farther; and the people of Vittoria, more quick-sighted than their
Prince, besought him not to proceed. On the other hand, General Savary
assured him with the most vehement protestations, as Murat had done
before, that the Emperor did not wish to dismember Spain of a single
village; and he offered to pledge his life, that within a few minutes
after his arrival at Bayonne he would be recognized as King of Spain
and the Indies. The Emperor, to preserve his own consistency, would
begin by giving him the title of Highness; but he would presently give
him that of Majesty; in three days every thing would be settled,
and he might return to Spain. General Savary, if these persuasions
had proved ineffectual, was prepared to use other methods not less
congenial to his own character and his master’s; for not only were
there troops in the neighbourhood of Vittoria surrounding this
ill-fated Prince, to intercept his retreat, if he should attempt it;
but soldiers were ready that night to have seized him, and a French
aide-de-camp was in the apartment waiting for the determination.
♦ESCOIQUIZ, 41.♦ Confused and terrified as Ferdinand was, and feeling
himself in the power of the French, the only ease he could find was by
endeavouring implicitly to believe their protestations of friendship.
♦APR. 19.♦ Accordingly the next morning he renewed his journey, though
the people, finding their cries and entreaties were of no avail, even
cut the traces of his coach, and led away his mules.
♦FERDINAND PASSES THE FRONTIERS.♦
He proceeded, and crossed the stream which divides the two kingdoms.
Scarcely had he set foot on the French territory, before he remarked,
that no one came to receive him; a neglect more striking, as he had
travelled so far to meet the Emperor. At St. Jean de Luz, however, the
mayor made his appearance, attended by the municipality. Too humble to
be informed of Buonaparte’s designs, and probably too honest to suspect
them, he came to the carriage and addressed Ferdinand, expressing,
in the most lively manner, the joy he felt at having the honour of
being the first person to receive a sovereign, the friend and ally
of France. Shortly afterwards he was met by the grandees, who had
been sent to compliment the Emperor: their account was sufficiently
discouraging; but he was now near Bayonne, and it was too late to turn
back. The Prince of Neufchatel (Berthier) and Duroc, the marshal of
the palace, came out to meet him, and conduct him to the place which
had been appointed for his residence, ... a place so little suitable
to such a guest, that he could not for a moment conceal from himself,
that it marked an intentional disrespect. Before he had recovered from
the ominous feeling which such a reception occasioned, Buonaparte,
accompanied by some of his generals, paid him a visit. Ferdinand went
down to the street door to receive him; and they embraced with every
appearance of friendship. ♦BUONAPARTE RECEIVES HIM WITH AN EMBRACE.♦
The interview was short, and merely complimentary; Buonaparte again
embraced him at parting. The kiss of Judas Iscariot was not more
treacherous than this imperial embrace.
♦FERDINAND IS REQUIRED TO RENOUNCE THE THRONE FOR HIMSELF AND ALL HIS
FAMILY.♦
Ferdinand was not long suffered to remain uncertain of his fate.
Buonaparte, as if to prove to the world the absolute callousness of his
heart, ... as if he derived an unnatural pleasure in acting the part of
the deceiver, ... invited him to dinner, ... sent his carriage for him,
... came to the coach steps to receive him, ... again embraced him, and
led him in by the hand. Ferdinand sate at the same table with him as a
friend, a guest, and an ally; and no sooner had he returned to his own
residence, than General Savary, the same man who, by persuasions and
solemn protestations, had lured him on from Madrid, came to inform him
of the Emperor’s irrevocable determination, that the Bourbon dynasty
should no longer reign in Spain; that it was to be succeeded by the
Buonapartes; and therefore, Ferdinand was required, in his own name,
and that of all his family, to renounce the crown of Spain and of the
Indies in their favour.
♦CONVERSATION BETWEEN BUONAPARTE AND ESCOIQUIZ.♦
On the following evening Escoiquiz was summoned to Buonaparte’s cabinet
in the Palace of Marrac, which had been built as a residence for the
Queen-dowager, Mariana of Neuburg, widow of that poor prince Charles
II. A curious conversation ensued. The Corsican began by saying, that
from the character which he had heard of this canon, he had long wished
to talk with him respecting Ferdinand. “All Europe,” said he, “has
its eyes upon us. My armies being at this time in Spain, it will be
believed that the violent proceedings at Aranjuez, which have given
to all courts the evil example of a son conspiring against his father
and dethroning him, were my work. I must avoid this imputation, and
make the world see that I am not capable of supporting an attempt
equally unjust and scandalous. Consequently I could never consent to
acknowledge Prince Ferdinand as King of Spain, unless his father, who
has sent in a formal protest against the pretended abdication, should
in full liberty renew that abdication in his favour. But on the other
hand, the interests of my empire require that the house of Bourbon,
which I must ever regard as the implacable enemy of mine, should no
longer reign in Spain. This is your interest also; rid of a dynasty
whose latter kings have caused all those evils by which the nation is
so exasperated, it will enjoy a better constitution under a new race;
and being by these means intimately connected with France, it will be
always secure of the friendship of the only power whose enmity could
endanger it. Charles himself, knowing the inability of his sons to hold
the reins of government in times so difficult, is ready to cede to me
his own rights and those of his family. I will therefore no longer
suffer the Bourbon family to reign; but for the esteem which I bear
toward Ferdinand, who with so much confidence has come to visit me, I
will recompense him and his brothers as far as possible for what my
political interests require that they should lose in their own country.
Let him cede all his claims to the crown of Spain, and I will give him
that of Etruria, in full sovereignty for himself and his heirs male
in perpetuity, and advance him as a donation a year’s revenue of that
state, to establish himself in it. I will give him also my niece in
marriage. If this proposition be accepted, the treaty shall immediately
be made with all solemnities; but if not, I will then treat with the
father, and neither the Prince nor his brothers shall be admitted as
parties, nor can they expect the slightest compensation. To the Spanish
nation I shall secure their independence and total integrity under
the new dynasty, with the preservation of their religion, laws, and
customs; for I want nothing for myself from Spain, not even a village.
If your Prince does not like this proposal, and chooses to return to
Spain, he is free! he may go when he pleases! but he and I must fix a
time for his journey, after which hostilities shall commence between
us.”
