On the 8th of May Charles IV. issued a proclamation to the Spanish nation, informing them that he had ceded the crown to Napoleon, and enjoining it upon them to transfer their homage to him. "We have," said he, "ceded all our rights over Spain to our ally and friend the Emperor of the French, by a treaty signed and ratified, stipulating the integrity and independence of Spain and the preservation of our holy religion, not only as dominant, but as alone tolerated in Spain."
As the throne was thus transferred without any action of the people whatever, Napoleon felt the necessity of obtaining something like a national sanction of the deed, and an expression of the national will in respect to the sovereign who should be placed over them. Murat, at Madrid, announced to the council-general of Castile, to the junta or council of the Government, and to the munic.i.p.ality, that the Emperor desired to know their opinion in reference to the choice of a sovereign from the princes of his own family. All these three bodies united in the expression of the wish that the choice should fall upon Prince Joseph, King of Naples. A deputation of distinguished men was sent to convey this wish to the Emperor. Fortified by these doc.u.ments, Napoleon, on the 6th of June, proclaimed that the crown of Spain was transferred to his brother Joseph.
Joseph was at that time on the road to Bayonne, not yet knowing the decision of his brother, and in heart very reluctant to a.s.sume the crown of Spain. Napoleon rode out from Bayonne to meet Joseph, whom he sincerely loved, and who was so ready to sacrifice his inclinations and his happiness to aid the Emperor in his gigantic plans. The Emperor made the following statement to Joseph as they rode back together to Bayonne:
"The pa.s.sions of the princes of the House of Spain have precipitated a crisis which has arrived too soon. They could no more agree together at Bayonne than they could in Spain. Charles IV. preferred to retire to France upon certain conditions, rather than go back to Spain without the Prince of Peace. The Queen also preferred to see a stranger ascend the throne rather than Ferdinand. Neither Ferdinand nor any other Spaniard wished for Charles IV. if the reign of G.o.doy were to be recommenced; they preferred a stranger to him. I am fully satisfied," said the Emperor, "that it would require greater efforts to sustain Charles and the Prince of Peace than to change the dynasty. Ferdinand has shown himself so moderate in ability, and so unreliable in character, that it would be inconsistent for me to commit myself for him in sustaining a son who has dethroned his father. This dynasty is no longer suitable for Spain. With it no regeneration is possible. The most prominent personages of the monarchy, in rank, in intelligence, and in character, a.s.sembled at Bayonne in a national junta, are, in general, convinced of this truth. Since destiny has so ordered it, and since it is in my power now to do that which I had no wish to undertake, I have designed to regenerate Spain by placing over it my brother, the King of Naples, who is agreeable to the junta, and who will be also so to the nation.
Ferdinand has, for a long time, sought one of my nieces in marriage. But since the interview at Bayonne, knowing more intimately the character of the prince, I can not think it proper to accede to his demands.
"The Spanish princes have already left for France. They have ceded their rights to the crown. I wish to transfer the crown to my brother, the King of Naples. It is important that he should not hesitate. The Spaniards, as also foreign sovereigns, will think that I wish to place that crown upon my head, as I have done with that of Lombardy when Joseph refused to accept it. The tranquillity of Spain, of Europe, the reconciliation of all the members of the family[R] depend upon the decision which Joseph now makes. I will not cherish the thought that the regret to leave a beautiful country, where there are no longer any dangers to be encountered, can induce Joseph to refuse a throne, where there are great obstacles to be overcome, and much good to be accomplished."
[Footnote R: Napoleon then contemplated making Lucien King of Naples.]
When they reached Bayonne, Joseph found all the members of the Junta a.s.sembled in the chateau of Marrac. He responded vaguely to the address of congratulation the Junta made to him, wishing first to converse with each individual member of that body. The Spanish princes left for Valencay, and Charles IV. had no partisans whatever. The Duke of Infantado and M. Cevallos had been considered the warmest advocates of Ferdinand. They both called upon Joseph, and held a long interview with him. The duke offered him his services, saying that he had possessions in the kingdom of Naples, and that his agents there had informed him of the wonders which Joseph had wrought. "If Joseph," said he, "can be in Spain what he has been in Naples, there is no doubt that the entire nation will rally around him." M. Cevallos expressed the same views.
