Charles II, the last Spanish sovereign of the race of Hapsburg, in his second will made Philip of Anjou, a grandson of his sister, the consort of Louis XIV, sole heir of his dominions, in order to prevent the division of the Spanish monarchy, which had been resolved on in a treaty between England, Holland and France. Louis XIV acknowledged his grandson king, according to the testament; hut the Emperor Leopold I, of the race of Hapsburg, laid claim to the throne, while William III, king of Eng land and stadtholder of Holland, was in favor of a division of the monarchy for the sake of preserving the balance of power in Europe. The measures of Louis XIV at length brought on a war with England. Thus began the War of the Spanish Succession, which lasted 12 years and in Mirth The Bourbon, Philip V, after many changes of fortune, succeeded in maintaining himself, by the victories of Berwick and Ven dome, on the Spanish throne in opposition to Charles of Austria (afterward the Emperor Charles VI). But by the in Q713 he was obliged to resigins de pen encies in Europe —Naples, Sardinia, Par ma, Milan and the Netherlands to Austria, and Sicily to Savoy. England likewise retained Gibraltar and Minorca, the later of which was restored somewhat later. Under the Bourbons the nation lost its last constitutional rights; Ara gon, Catalonia were treated by Philip as conquered countries. The last diet of the Cortes held in Castile was in 1713 and in Aragon in 1720. Biscay and Navarre alone retained some of their privileges. The ambi tion of Cardinal Alberoni involved Europe for a short time in confusion. Spain in 1735 a in obtained possession of the TWo Sicias or the Philip in 1748. Ferdinand VI (1746-59) suc ceeded his father, Philip, but being a prey to hypochondria took no active part in the gov ernment. With his stepbrother, Charles III (1759-88), previously king of Naples, an en lightened prince, better days dawned for Spain. Under his reign the Bourbon family compact of 17.01 involved Spain to 't ine the Frenc The ex pediti:ons aga ns giers i eewise miscarried, as did the siege of Gibraltar in the war of 1779-83. Yet this did not disturb the course of the internal administration to the improve ment of which men like Aranda, Campomanes, Olavides and Florida Blanca devoted them selves. They provided particularly for the ad vancement of agriculture, the useful arts and commerce, and this had a beneficial effect on the population, which now rapidly increased. The progress in improvement became even more marked during the early part of the reign of Charles IV (1788-1808), who at first pursued the reforming policy of his father; but in 1792, when Florida Blanca was superseded by Godoy as Prime Minister, he fell under the pernicious influence of that favorite. Spain at first entered with zeal into the war against th e r Th C of e avorite t e i creditable Peace of Basel was concluded, by which Domin o to France, and defensive a lance ( i7Y6T and ish fleet was defeated near Cape Saint Vincent, Minorca and Trinidad occupied by the Eng lish and all the ports of Spain blockaded. By the Peace of 1802 i gh were confined in rinidad. In 1801, at the instigation of France, military op erations were commenced against Portugal, which was obliged to cede the province of Olivensa to Spain at the Peace of Badajoz in 180,2 %lite raised the Duke of Parma 011ie dignity of king of Etruria in 1801, Spain in return ceding Louisiana to France. Charles IV, on the renewal of the war between Britain and France in Mi. having purchased permis sion to remain neutral by a monthly tribute of 6,00Q,000 francs to Napoleon, the British seized the Spanish galleons and thereby forced Spain to declare war against Britain. The victory Of the British at irataigar, 21 Oct. 1805 de stroyed its naval power. The misery by the unfortunate wars carried on by Spain at this time led to the formation of a powerful party against the unscrupulous Godoy, who was mainly instrumental in bringing about these wars. Some feeble efforts w r ii1 l,v him to free Spairi but o ago in his war with Prussia thwarted those and in terms of the alliance subsisting between Spain and France a requisi tion of Napoleon to dispatched two Spanish armies to Denmark and Tuscany, respectively, had to he complied with. S ain received a further humiliation byhe Treaty e b eau respecting tote division of Portugal, in consequence of which French troops were marched into the country. Toward the end of 1807 large bodies..gi_Erench_trucipa_ entered Spain at ditrerent points and occupied on one prererge or another some of the strongest fort resses in the north. The entrance of a French