Escoiquiz replied to this extraordinary speech by entering into an
elaborate apology for the transactions at Aranjuez, to which Buonaparte
listened with great patience, observing only from time to time,
that however these arguments might appear to those persons who were
intimately acquainted with the character of Charles and his Queen, it
must ever be impossible to make the rest of the world believe that an
abdication made under such circumstances of public and notorious force,
was in any thing different from a deposal. But be that as it might, the
interests of his house and of his empire required that the Bourbons
should no longer reign in Spain; and then, Escoiquiz says, taking
him by the ear, and pulling it with the best humour in the world, he
added, “If all which you say were true, canon, I should still repeat
... bad policy. Exposed as I am every moment to a renewal of the war
in the north, I should never have my back secure while the Bourbons
occupied that throne; and Spain, with a man of talent at its head,
could give me the greatest annoyance.” The canon again entered into a
long reply, showing how completely the court of Spain had abandoned
the Bourbons of France and of Naples, imputing the wish to join with
Prussia wholly to Godoy, and observing that a marriage into the august
imperial family would secure the attachment of Ferdinand. All Europe,
he said, had fixed their eyes upon Bayonne; the Spaniards were looking
with inconceivable impatience for the return of their young and beloved
monarch, flattering themselves that Buonaparte would be to him both
as father and mother, ... for it had been Ferdinand’s fate only to
know his parents by the unnatural hatred which they had borne towards
him. There would be no bounds to their gratitude, if, according to
his imperial promise, he should honour the capital with his presence,
bringing back with him the young King. The whole nation would receive
him on their knees, would bless him, and would never forget his
goodness; and Spain, thus restored to strength, would become a more
efficient ally to France than she had ever yet been, and afford her the
only means for reducing England to reason. But if the Emperor persisted
in his present intentions the Spaniards would vow an inextinguishable
hatred against him. Experience might show how deeply such feelings took
root in the Spanish heart. An age had now elapsed since the war of the
succession, and yet the rancour which had then been felt in Aragon,
Catalonia, and Valencia, against the Bourbon family, against France,
and even against the Castilians, had never been wholly allayed till the
recent accession of Ferdinand. But if this feeling had arisen in a
question merely of doubtful right, what would it be if the people saw
themselves deprived of a King whom they adored, to have a stranger set
over them in his place? The Spaniards must be exterminated before such
a King could be established upon his throne.
To this Buonaparte replied, that he was assured of the only power
which could give him any uneasiness; the Emperor of Russia, to whom he
had imparted his plans at Tilsit, having approved of, and given his
word not to oppose them. As for the Spaniards themselves, they would
make little or no opposition. The nobles and the rich would certainly
remain quiet for fear of losing their property, and would exert all
their influence to quiet the people. The clergy and the friars, whom he
would make responsible for any disorder, would for their own sake, and
for the like motives, do the same. The populace might excite tumults
here and there, but a few severe chastisements would make them return
to their duty. Countries in which there were many friars were easily
subdued; ... he had had experience of this: and if the opposition were
general, the result must be the same, even if it should be necessary
to sacrifice 200,000 men. Escoiquiz made answer, that in that case the
new dynasty would be placed upon a volcano; ... 200,000 or 300,000 men
would be required to keep the provinces down, and the Monarch would
reign in the midst of carcasses and ruins, over a race of indignant
slaves, ready upon the slightest occasion to break their chains. And of
what utility would such an alliance prove? Spain, ruined, deserted, and
deprived of her colonies, would become a burden to France. Buonaparte
upon this observed, that the canon was proceeding too fast in taking
it for granted that Spain would lose her colonies: he on his part
had well-founded hopes of preserving them. “Do not suppose,” said
he, “that I have been sleeping. I have communications with Spanish
America, and have sent frigates to those coasts to maintain them.”
Escoiquiz replied, that America even now was held by no other bond than
the slight thread of habit; the least disgust, even under Ferdinand
himself, would break the connexion, and beyond all doubt the whole of
the colonies would separate themselves from the mother country rather
than acknowledge the new dynasty. What too would be the effect of such
a measure upon the European powers, and how might England be expected
to act? Would not England regard it as the most favourable of all
events? would it not at once open the whole commerce of America to her,
and with the treasure from thence derived, enable her to purchase all
the people of Europe, and arm them against France: and even to stir
up domestic movements against the Emperor, which would be yet more
perilous, for money was the most powerful of engines? Buonaparte then
put an end to the conference by observing that they did not agree in
the principles upon which they reasoned; that he would think again upon
the matter, and on the morrow communicate his irrevocable determination.
♦SECOND CONFERENCE WITH ESCOIQUIZ.♦
On the morrow accordingly Escoiquiz was again summoned, and the
irrevocable determination was announced that the Bourbon dynasty
must cease to reign upon the Spanish throne: that if Ferdinand would
accede to the proposed exchange, Etruria should be given him; but that
if he refused, the King his father would make the cession, Etruria
would remain annexed to France, and he would lose all compensation.
Escoiquiz, after touching again upon his yesterday’s argument, began to
lament the disgrace which would fall upon the advisers of Ferdinand,
and especially upon himself as being supposed to have most influence
with him. For even, he said, if it should be known that the Prince,
before he consulted them, had determined upon this journey, and
yielding to the solicitations of the embassador had given his word to
set out, the nation would always accuse them for not having dissuaded
him from it. Buonaparte seems in these conferences to have considered
Escoiquiz not as a statesman, but as a good easy man of letters, whom a
little flattery would win to his wishes. He argued with him, therefore,
in the same temper as on the preceding day; and giving him another pull
by the ear, said to him at last with a smile, “So, then, canon, you
will not enter into my ideas.” The canon replied, “On the contrary,
I wish with all my heart that your Majesty would enter into mine, ...
though it should be at the cost of my ears,”--for the Emperor was
pulling there somewhat too forcibly.
♦CEVALLOS IS REQUIRED TO DISCUSS THE TERMS OF RENUNCIATION WITH M.
CHAMPAGNY.♦
But Buonaparte, when he found that Ferdinand was not to be cajoled
into the cession, laid by the semblance of these gracious manners, and
proceeded in the temper of a tyrant to effect the usurpation which he
had begun. Cevallos was now summoned to the palace, to discuss the
terms of the renunciation with the French minister for foreign affairs,
M. Champagny. The Spaniard assumed a firm and manly tone; he complained
of the perfidy which had been practised, protested in Ferdinand’s
name against the violence done to his person, in not permitting him
to return to Spain; and, as a final answer to the Emperor’s demand,
declared that the King neither could nor would renounce his crown; he
could not prejudice the individuals of his own family, who were called
to the succession by the fundamental laws of the kingdom: still less
could he consent to the establishment of another dynasty, it being
the right of the Spanish nation to elect another family whenever the
present should become extinct.