Joseph then saw every member of the Junta individually, nearly one hundred in number. They all, without exception, described the wretchedness into which Spain had fallen, and the apparent facility with which it could be regenerated. Upon one point they all agreed: that it would be impossible to live in peace under either the father or the son; that Joseph alone, sacrificing the throne of Naples that he might ascend that of Spain, would meet the wishes of all parties, and bring back prosperity to the distracted realm.
These a.s.surances, which were given to Joseph by all the members of the Spanish Junta a.s.sembled at Bayonne, that his acceptance of the throne would calm all troubles, a.s.sure the independence of the monarchy, the integrity of its territory, its liberty, and its happiness, roused his generous enthusiasm. "He yielded," writes his biographer, "sacrificing his dearest interests to the hope of doing good to a greater number of people, and decided to accept the crown which was offered him. He considered it his duty to occupy the most dangerous post. Virtue, not ambition, led Joseph to Spain."
The Emperor wished to introduce into Spain the same advanced principles of popular liberty which Joseph, by the Const.i.tution, had conferred upon Naples. With that object he convoked at Bayonne, on the 15th of June, a Spanish a.s.sembly, called the _Const.i.tutional Junta_. This Congress was to consist of one hundred and fifty persons of the most distinguished orders in the state, though but about one hundred were actually convened. A large number had already a.s.sembled when Joseph reached Bayonne. They hastened to welcome him. Many of them, however, afterward proved his most inveterate enemies. The Duke of Infantado, addressing him in the name of the grandees of Spain, said,
"Sire, the Spaniards expect, from the reign of your Majesty, all their happiness. They ardently desire your presence in Spain to fix ideas, to conciliate all interests, and to establish that order so necessary for the regeneration of the country. Sire, the grandees of Spain have always been distinguished by their fidelity to their sovereigns. Your Majesty will experience this, as also our personal affection. Receive, sire, these testimonies of our loyalty with that kindliness so well known by your people of Naples, the renown of which has reached even to us."
The deputation of the Royal Council of Castile said to the new King: "Sire, your Majesty is a branch of a family destined by Heaven to reign.
May Heaven grant that our prayers may be heard, and that your Majesty may become the most happy King in the universe, as we desire for him in the name of the supreme tribunal of which we are the deputies."
Even the Inquisitor, Don Raymond Estenhard, organ of the councils of the Inquisition, declared in their name "that they were full of fidelity and of affection; that they offered their prayers for Joseph, who was charged to govern the country, that he might find happiness in his own heart by contributing to the happiness of his subjects, and that he might elevate them to that degree of prosperity which might be expected from him, particularly when aided by the genius and power of his august brother, Napoleon the Great."
The Duke of Pargue, at the head of a deputation representing the army, gave the same a.s.surances of homage and support. Even Ferdinand wrote Joseph a letter of congratulation, dated Valencay, June 22. It was as follows:
"SIRE,--Permit me, in the name of my brother and of my uncle,[S] as well as in my own, to testify to your Majesty the part which we have taken in his induction to the throne of Spain. The object of all our desires having ever been the happiness of the generous nation which he is called to govern, that happiness is now complete, in view of the accession to the throne of Spain of a prince whose virtues have rendered him so dear to the Neapolitans. We hope your Majesty will accept our prayers for his happiness, to which is united that of our country, and that he will grant to us his friendship, to which we are ent.i.tled, for the friendship which we feel for your Majesty. I pray your Catholic Majesty to receive the oath which I owe him as King of Spain, and also the oath of the Spaniards who are now with me. From your Catholic Majesty"s affectionate brother."
[Footnote S: Don Carlos and Don Antonio.]
The Const.i.tutional Junta of Spain commenced its session at Bayonne on the 15th of June. Ninety-one members were present. A const.i.tution was presented very much resembling that which had been conferred upon Naples. It was discussed and voted upon with perfect freedom. Finally, on the 7th of July, it was accepted as amended by the signature of all the members; "considering," as the act said, "that we are convinced that under the regime which the Const.i.tution establishes, and under the government of a prince as just as the one whom we have the happiness to possess, Spain and all its possessions will be as happy as we can desire it to be."
The Const.i.tution being accepted, Joseph appointed his ministry and const.i.tuted his court; placing all the important offices in the hands of distinguished Spaniards. On the 9th of July Joseph left Bayonne and entered Spain, accompanied by the members of the Junta, many grandees of Spain, his ministers, and the officers of his household.
