1794, Spain became his ally and entered the war against Britain. You may recall that the fleets which met at Trafalgar in 1805 comprised French and Spanish against the British Navy. In the Pacific, Spanish fleets attacked British East India Company vessels and settlements. There are various theories over this change of heart in Spain, but a likely explanation was Bonaparte's promise to help Spain acquire British colonial territories in India, the Pacific and the Caribbean. In effect, help regain the glory that had been Spain's in earlier centuries.

By 1808, two features became obvious to Bonaparte:

1. The Spanish royal family and government was weak and unable to sustain the sort of continental system he had in mind for Europe.
2. Portugal, adjacent to Spain, had been an ally of England (before Kingdom of Great Britain existed or the United Kingdom) since 1492, and could provide safe harbours in the Atlantic and close to Gibraltar. Therefore, it was his intention to make Portugal untenable as a neutral state and to make the threat via Spain. So he had to invade his ally, which he did with an enormous army and considerable brutality.

Thereby, Spain became an armed ally of the United Kingdom once more, until the French were expelled, and remained so for many years into the 19th century. Not a clever move by Bonaparte but also very confusing for British Admirals and Generals over the 15 year period. There were instances where British and Spanish fleets and armies met in combat, or else at friendly junkets, because the news hadn't reached them about Spain's latest change of side.

On the whole, Bonaparte was right about the Spanish government: ineffective, indecisive and lacking in leadership. It was left to two British generals, John Moore and Arthur Wellesley [later the Duke of Wellington], to throw the French out of Spain.
 
In 1789, at the start of the French Revolutionary War, Spain was allied with Great Britain against the new French government and in support of the French Royal family, who were related to the King of Spain.

At the start of Bonaparte's war in 1794, Spain became his ally and entered the war against Britain. You may recall that the fleets which met at Trafalgar in 1805 comprised French and Spanish against the British Navy. In the Pacific, Spanish fleets attacked British East India Company vessels and settlements. There are various theories over this change of heart in Spain, but a likely explanation was Bonaparte's promise to help Spain acquire British colonial territories in India, the Pacific and the Caribbean. In effect, help regain the glory that had been Spain's in earlier centuries.

By 1808, two features became obvious to Bonaparte:

1. The Spanish royal family and government was weak and unable to sustain the sort of continental system he had in mind for Europe.
2. Portugal, adjacent to Spain, had been an ally of England (before Kingdom of Great Britain existed or the United Kingdom) since 1492, and could provide safe harbours in the Atlantic and close to Gibraltar. Therefore, it was his intention to make Portugal untenable as a neutral state and to make the threat via Spain. So he had to invade his ally, which he did with an enormous army and considerable brutality.

Thereby, Spain became an armed ally of the United Kingdom once more, until the French were expelled, and remained so for many years into the 19th century. Not a clever move by Bonaparte but also very confusing for British Admirals and Generals over the 15 year period. There were instances where British and Spanish fleets and armies met in combat, or else at friendly junkets, because the news hadn't reached them about Spain's latest change of side.

On the whole, Bonaparte was right about the Spanish government: ineffective, indecisive and lacking in leadership. It was left to two British generals, John Moore and Arthur Wellesley [later the Duke of Wellington], to throw the French out of Spain.

Mostly accurate, except that Napoleon was not in power in 1794.
 
The explanation to Spain switching sides was that after the War of Roussillon (1973-1975), which Spain lost, Spain was forced to sign a peace that turned it into a French ally.
 
1793-1795, but that's obviously just a typo.

Spain was more or less forced. Godoy, the vain...I don't know the exact term in English for ''favourites that are the prime minister, not like Churchill but like Buckhingham'' was the one pushing for the alliance, for a mix of reasons (obtaining glory on the battlefield against easier targets than the French....securing the southern third of Portgual as an independant principalty)
 
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1. The Spanish royal family and government was weak and unable to sustain the sort of continental system he had in mind for Europe.
2. Portugal, adjacent to Spain, had been an ally of England (before Kingdom of Great Britain existed or the United Kingdom) since 1492, and could provide safe harbours in the Atlantic and close to Gibraltar. Therefore, it was his intention to make Portugal untenable as a neutral state and to make the threat via Spain. So he had to invade his ally, which he did with an enormous army and considerable brutality.
He didn't have to invade his ally. The Spanish government was quite prepared to go along with the invasion of Portugal, and even after Godoy fell from power he could have installed Ferdinand as King and invaded Portugal anyway.
 
1793-1795, but that's obviously just a typo.

Spain was more or less forced. Godoy, the vain...I don't know the exact term in English for ''favourites that are the prime minister, not like Churchill but like Buckhingham'' was the one pushing for the alliance, for a mix of reasons (obtaining glory on the battlefield against easier targets than the French....securing the southern third of Portgual as an independant principalty)
The English term for people like Godoy is simply favourite.
 
Better a competently run French puppet than an unreliable ally though.
 
''Competency'' and ''Jospeh Bonaparte'' don't go in the same sentence.

(Altough, it should be noted that Joseph lost whatever authority he could ever had when Napoleon made clear that the brother was just supposed to do what Paris ordered)
 
''Competency'' and ''Jospeh Bonaparte'' don't go in the same sentence.

(Altough, it should be noted that Joseph lost whatever authority he could ever had when Napoleon made clear that the brother was just supposed to do what Paris ordered)

Compared to Charles IV and especially to Ferdinand VII, Joseph Bonaparte was superlatively good as a king.
 
And people from Spain, quite naturally, would have accepted any ruler...that was not blatantly obyeying orders for foreigners. Especially French orders.

Felipe V was as foreigner as Jospeh, but his subjects accepted him well enough.
 
And people from Spain, quite naturally, would have accepted any ruler...that was not blatantly obyeying orders for foreigners. Especially French orders.

I'm not denying that Joseph Bonaparte had little or no real chance of being accepted as king by a majority of Spaniards, what I'm saying is that as far as personal competence, character and qualities go, he was way, way better than Charles IV and Ferdinand VII (which is not that difficult, frankly).

Felipe V was as foreigner as Jospeh, but his subjects accepted him well enough.

Philip V was well liked by some of his subjects, even a majority of them (in the Crown of Castile); but I'm afraid that in the Crown of Aragon he was far from popular, and still to this day he's probably the most despised Spanish monarch in Catalonia.
 
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