M. Champagny replied, by insisting on the necessity of the
renunciation, and contending that the abdication of the father-king
had not been voluntary. Of this assertion, which was as ill-timed as
it was irrelevant, Cevallos readily availed himself, expressing his
surprise that, while they condemned the abdication of Charles as not
having been his own free act, they, at the same time, were endeavouring
to extort a renunciation from Ferdinand. He then entered into details
designed to prove that no violence had been done to the father-king,
either by the people, the prince, or any other person, and that he
had retired from government by his own unbiassed will. But Cevallos
protested against acknowledging the smallest authority in the Emperor
to intermeddle with matters which exclusively belonged to the Spanish
government; following, he said, in this respect, the example of the
cabinet of Paris, which rejected, as inadmissible, the applications of
the King of Spain in behalf of his ally and kinsman Louis XVI. It was
of little consequence that Ferdinand’s minister triumphed in argument.
M. Champagny abruptly turned the subject, by saying that the Emperor
never could be sure of Spain while it was governed by the Bourbon
dynasty; for that family must necessarily regret to see its elder
branch expelled from France. Cevallos answered, that, in a regular
system of things, family prepossessions never prevailed over political
interests, of which the whole conduct of Charles IV. since the
treaty of Basle was a proof. Every reason of policy induced Spain to
maintain a perpetual peace with France, and there were reasons why the
continuance of that system was not of less importance to the Emperor.
The generosity and loyalty of the Spaniards were proverbial; from that
loyalty they had submitted to the caprices of despotism; and the same
principle, if they saw their independence and the security of their
sovereign violated, would call forth their well-known valour. If so
atrocious an insult were committed, France would lose the most faithful
and useful of her allies; and the Emperor, by the artifices with which
he entrapped the King to Bayonne, in order there to despoil him of his
crown, would have so effectually stained his own character, that no
confidence hereafter could be placed in treaties with him; and war with
him could be concluded by no other means than that of total destruction
and extermination.
♦BUONAPARTE’S DECLARATION TO CEVALLOS.♦
Buonaparte was listening to this conference. He lost patience now, and
ordering Cevallos into his own cabinet, the violence of his temper
broke out. He called that minister traitor, for continuing to serve
the son in the same situation which he had held under the father; he
accused him of having maintained, in an official interview with General
Moutheon, that Ferdinand’s right to the crown stood in no need of his
recognition, though it might be necessary to the continuance of his
relations with France: and he reproached him still more angrily for
having said to a foreign minister at Madrid, that, if the French army
offered any violation to the integrity and independence of the Spanish
sovereignty, 300,000 men would convince them that a brave and generous
nation was not to be insulted with impunity. The tyrant then entered
upon the business of the renunciation, which he was determined should
be made; and finding that Cevallos still insisted upon the rights of
his master, the reigning dynasty, and the people of Spain, he concluded
the conversation by these remarkable and characteristic words: “I have
a system of policy of my own. You ought to adopt more liberal ideas;
to be less susceptible on the point of honour; and not sacrifice the
prosperity of Spain to the interest of the Bourbon family.”
♦TERMS PROPOSED TO ESCOIQUIZ.♦
Having found Cevallos so little inclined to yield, Ferdinand was
informed that he must appoint another person to carry on the
negotiation. While he was deliberating whom to choose, one of the
French agents insinuated himself into the confidence of Escoiquiz,
and persuaded him to pay a visit to Champagny, from whom he received
the propositions of Buonaparte in writing. These, which were to be
considered as the tyrant’s definitive demands, from which he would not
recede, and which were the most favourable he would grant, declared his
irrevocable determination that the Bourbon dynasty should no longer
reign in Spain, and that one of his brothers should possess the throne.
The complete integrity of that kingdom and all its colonies was to be
guaranteed, together with the preservation of religion and property. If
Ferdinand agreed to renounce his rights in his own name, and that of
his family, the crown of Etruria should be conferred upon him according
to the Salic law; and the Emperor’s niece be given him in marriage
immediately, if he chose to demand her, upon the execution of the
treaty. If he refused, he should remain without compensation, and the
Emperor would carry his purposes into effect by force.
♦DEBATES AMONG FERDINAND’S COUNSELLORS.♦
Escoiquiz was of opinion that Ferdinand would do well to yield to a
force which he could not resist, and save what he could from the wreck.
He argued that it was their business to mitigate the evil as far as
possible, saving always the honour of the King and the interests of
Spain; and that as Ferdinand was yet but a youth, he might hope, in
some of those changes which are incident to human affairs, to regain
what he now lost. The cession which was demanded would be palpably
invalid, and would not prevent the Spanish nation from making any
exertions which their loyalty and spirit might prompt. By accepting
Etruria he would secure to himself the kingly title and kingly
treatment from Buonaparte; for though he would certainly be detained in
France as long as Spain resisted, still it would be with all outward
marks of honour; he would be kept like a slave in fetters of gold, not
imprisoned in some castle where misery and ill-treatment would put an
end to him and his brothers. If Spain should make a successful stand,
by the help of England, which might be expected, and perhaps that of
other powers also, Etruria would be always something in possession,
the exchange of which would facilitate his return to his lawful throne:
but if unhappily, after all efforts, Spain should succumb in the
strife, her disherited princes would still remain with an honourable
and princely asylum. It was moreover especially to be considered, that
if Ferdinand refused to treat with the Emperor Napoleon, and cede his
rights as King of Spain, the cession would beyond all doubt be made by
his father, and Ferdinand would then be dealt with in the character of
an undutiful and rebellious son. These arguments did not prevail; the
majority of Ferdinand’s advisers, notwithstanding all that had passed,
could not be persuaded that Buonaparte meant seriously to depose him;
they continued to believe that all these measures were only designed
to extort a cession of territory, and that if Ferdinand continued firm
in his refusal, he need not sacrifice the provinces on the left of the
Ebro, nor even Navarre, but that some of the colonies would suffice.
They urged this persuasion so strongly, that Escoiquiz, without
altering his own opinion, assented to theirs. But all these discussions
were made known to Buonaparte by one of their own number, who was sold
to the tyrant.