Many have reproached Joseph for having accepted the crown. But it should be remembered that when he arrived at Bayonne, the treaty of abdication by the Spanish princes had already been signed. An a.s.semblage of Spanish notables met him there, and entreated him to accept the crown, to rescue Spain from ruin. There seemed to be no dissent from the opinion that his presence would be the signal of peace and harmony, that it would calm agitation, and unite all parties. In a word, they declared that it was the only way to rescue the country from anarchy, and from those calamities which menaced its entire ruin. The intelligence of the nation exulted in the change, as promising a new era of equality and prosperity.
On the 20th of July Joseph arrived in Madrid. There were about eighty thousand French troops in Spain. Much to Joseph"s surprise and disappointment, he found, all over the kingdom, in the provinces, insurrection rising against him. These scattered bands soon amounted, it was estimated, to one hundred and fifty thousand men. The fanatic monks, alarmed in view of the changes which had been effected in Naples, were very active in rousing the peasantry to resistance. The British Government, which was then at war with Spain because it was the ally of Napoleon, instantly espoused the cause of the insurgents, and contributed all its energies of fleet and army and money to drive Joseph out of Spain.
The new sovereign had entered Madrid without being greeted with any signal demonstrations of enthusiasm. In accordance with the established etiquette of the realm, he was received at the foot of the grand stairs of the palace by the n.o.bility of the country, and was proclaimed king in the public squares and princ.i.p.al streets of Madrid with the accustomed ceremonies upon the advent of a new sovereign. Intensely occupied with the cares of his new government, Joseph did not, for some time, fully comprehend the perils which menaced him. Step by step he was led on, as he quelled here and there a popular insurrection, until he found himself involved in a stern war with the great ma.s.s of the Spanish peasantry, with all the priesthood fanning the flames of opposition, and the British Government energetically co-operating with purse and sword. It would require volumes to describe, with any degree of minuteness, the tremendous struggle. Napier has performed that task in his immortal work upon the Peninsular War.
Joseph soon awoke to a full realization of the peril of his position. On the 13th of July he wrote to the Emperor from Burgos at three o"clock in the morning, "It seems to me that no person has been willing to tell the exact truth to your Majesty. I ought not to conceal it. The task undertaken is very great. To accomplish it with honor will require immense resources. Fear does not make me see double.
"In leaving Naples, I have indeed yielded my life to the most hazardous events. My life is of but little consequence. I surrender it to you. But in order not to live with the shame attached to failure, great resources are requisite in men and money. I am not alarmed, in view of my position. But it is unique in history. I have not here a single partisan."
Again, on the 19th, he wrote, "It is evident that we have not the soil, since all the provinces are in insurrection or occupied by considerable armies of the enemy."
On the 28th of July he wrote, "I have no need to inform your Majesty that one hundred thousand men are necessary to conquer Spain. I repeat it, that we have not a partisan, and the entire nation is exasperated, and decided to sustain with arms the part which it has embraced.
"All my Spanish officers except five or six have abandoned me. The disposition of the nation is unanimous against that which has been done at Bayonne."
On the 6th of August he wrote, "Your Majesty recommends me to be happy.
Never have I been so tranquil and so well, and so indefatigable; and if I have occasion to envy in your Majesty a superior genius which has always enabled him to command victory, I have that in common with all the world. But I have no need to envy any person for composure and tranquillity of soul. And I must avow that I find that adversity enables me to experience a sentiment which is not without a certain charm; it is to be above adversity."
The Emperor endeavored to cheer his despondent brother with hopeful words. On the 19th of July he wrote him, "I see with pain that you are troubled. It is the only misfortune which I fear. You have a great many partisans in Spain, but they are intimidated. They are all the honest people. I do not the less admit that your task is great and glorious.
You ought not to consider it extraordinary that you have to conquer your kingdom. Philip V. and Henry IV. were obliged to conquer theirs. Be happy. Do not permit yourself to be easily affected, and do not doubt for an instant that every thing will end sooner and more happily than you think."
Again, on the 1st of August, Napoleon wrote, "Whatever reverses fortune may have in store for you, do not be uneasy; in a short time you will have more than one hundred thousand men. All is in motion, but it must have time. You will reign. You will have conquered your subjects, in order to become their father. The best of kings have pa.s.sed through this school. Above all, health to you and happiness, that is to say, strength of mind."