army 35,000 strong in March 1808 raised the numbers of French troops in the country to 100,000 and with Murat at their head they now marched on Madrid. Godoy, in despair of his life, counseled the flight of the king and queen to Mexico. The project got wind; the people broke into open insurrection and the reign not only of the favorite but of his master also was at an end. Charles IV abdicated in favor of his son, the Prince of Asturias, who ascended the throne as Ferdinand VII. Ferdi nand made a public entry into Madrid, which had been occupied by Murat, Grand Duke of Berg, the day previous. He informed Napoleon of his assumption of the royal power; but the emperor caused the whole family to be con veyed to Bayonne. Charles IV, who had re tracted his resignation of the crown, and Ferdi nand VII, the new king, were now both in the hands of Napoleon. Taking advantage, there fore, of the opportunity, he extorted from each of them, as well as from the Infantes Don Carlos and Don Antonio, a resignation of their claims to the Spanish crown. The crown, which had already been refused by his brother Louis, king of Holland, was now offered to another brother, Joseph, the king of Naples, by whom it was accepted. The Council of Castile, the chief political body of Spain, when informed of the treaties of Bayonne, was at length in duced to give a reluctant assent to the accession of _Joseph. A junta of 150 Spanish notables which hYd been summoned to Bayonne accepted a con stitution proposed by Napoleon for Madrid. The Spanish people, who were so little taken into account in these changes, were by no means passive spectators of them. Insurrections had already broken out immediately after the abdi cation of Charles in May. The people in As turias first took up arms; Aragon, Seville and Badajoz followed. Palafox carried from Ba yonne to Saragossa the order of Ferdinand that the people should arm, and the supreme junta received permission to assemble the Cortes. Revolution broke out everywhere, which the French were too weak to resist. Money retreated to Valencia, and Generals Dupont and Wedel were beaten at Baylen. The junta at Seville had issued a proclamation calling the people to arms and the Council of Castile de creed a levy of 300,000 men. The French squad ron at Cadiz surrendered to the Spaniards and six days later an insurrection broke out in Portugal. OnIMB,..thea111aueeuL4repA Britain nation d and g e egan, w is , w atever opinion may be entertained respecting the conduct 6t Napoleon, everyone will admit to have brought with it, as far as respected Spain, little but evil. Marshal Bessieres was successful in the battle at Medina del Rio Secco, over General Cuesta; but the affair at Baylen above men tioned decided the retreat of the French from Madrid, and, 23 August Castanos entered the city. In the Sir Arthur Wellesley (Wellington) had disembarked in Portugal at the head of the British forces and on 21 gained the first im sular WIT; cietea mg Frenc i un er Junot at Vimen. On 30 August the convention of Cintra was concluded, by which the French grad to evacuate Portugal. A central junta under Florida Blanca was organized at Aran juez toward the end of September; but unity did not prevail in it and the favorable moment was allowed to escape. On 6 November Napo leon reached the Ebro at the head of a large force and by a succession of victories gained by his generals under his direction his way was opened to Madrid, which he entered on 4 December. The central junta now retired to Badajoz and afterward to Seville. The Span iards believed that the success of the French . was owing to treachery and this suspicion oc casioned the assassination of more than one of their generals. The French indeed gained many victories and took many fortresses; but the conquerors remained masters only of the places which they occupied. Everywhere the invading troops were surrounded and harassed by the attacks of the Spanish guerrillas. No line of communication was safe for the French; their means of support failed. In vain did Napo leon, 4 Dec. 1808, abolish the feudal privileges and the Inquisition; in vain did Joseph try every means to win the love of the people; nothing could avail against the. hatred of a Gallic yoke. Austria now declared war and Napoleon was obliged in January 1809 to leave Ihe conduct of to his marshals — a step wilier Spaniards cOn siaered• as equal to u victory. During the fol lowing five years the French generals did all that talent and courage could do; but the charm of Napoleon's presence was wanting and Well ington finally triumphed over them. See