♦LABRADOR APPOINTED TO TREAT WITH M. CHAMPAGNY.♦
Ferdinand therefore now invested Don Pedro de Labrador, honorary
counsellor of state, in whose talents he had great reliance, with
full powers, instructing him to present them to the French minister
for foreign affairs, and to demand his full powers in return, that
the proposals of Buonaparte might be communicated in an authentic
manner. ♦APRIL 27.♦ The instructions given him, which were drawn up
by Cevallos, were to ask M. Champagny if King Ferdinand were at full
liberty? for if he was, he would return to his dominions, and there
give audience to the plenipotentiary whom the Emperor might depute;
if he were not, all acts at Bayonne were nugatory, and could have no
other effect than to stain the reputation of Buonaparte before the
whole world. Ferdinand, he was charged to say, was resolved not to
yield to the Emperor’s demands: neither his own honour, nor his duty
to his subjects, permitting him. He could not compel them to accept of
the Buonaparte dynasty, much less could he deprive them of their right
to elect another family to the throne, when the reigning one should
be extinct. It was not less repugnant to his feelings to accept of
the throne of Etruria as a compensation; that country belonged to its
lawful sovereign, whom he would not wrong, and he was contented with
the kingdom which providence had given him.
♦FERDINAND IS PREVENTED FROM RETURNING.♦
When Labrador presented his powers, and required the usual return,
M. Champagny replied, these things were mere matters of form, and
wholly unconnected with the essential object of which they were to
treat. Buonaparte, indeed, had determined to force from Ferdinand the
form of a voluntary renunciation, but he and his ministers considered
all other forms as useless. The Frenchman proceeded to talk of the
propositions: Labrador declared he could discuss no subject till the
previous formalities had been observed; and asked if the King were at
liberty? M. Champagny made answer, undoubtedly he was. Then, said the
Spaniard, he ought to be restored to his kingdom. But M. Champagny
replied, that, with respect to his return, it was necessary he should
come to a right understanding with the Emperor, either personally
or by letter. Already, Ferdinand had had sufficient reason to feel
himself a prisoner; this language was such as could leave no doubt.
But that the violence might be apparent and notorious, Cevallos ♦APRIL
28.♦ addressed a note to the French minister of state, saying, that
the King had left Madrid with the intention of meeting the Emperor at
Burgos, on the assurances which the Grand Duke of Berg, the ambassador
Beauharnois, and General Savary, had given of his approach; and that,
in consequence of the agitation of the public mind in Spain, it was
impossible to answer longer for the tranquillity of the people,
especially as they were apprized that their King had now been six
days at Bayonne. He had, in the most solemn manner, promised them on
his departure that he would speedily return. This, therefore, he was
about to do; he now made known his intentions, that they might be
communicated to the Emperor, whose approbation they would doubtless
meet; and he should be ready to treat, in his dominions, on all
convenient subjects, with any person whom it might please his Imperial
Majesty to authorize. No answer was returned to this dispatch; but the
spies within the palace and the guards without were doubled. A guard
at the door even ordered the King and his brother one night to retire
to their apartments. Ferdinand’s mind was not yet so subdued to his
fortunes as to brook this insult. He complained bitterly of it; and
the Governor in consequence soothed him with courteous language, and
expressed his disapprobation of such conduct. The act, however, was
repeated; and, not choosing to expose himself a third time to insults,
which he had no means of resenting, he abstained from going out.
♦BUONAPARTE SENDS FOR CHARLES AND THE QUEEN TO BAYONNE.♦
Buonaparte had expected that Ferdinand would more easily be intimidated
into compliance; in that case he would have recognized the validity of
the father’s abdication; which, in fact, he did virtually acknowledge,
while treating with the son for his renunciation. He now found it
necessary to alter his plan of proceedings, and ordered Murat to send
off Charles and the Queen as expeditiously as possible to Bayonne.
There was no danger of exciting any popular commotion by removing them;
but the deliverance of Godoy was also to be effected; and artifice must
be employed for this, unless he resorted immediately to force, which
it was his purpose to avoid till the whole of the royal family were in
his hands. The release of the fallen favourite had been requested of
Ferdinand during his stay at Vittoria. He replied, that he had promised
his people to publish the result of a process, on which the honour of
many of his subjects, and the preservation of the rights of the crown,
depended. Throughout the whole extent of Spain, he said, there was not
a single district, however small, which had not addressed complaints
to the throne against that prisoner: the joy at his arrest had been
general, and all eyes were fixed upon the proceedings. Nevertheless, he
gave his royal word, that, if, after a full examination of the case,
Godoy should be condemned to death, he would remit that punishment in
consequence of the Emperor’s interposition. At the time when Ferdinand
returned this answer to Buonaparte, he received advices from the
Junta of government that Murat had required them to release Godoy;
threatening, if they refused, to deliver him by force, and put his
guards to the sword if they offered the slightest resistance. They were
informed, in reply, of the answer which had been sent to Bayonne, and
were instructed to tell the Grand Duke, if he renewed his applications,
that the business was in treaty between the two sovereigns, and that
the result depended exclusively on the decision of the King.
♦GODOY RELEASED BY MURAT, AND SENT TO BAYONNE.♦
The French have at all times had less public faith than any other
nation in Europe; but whether under their old monarchy, their
democracy, or the absolute tyranny in which that democracy had
its natural end, they have effectually protected their agents and
partizans in other countries. Godoy had been the creature of France,
and Buonaparte was resolved to save him: he treated, therefore, the
letter of Ferdinand with contempt; and, having recourse to direct
falsehood, sent information to Murat, that the Prince of Asturias
had put the prisoner entirely at his disposal, and ordered him to
demand and obtain the surrender of his person. ♦APR. 20.♦ A note
was accordingly delivered to the Junta, in Murat’s name, by General
Belliard, demanding the prisoner. This, he said, was only a new proof
of the interest which the Emperor took in the welfare of Spain; for his
Imperial Majesty could not recognize as King any other than Charles
IV.; and, by removing the Prince of the Peace, he wished to deprive
malevolence itself of the possible belief, that that monarch would ever
restore him to confidence and power. One member of the government, Don
Francisco Gil, protested against yielding to the demand, because it
was not authorized by Ferdinand their King: the others deemed it wiser
to submit, and the Infante D. Antonio declared, that it depended upon
their compliance in this point whether his nephew should be King of
Spain. ♦MEMORIA DE AZANZA Y O’FARREL, P. 25.♦ The Marquis de Castellar,
therefore, to whose custody Godoy had been committed, was instructed to
deliver him up, and he was removed by night. Had the people been aware
that this minister was thus to be conveyed away from their vengeance,
that indignation which soon afterwards burst out would probably have
manifested itself now, and Godoy would have perished by their hands.