On the 3d of August the Emperor again wrote, "You can not think, my friend, how much pain the idea gives me, that you are struggling with events as much above what you are accustomed to, as they are beneath your natural character.... Tell me that you are well, in good spirits, and are becoming accustomed to the soldier"s trade. You have a fine opportunity to study it."
General Junot, with a small French force, at that time held possession of Portugal. The Cabinet of Saint James offered to the Spanish Junta at Seville to send an army of about thirty thousand men to co-operate with the Spaniards in their struggle against the French. For some unknown reason the offer was declined, and the troops were sent to Portugal.
These British troops, acting in vigorous co-operation with the Portuguese, greatly outnumbered the French, and, after a severe battle at Torres Vedras, Junot capitulated at the Convention of Cintra, and his army re-embarked, and was transported to France. This event added greatly to the embarra.s.sment of Joseph. Junot had afforded him much moral and even material support. Now Junot was driven from the Peninsula, and a British army of over thirty thousand men, under the ablest officers, and flushed with victory, was on the frontiers of Spain, ready in every way to co-operate with the Spaniards.
This roused Napoleon. He was the last man to recoil before difficulties.
He had the honor of his arms to avenge, and his policy to justify by success. Never before, in the history of the world, was there such a display of energy, sagacity, and power. He well knew that all dynastic Europe was hostile to those principles of popular liberty which were represented by his name, and that, notwithstanding the obligations of treaties, they were ever ready to spring to arms against him whenever they should see an opportunity to strike him a fatal blow.
Napoleon at once ordered eighty thousand veteran troops of the grand army from the north to a.s.semble at Bayonne. He hastened to Erfurt to hold an interview with Alexander to strengthen their alliance, and to prevent, if possible, a new coalition from being formed against him while absent with his troops in Spain. The Spanish insurgents, as they were called--for they had no established government--were everywhere triumphant. The French army was driven out of Madrid, and, in a state of great dest.i.tution, was standing on the defensive. Joseph and all his generals were thoroughly disheartened, and were only anxious to devise some honorable way by which they could abandon the enterprise. The priests, with a crucifix in one hand and a dagger in the other, had traversed the realms of Spain and Portugal, rousing the religious fanaticism of the unenlightened ma.s.ses almost to frenzy. Charles IV., his Queen, and Ferdinand had all been intensely devoted to the interests of the Church. The French were represented as infidels, and as the foes of the Church. The whole nation was roused against them. Even the women took an active part in the conflict, perilling their own lives upon the field, and inspiring the men with the courage of desperation. The English, victorious in Portugal, were now welcomed into Spain. They lavished their gold in paying the Spanish armies. Their fleet was busy in transporting supplies. To all Europe the position of Joseph seemed utterly hopeless.
On the 25th of October, Napoleon, on the eve of leaving Paris for Spain, said, at the opening of the Legislative Corps:
"A part of my troops are marching against the armies which England has formed or disembarked in Spain. It is an especial favor of Providence, which has constantly protected our arms, that pa.s.sion has so blinded the counsels of the English, that they have renounced the protection of the seas, and at length present their armies on the Continent.
"I leave in a few days, to place myself at the head of my army, and, with the aid of G.o.d, to crown in Madrid the King of Spain, and to plant my eagles upon the forts of Lisbon.
"The Emperor of Russia and I have met at Erfurt. Our first thought has been of peace. We have even resolved to make many sacrifices that, if possible, the hundred millions of men whom we represent may enjoy the benefits of maritime commerce. We are in perfect harmony, and unchangeably united for peace as for war."
In the mean time Joseph, struggling heroically against adversity, and exceedingly embarra.s.sed by the false position in which he found himself placed, received many consoling messages of confidence and affection from prominent men in the Spanish nation. We present the following extract from a letter addressed to him on the 2d of September, 1808, by M. M. Azanza and Urquijo, as a specimen of many others which might be quoted:
"We do not doubt that your Majesty contemplates, with deepest grief, the disasters with which Spain is menaced, by the obstinacy of those people who will not know the true interests of the realm. But at least no one is ignorant that your Majesty has done and is doing every thing which is humanly possible to avoid such calamities for his subjects. The day will come when they will recognize the benevolent intentions and paternal kindness of your Majesty; and they will respond to it by testimonies of grat.i.tude and of fidelity which will fill with contentment the n.o.ble heart of your Majesty."