He was immediately sent under a strong escort to Bayonne.
♦HE IS REINSTATED AS CHARLES’S MINISTER.♦
In obtaining the release of this wretch, Buonaparte had probably no
other view at the time, than of preserving that uniform system of
protection towards his agents, which pride as well as policy dictated.
But when he found his designs unexpectedly impeded by the firmness
which Ferdinand and his counsellors then displayed, he perceived that
Godoy might yet be useful; and when Charles arrived at Bayonne, the
favourite was restored to him, and reinstated as minister, that he
might, by a last act of office, consummate his own infamy, and complete
the destruction of the dynasty which had raised him, and the country
which had given him birth. Willing to be revenged on Ferdinand, and
now also hating Spain, Godoy, who had hitherto seconded the projects
of Buonaparte, because he was duped by the hopes of aggrandizement,
now forwarded them with equal eagerness for the sake of vengeance. It
was necessary that Charles should be induced to treat his son as an
enemy, a rebel, and a traitor; and that, while he punished him as such
for having accepted his abdication, he should be made to resume the
crown, solely for the purpose of transferring it to a stranger; and
that stranger one from whose treacherous and unprovoked aggressions
he himself but a few weeks before had attempted to fly to America,
abandoning his kingdom. To this resolution, monstrous as it was, the
unhappy King was brought; nor was compulsion needful; the ascendancy of
the favourite was sufficient to make him fancy it his own act and deed.
Fear might have extorted the renunciation; but the manner in which he
personally treated his son sprung evidently from his own feelings, thus
exasperated.
♦FERDINAND’S PROPOSALS TO HIS FATHER.♦
Ferdinand had now only to choose between degradation and destruction.
He made, however, one effort in behalf of himself and of Spain, and
addressed his father in a letter not less dignified than respectful,
in which he at the same time asserted his right to the crown, and his
readiness to restore it. ♦MAY 1.♦ The King, he said, had admitted that
the proceedings at Aranjuez were in no degree occasioned or influenced
by him; and had told him, that the abdication had been voluntary, and
that it was the happiest act of his life. He still declared, that it
was an act of his own free-will; but professed that it had been made
with the mental reservation of a right to resume the crown whenever he
thought proper; and now he reclaimed it, avowing at the same time, that
he would neither return to the throne nor to Spain. The fundamental
laws of the kingdom conferred the crown upon himself, he said, upon his
father’s free resignation of it. His father had freely resigned; and
yet now reclaimed his power, without any intention of retaining it.
Here, then, he required an act of duty which the son could not perform,
without violating the duty which he owed to his subjects. But both
might be reconciled; and Ferdinand would willingly restore the crown
to his father, on condition, 1. That they both returned to Madrid; 2.
That a Cortes should be assembled there; or, if Charles objected to so
numerous a body, that all the tribunals and deputies of the kingdom
should be convoked; 3. That the renunciation should be executed in due
form, in the presence of the council, and the motives stated which
induced him to make it: these, Ferdinand said, were the love which he
bore to his subjects, and his anxiety to secure their tranquillity,
and save them from the horrors of a civil war; 4. That the King should
not be accompanied by individuals who had justly excited the hatred of
the whole nation; and, 5. That, if the King persisted in his present
intention, neither to reign in person nor to return to Spain, Ferdinand
should govern in his name: “there is no one,” said he, “who can have a
claim to be preferred before me. I am summoned thereto by the laws, the
wishes, and the love of my people, and no one can take more zealous and
bounden interest in their welfare.”
♦LETTER FROM CHARLES TO HIS SON.
MAY 2.♦
In the answer to this letter, the dictation, as well as the purposes of
Buonaparte, is apparent. Charles began, by declaring, that Spain could
be saved by the Emperor alone. Since the peace of Basle, he had seen
that the essential interests of his people were inseparably connected
with the preservation of a good understanding with France; and he had
spared no sacrifices to preserve it. Spain had been forced by the
aggression of England into the war, and having suffered more by it than
any other state, the consequent calamities had been unjustly attributed
to his ministers; nevertheless he had the happiness of seeing the
kingdom tranquil within, and was the only one among the Kings of
Europe, who sustained himself amid the storms of these latter times.
That tranquillity Ferdinand had disturbed: misled by the aversion of
his first wife towards France, he thoughtlessly participated in the
prejudices which prevailed against the minister and his parents. “It
became necessary for me,” said Charles, “to recollect my own rights,
as a father and a King. I caused you to be arrested; ... I found among
your papers the proof of your crime. But I melted at seeing my son on
the scaffold of destruction. I forgave you; and, from that moment, was
compelled to add to the distresses which I felt for the calamities
of my subjects, the afflictions occasioned by dissensions in my own
family.”
The part which followed must have been designed by Buonaparte to
conceal the manifest proofs of his own hand, which appear in the rest
of the letter. The Emperor of France, it was here said, believing
that the Spaniards were disposed to renounce his alliance, and seeing
the discord that prevailed in the royal family, inundated the Spanish
provinces with his troops, under various pretences. While they
occupied the right bank of the Ebro, and appeared to aim only at
maintaining the communication with Portugal, the King was not alarmed;
but when they advanced towards the capital, then he felt it necessary
to collect his army round his person, that he might present himself, in
a manner becoming his rank, before his august ally ... all whose doubts
he should have removed. For this purpose, his troops were ordered to
leave Portugal and Madrid, not that he might abandon his subjects, but
that he might support with honour the glory of the throne. Sufficient
experience had also convinced him, that the Emperor of the French might
entertain wishes comformable to his particular interest, and to the
policy of the vast system of the continent, which might be inconsistent
with the interests of the Spanish Bourbons. Ferdinand availed himself
of these circumstances, to accomplish the conspiracy of the Escurial.
Old, and oppressed by infirmity, his father was not able to withstand
this new calamity; ... he repaired, therefore, to Buonaparte, not as a
King, not at the head of his troops, not with the pomp of royalty, but
as an unhappy and abandoned prince, who sought refuge and protection
in his camp. To that Emperor he was indebted for his own life, and
for the lives of the Queen, and of the minister whom he had appointed
and adopted into his family. Every thing now depended upon that great
monarch. “My heart,” said Charles, “has been fully unfolded to him. He
knows the injuries I have received, and the violence which has been
done me; ... he has declared that you shall never be acknowledged as
King; and that the enemy of his father can never acquire the confidence
of foreign states. He has, in addition to this, shown me letters
written with your own hand, which clearly prove your hatred of France.
“Things being thus situated,” he continued, “my rights are clear, and
my duties are much more so. It is incumbent upon me to prevent the
shedding the blood of my subjects; to do nothing at the conclusion
of my career, which should carry fire and sword into every part of
Spain, and reduce it to the most horrible misery. If, faithful to your
primary obligations, and to the feelings of nature, you had rejected
perfidious counsels, and placed yourself constantly at my side, for the
defence of your father; if you had waited the regular course of nature,
which would have elevated you in a few years to the rank of royalty, I
should have been able to conciliate the policy and interests of Spain,
with those of all. For six months, no doubt, matters have been in a
critical situation; but notwithstanding such difficulties, I should
have obtained the support of my subjects. I should have availed myself
of the weak means which yet remained to me, of the moral aid which I
should have acquired, meeting always my ally with suitable dignity, to
whom I never gave cause of complaint; and an arrangement would have
been made which would have accommodated the interests of my subjects
with those of my family. But in tearing from my head the crown, you
have not preserved it for yourself; you have taken from it all that is
august and sacred in the eyes of mankind. Your behaviour with respect
to me ... your intercepted letters, have put a brazen barrier between
yourself and the throne of Spain; and it is neither your own interest,
nor that of the country, that you should reign in it. Take heed how
you kindle a fire which will unavoidably cause your complete ruin,
and the degradation of Spain! I am King by the right derived from my
forefathers; my abdication was the result of force; I have nothing to
receive from you; nor can I consent to the convocation of the Cortes
... an additional absurdity, suggested by the inexperienced persons
who attend you. I have reigned for the happiness of my subjects, and
I do not wish to bequeath them civil war, mutiny, popular Juntas, and
revolution. Every thing ought to be done for the people, and nothing by
the people: to forget this maxim, were to become an accomplice in all
the crimes that must follow its neglect. I have sacrificed the whole of
my life to my people; and in the advanced age to which I have arrived,
I shall do nothing in opposition to their religion, their tranquillity,
and their happiness. I have reigned for them; I will constantly occupy
myself for their sakes; I will forget all my sacrifices; and when at
last I shall be convinced that the religion of Spain, the integrity of
her provinces, her independence, and her privileges are preserved, I
shall descend to the tomb, forgiving those who have embittered the last
years of my life.”
However suspicious were the circumstances under which the decree of
abdication appeared, the probabilities that that decree was obtained
by compulsion were not in the slightest degree strengthened by the
testimony of Charles at Bayonne, where he was in far stricter duresse,
and far greater danger, than at Aranjuez. But, in every line of this
letter, the language of Buonaparte may be recognized: his dread and
hatred of popular assemblies ... the tone and manner of his philosophy
... his perpetual reference to force, as that to which all things must
bow; and there is one of those direct, plain, palpable, demonstrable
falsehoods, of which no other man, who ever affected greatness, so
often and so impudently availed himself. If Ferdinand originally
intended to supplant his father, it was by the help of France that he
hoped to effect it. The only act of conspiracy proved against him and
his party was, that they had attempted to form such an alliance. For
this very act, Buonaparte, in his letter to Vittoria, had censured him;
and yet, one reason here assigned for depriving him of the crown, is
his hatred of France.
♦MAY 4. FERDINAND’S REPLY.♦
Ferdinand’s answer to this extraordinary paper was, like his former
letter, honourable to himself and his advisers. He calmly reminded his
father of the inconsistencies in the charges thus adduced against him.
Concerning the affair of the Escurial, he said, eleven counsellors,
chosen by the King himself, had unanimously declared their opinion,
that there was no ground for the accusation; nor could such an opinion
have been obtained by undue means, wholly without influence as he was
at that time, and virtually a prisoner. The King spoke of the distrust
occasioned by the entrance of so great a foreign force into Spain: ...
might he be told, that no alarm need have been given by troops entering
as friends and allies? He said, that his own troops were collected at
Aranjuez to support the glory of the throne: ... might he be reminded,
that he had given orders for a journey to Seville, and the troops were
intended to keep open that road? Every person believed there was an
intention of emigrating to America, manifest as it was that the royal
family were going to the coast of Andalusia; and it was this universal
belief which occasioned the tumults at Aranjuez. In those tumults,
the King knew that his son had taken no other part than by his own
command, to protect from the people the object of their hatred, who
was believed to be the proposer of the journey. The Emperor, in a
letter to Ferdinand, had said, his motive was to induce the King to
make certain reforms, and separate from his person the Prince of the
Peace, whose influence was the cause of every calamity. The universal
joy which his arrest produced throughout the whole nation, evidently
proved that this was indeed the case. As to the rest, Charles himself
was the best witness that, in the tumults at Aranjuez, not a word was
whispered against him, nor against any one of the royal family: ...
on the contrary, he was applauded with the greatest demonstrations
of joy, and heard the loudest professions of fidelity to his august
person. On this account, the abdication surprised every one, and no
person more than Ferdinand himself. No one expected, or would have
solicited it.... “Your Majesty,” said Ferdinand, “yourself communicated
your abdication to your ministers, enjoining them to acknowledge me
as their natural lord and sovereign. You communicated it verbally to
the diplomatic body, professing that your determination proceeded from
your own will, and that you had before determined upon it. You yourself
told it to your beloved brother, adding, at the same time, that the
signature which your Majesty had put to the act of abdication was the
happiest transaction of your life; and, finally, your Majesty told me
personally, three days afterwards, I should pay no attention to any
assertion that the abdication had not been voluntary, inasmuch as it
was in every respect free and self-originating.”