The almost supernatural power of the Emperor was never more conspicuously displayed than in the brief, triumphant, overwhelming campaign which ensued. He wrote to Joseph from Erfurt, "I leave to-morrow for Paris, and within a month shall be at Bayonne. Send me the exact position of the army, that I may form a definite organization by making as little displacement as possible. In the present state of affairs, we may conclude that the presumption of the enemy will lead him to remain in the positions which he now occupies. The nearer he remains to us the better it will be. The war can be terminated in a single blow by a skillfully-combined manoeuvre, and for that it is necessary that I should be there."
The single blow Napoleon contemplated would unquestionably have annihilated his foes, but for an inopportune movement of Marshal Lefebre. As it was, it required three or four blows, which were delivered with stunning and bewildering power and rapidity. On the 29th of October Napoleon took his carriage for Bayonne. Madrid was distant from Paris about seven hundred miles. The rains of approaching winter had deluged the roads. He soon abandoned his carriage, and mounted his horse. Apparently insensible to exposure or fatigue, he pressed forward by night and by day, until, at two o"clock in the morning of the 3d of November, he reached Bayonne. He found that his orders had not been obeyed, and that the troops, instead of being concentrated, had been dispersed. Instantly, at the very hour of his arrival, new life was infused into every thing. He seemed by instinct to comprehend the posture of affairs, and to know just what was to be done. Orders were issued with amazing rapidity; couriers flew in all directions. Barracks were erected; the troops were reviewed; unexecuted contracts were thrown up; agents were sent in every direction to purchase all the cloths in the south of France; hundreds of hands were busy in cutting and making garments; and at the close of a day of such work as few mortals have ever accomplished, Napoleon leaped into his saddle and galloped sixty miles over the mountains to Tolosa, on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees.
Here he indulged in an hour or two of rest, and then galloped on thirty miles farther to Vittoria. He encamped with the Imperial Guard outside of the city.
The Spaniards have always been accused of a tendency to vainglorious boasting. The trivial successes which they had attained, in alliance with the English, quite intoxicated them. "We have conquered," they said, "the armies of the great Napoleon. We will soon trample all his hosts in the dust. With an army of five hundred thousand indignant Spaniards we will march upon Paris, and sack the city. The powers of Russia, Austria, and Prussia have fallen before Napoleon; but Spanish peasants, headed by the priests and the monks, will roll back the tide of victory." Such was the insane boasting.
Napoleon was, at the same time, the boldest and the most cautious of generals. He ever made provision for every possible reverse. Stationing two strong forces to guard his flanks, he took fifty thousand of the _elite_ of his army, and plunged upon the centre of the Spanish troops.
Such an onset none but veterans could withstand. There was scarcely the semblance of a battle. The Spaniards fled, throwing down their arms, and leaping like goats amidst the crags of the mountains. Pressing resistlessly forward, Napoleon reached Burgos on the night of the 11th.
Here the Spaniards attempted another stand upon some strongly intrenched heights. A brief conflict scattered them in the wildest confusion, defeated, disbanded, leaving cannon, muskets, flags, and munitions of war.
Onward he swept, without a check, without delay, crushing, overwhelming, scattering his foes, over the intrenched heights of Espinosa, through the smouldering streets of the town, across the bridge of Trueba, choked with terrified fugitives, through the pa.s.s of Somosierra, in one of the most astounding achievements which war has ever witnessed, till he led his victorious troops, with no foe within his reach, into the streets of Madrid. He commenced the campaign at Vittoria on the 9th of November, and on the 4th of December his army was encamped in the squares of the Spanish metropolis. Europe gazed upon this meteoric phenomenon with astonishment and alarm.
The Spanish populace had been roused mainly by the priests. In their frenzy, burning and a.s.sa.s.sinating, they overawed all who were in favor of regenerating Spain by a change of dynasty. It is the undisputed testimony that the proprietors, the merchants, the inhabitants generally who were rich, or in easy circ.u.mstances, and even the magistrates and military chiefs, were quite disposed to listen to the propositions of the Emperor. But overawed by the populace, who threatened to carry things to the last extremity, they dared not manifest their sentiments.
As the French army took possession of the city, order was immediately restored. The theatres were re-opened, the shops displayed their wares, the tides of business and pleasure flowed un.o.bstructed along the streets. Numerous deputations, embracing the most wealthy and respectable inhabitants of Madrid, waited upon the Emperor with their congratulations, and renewed their protestations of fidelity to Joseph.