He proceeded to comment upon the charge of his hatred towards
France. Wherein had it appeared? Were not the various letters which,
immediately after the abdication, he addressed to the Emperor, so many
proofs that his principles, with respect to the relations of friendship
and strict alliance happily subsisting between the two countries,
were those that the King had impressed upon him? Had he not shown his
unbounded confidence in the Emperor, by going to Madrid the day after
the Grand Duke of Berg had entered that city with a great part of his
army, and garrisoned it; so that, in fact, to go there, was to deliver
himself into his hands? Had he not, in conformity to the principles
of alliance, and to his father’s wish, written to request a princess
of the house of Buonaparte in marriage? Had he not sent a deputation
to Bayonne to compliment the Emperor in his name? then persuaded his
brother the Infante Don Carlos to set off, that he might pay his
respects to him on the frontier? lastly, had he not left Madrid for
the same purpose himself, on the faith of the assurances given him by
the French ambassador, by the Grand Duke, and by General Savary, who
had just arrived from France, and who solicited an audience, to tell
him that the Emperor only expected he should follow the same system
towards France which his father had adopted, in which case he was to be
acknowledged as King of Spain, and all the rest would be forgotten? How
any of his letters, proving an enmity towards France, should have come
into the Emperor’s hands, he could not comprehend, knowing, as he did,
that he had never written any.
♦TERMS UPON WHICH HE OFFERS TO RESTORE THE CROWN.♦
Ferdinand then referred to his former proposals. “I signified,” said he
“my willingness to renounce the crown in your favour, when the Cortes
should be convened; and if not convened, when the council and deputies
of the kingdom should be assembled; not because I thought this was
necessary to give effect to the renunciation, but because I judged it
convenient to avoid injurious novelties, which frequently occasion
divisions and contentions, and wished every thing might be attended
to which concerned your dignity, my own honour, and the tranquillity
of the realm. If your Majesty should not choose to reign in person, I
will govern in your royal name, or in my own; for no one but myself can
represent your person, possessing, as I do, in my favour, the decision
of the laws, and the will of the people; nor can any other person have
so much interest in their prosperity. I repeat again, that, in such
circumstances, and under such conditions, I am ready to accompany your
Majesty to Spain, there to make my abdication in the form expressed.
But in respect to what you have said of not wishing to return to Spain,
with tears in my eyes, I implore you, by all that is most sacred in
heaven and earth, that in case you do not choose to re-ascend the
throne, you will not leave a country so long known to you, in which you
may choose a situation best suited to your injured health, and where
you may enjoy greater comforts and tranquillity of mind than in any
other.
“Finally, I beg your Majesty most affectionately, that you will
seriously consider your situation, and that you will reflect on the
evil of excluding our dynasty for ever from the throne of Spain, and
substituting in its room the imperial family of France. It is a step
which we cannot take without the express consent of all the individuals
who have, or may have, a right to the crown; much less without an
equally-expressed consent of the Spanish people, assembled in Cortes in
a place of security; and besides, being now in a foreign country, it
would be impossible for us to persuade any one that we acted freely;
and this consideration alone would annul whatever we might do, and
might produce the most fatal consequences. Before I conclude, your
Majesty will permit me to say, that the counsellors whom you call
perfidious have never advised me to derogate from the love, respect,
and honour, which I have always professed to your Majesty, whose
valuable life I pray God to preserve to a happy and good old age.”
♦MAY 5.
INTERVIEW BETWEEN CHARLES AND FERDINAND IN PRESENCE OF BUONAPARTE.♦
On the day after this letter was written, Buonaparte had an hour’s
conference with Charles; at the conclusion of which, Ferdinand was
called in by his father, to hear, in the presence of this tyrant,
and of the Queen, expressions, says Cevallos, so disgusting[28] and
humiliating, that I do not dare to record them. While all the rest
were seated, he was kept standing, and his father ordered him to make
an absolute renunciation of the crown, under pain of being treated as
an usurper, and a conspirator against the lives of his parents. His
household also were threatened to be proceeded against as men guilty of
treason. ♦MAY 6.♦ ♦FERDINAND’S RENUNCIATION.♦ Overcome by the sense of
their danger, and of his own, the poor pitiable Prince submitted, and
delivered in a renunciation, couched in such terms as at once to imply
compulsion, and reserve the condition of his father’s return to Spain.
“His former renunciation,” he said, “he had believed himself bound to
modify with such conditions as were equally required by the respect due
to the King, the tranquillity of his dominions, and the preservation of
his own honour.” These modifications, to his great astonishment, had
excited indignation in the King, who, without any other grounds, had
thought proper, in the presence of Buonaparte and of his mother, to
revile him with the most humiliating appellations, and to require from
him an unconditional renunciation, on pain of being treated, with all
those of his council, like a traitor. “Under these circumstances,” said
he, “I make the renunciation which your Majesty commands, that you may
return to the government of Spain in the same state as when you made
your voluntary abdication in my favour.”
♦PROCLAMATION OF CHARLES TO THE SPANIARDS.♦
Ferdinand was not aware, when he executed this form of renunciation,
that his father was no longer qualified to receive it. The tyrant had
not waited for this preliminary to conclude his mock negotiations
with Charles. This wretched puppet addressed an edict on the 4th to
the supreme Junta at Madrid, nominating Murat lieutenant-general of
the kingdom, and in that quality, president of the government: the
reason assigned was, that one same direction might be given to all the
forces of Spain, in order to maintain the security of property and
public tranquillity against enemies, as well exterior as interior. All
persons, therefore, were enjoined to obey the Grand Duke’s orders.
A proclamation to the people accompanied this edict. They were told
that their King was occupied in concerting with his ally the Emperor
whatever concerned their welfare, and they were warned against
listening to perfidious men, who sought to arm them against the French,
and the French against them. All those who spoke against France were
said to be men who thirsted for the blood of the Spaniards, enemies
of that nation, or agents of England, whose intrigues would involve
the loss of the colonies, the separation of provinces, and a series
of years of calamity for the country. “Trust to my experience,” said
this poor mouthpiece of a perfidious and remorseless tyrant; “and obey
that authority which I hold from God and my fathers! Follow my example,
and think that, in your present situation, there is no prosperity or
safety for the Spaniards, but in the friendship of the great Emperor,
our ally.” On the same day, Charles addressed a letter to the supreme
council of Castille and the council of Inquisition, informing them that
having resolved, in the present extraordinary circumstances, to give a
new proof of affection towards his beloved subjects, he had abdicated
all claims upon the Spanish kingdoms, in favour of his friend and
ally, the Emperor of the French. The treaty of resignation, he said,
stipulated for the integrity and independence of those kingdoms, and
the preservation of the Catholic faith, not only as the predominant,
but as the sole and exclusive religion in Spain. The councils were
ordered to make every exertion in support of the Emperor, and, above
all, with their utmost care to preserve the country from insurrections
and tumults.
♦MAY 5. CHARLES CEDES HIS RIGHTS TO BUONAPARTE.♦
The preamble to the treaty of resignation stated, that the object of
the two contracting princes was to save Spain from the convulsions of
civil and foreign war, and to place it in the only position, which,
under its present extraordinary circumstances, could maintain its
integrity, guarantee its colonies, and enable it to unite all its means
to those of France, for the purpose of obtaining a maritime peace. By
the first article, Charles ceded all his rights to the throne of Spain
and the Indies, having only had in view, he said, during his whole
life, the happiness of his subjects, and constantly adhering to the
principle, that all the acts of the sovereign ought to be directed to
that object solely. This cession was represented as the only means
which could re-establish order; and it was covenanted, 1. that it took
place only on condition that the integrity of the Spanish kingdom
should be maintained; that the prince whom it might please the Emperor
to place on the throne should be independent; and that the limits of
Spain were to undergo no alteration: 2. that the Catholic, Apostolic,
and Roman religion, should be the only one in Spain; no reformed
religion should be tolerated, still less should infidelity: these
things were to be prevented or punished according to the established
usage. 3. All property confiscated since the revolution at Aranjuez
should be restored; and all decrees which had been passed against the
friends of Charles were declared null and void. 4. Charles having thus
secured the prosperity, the integrity, and the independence of his
kingdom, (such was the monstrous language of this convention!) the
Emperor engaged to grant an asylum in his states to him, the Queen,
the Prince of the Peace, and such of their servants as might choose
to follow them, who should enjoy in France a rank equivalent to that
which they possessed in Spain. 5, 6, 7, 8. The palace of Compeigne,
with its parks and forests, should be at the disposal of King Charles
during his life, and a civil list of 80,000,000 _reales_ should be
paid him in monthly payments; after his death the Queen should have a
revenue of 2,000,000 for her dowry. An annual rent of 400,000 _livres_
should be granted to each of the Infantes, in perpetuity, reverting
from one branch to another, in case of the extinction of one, according
to the civil law, and to the crown of France, in case of the extinction
of all the branches. It was to be understood that this civil list
and these rents were to be looked for exclusively from the treasury
of France. The Infantes were, however, by a subsequent article, to
continue to enjoy the revenues of their commanderies in Spain. 9, 10.
The Castle of Chambord, with its parks, forests, and farms, was given
by the Emperor to King Charles, in full property, being in exchange
for all the allodial and particular property appertaining to the crown
of Spain, but possessed personally.... This convention was signed by
General Duroc, grand master of the palace, on the part of Buonaparte,
and on the part of Charles by Godoy, under his titles, Spanish and
Portugueze, of Prince de la Paz, and Count of Evora-monte. Thus did
this man, the last and worst of that succession of favourites who have
been the curse of Spain, consummate his own crimes, and, as far as
in him lay, the total degradation of his country; rejoicing probably
in the vengeance which he was taking upon a nation by whom he was so
righteously abhorred. Having done his work, he passed on into France,
to live out the remainder of his days, neglected and despised, and to
leave behind him a name more infamous than any in Spanish history. One
proclamation more was issued in the name of Charles, calling upon all
his former subjects to concur in carrying into effect the dispositions
of his “dear friend the Emperor Napoleon,” and exhorting them to avoid
popular commotions, the effect of which could only be havoc, the
destruction of families, and the ruin of all.
♦FERDINAND THREATENED BY BUONAPARTE.♦
Ferdinand had hitherto renounced his right in reference to his father
only. A farther renunciation was demanded from him: it was not tamely
yielded; and in his last conference with him upon the subject,
Buonaparte bade him choose between cession and death. He was informed
that he might return to Spain, and that a convoy of French soldiers
should escort him to any part of the Peninsula which he might choose.
But he was also told, that France would immediately make war upon him,
and never suffer him to reign; for it was the duty of the Emperor to
maintain the rights of his crown, and those which had been ceded to him
by Charles, and to destroy the projects of the partizans of England.
♦HIS ACT OF RENUNCIATION.♦
That Ferdinand should at length have yielded, is not to be severely
condemned; it is rather to be admired that he should have resisted
so long. Even had he been of a more heroic frame, than his family
and education were likely to produce, imprisonment, and death, by
some dark agency, were all he could expect from farther opposition.
Thus intimidated, he authorized Escoiquiz to treat with Duroc for the
surrender of his own rights, and those of his brothers and his uncle
Don Antonio, who had now been sent from Madrid, rather as prisoners
than in any other character. ♦MAY 10.♦ The preamble declared, that the
Emperor of the French and the Prince of Asturias having differences
to regulate, had agreed to these terms: 1. That Ferdinand acceded
to the cession made by his father, and renounced, as far as might
be necessary, the rights accruing to him as Prince of Asturias. 2.
The title of royal highness, with all the honours and prerogatives
which the Princes of the Blood enjoyed, should be granted to him in
France: his descendants should inherit the titles of Prince and Serene
Highness, and hold the same rank as the prince-dignitaries of the
empire. 3, 4. The palaces, parks, and farms of Navarre, with 50,000
acres of the woods dependent on them, should be given to him, free
from incumbrance, in full property for ever; and pass, in default of
his heirs, to those of his brother and uncle, in succession: and the
title of Prince should be conferred, by letters patent and particular,
upon the collateral heir to whom this property might revert. 5, 6.
Four hundred thousand _livres_ of appanage on the treasury of France,
payable in equal monthly portions, should be settled on him, with
reversion, in like manner, to the Infantes, and their posterity; and
a life-rent of 600,000 should be given the Prince, the half remaining
to the Princess, his consort, if he left one to survive him. 7. The
same rank and titles should be assigned to the Infantes and their
descendants as to the Prince; they should continue to enjoy the
revenues of their commanderies in Spain (as had been agreed in the
convention with Charles), and an appanage of 400,000 _livres_ (as
also there stipulated) should be settled on them in perpetuity, with
reversion to the issue of Ferdinand. No mention was made in the treaty
of the Queen of Etruria and her son, a boy of eight years old, who, by
the doubly-villanous treaty of Fontainebleau, was to have been made
King of Northern Lusitania. Involved in the common ruin of their house,
they also had been escorted to Bayonne; and the whole of this unhappy
family, now that the mockery of negotiation was at an end, were sent
into the interior of France.