INSURRECTION AND MILITARY MURDERS AT MADRID. SUBMISSION OF THE
CONSTITUTED AUTHORITIES TO THE PLEASURE OF BUONAPARTE. ASSEMBLY
OF NOTABLES CONVOKED BY HIM AT BAYONNE.
♦1808. APRIL.♦
Thus had Buonaparte succeeded in dispossessing the Bourbon dynasty
of the throne of Spain. Having, under pretence of a treaty, secured
the passes of the Pyrenees, seized the three strong places upon the
frontier, and the important city of Barcelona, marched his armies
into the heart of the kingdom, and occupied the capital itself, he
had now drawn the royal family within his reach, serpent-like, by
the fascination of fear, and compelled them to sign the act of their
abdication and disgrace. The train of perfidy whereby he had thus
far accomplished his purpose is unexampled even in the worst ages
of history. The whole transaction was a business of pure unmingled
treachery, unprovoked, unextenuated, equally detestable in its motive,
its means, and its end. The pretext that there existed an English party
in Spain was notoriously false. Those Spaniards who felt and lamented
the decline of their country had rested their hopes of its regeneration
upon him. There was not any possible way by which he could so surely
have confirmed the alliance between France and Spain, secured the
affection of the Spanish people, and strengthened his own immediate
individual interest (if the vulgarest ambition had not blinded him),
as by connecting his own family with the royal house in marriage, in
conformity with Ferdinand’s desire, and directing him and his ministers
how to bring about those reforms which would restore to health and
strength a country that was still sound at heart. No other mortal has
ever in any crisis of the world had it in his power to produce such
great and extensive good as this opportunity invited, without risk,
effort, evil, or any contingent inconvenience. He had only to say, let
these things be, and the work of progressive reformation would have
begun in Spain and in the Spanish Indies, while he, like a presiding
deity, might have looked on, and have received the blessings of both
countries for his benignant influence.
♦CONDUCT OF MURAT TOWARDS THE JUNTA OF GOVERNMENT.♦
The artifices which he had employed were of the basest kind. Never
perhaps had any plot of perfidious ambition been so coarsely planned.
His scheme was to use falsehood and violence without remorse; to repeat
protestations enough for deceiving the Prince, and employ force enough
for intimidating the people. The former object had been accomplished
... and Murat, perceiving a spirit in the Spaniards which neither
he nor his master had expected, was looking for an opportunity[29]
to effect the latter. His measures, as soon as he entered Madrid,
were intended to make them understand that they were no longer an
independent nation, but that they must learn obedience to a military
yoke. A French governor of the city had been appointed, a French
patrole established, and notice was given that every house would be
called upon to contribute great coats for the French troops, their
own not having arrived. The Junta of government were made to feel the
misery of their degrading and helpless situation; a situation in which
they were compelled to witness and sanction the most grievous injuries
and the most intolerable insults to their country. While Ferdinand was
at Vittoria, Murat sent for the war-minister O’Farrill, to complain to
him that some of the French soldiers had been[30]murdered, that the
people of Madrid openly manifested their dislike of the French, that
the guards displayed a similar disposition, that an hundred thousand
muskets had been collected in Aragon, and that Solano had not received
the promised instructions to put himself under Junot’s command.
O’Farrill vindicated the Junta from these accusations, some of which
were groundless, and others arose from causes over which they had no
control; but Murat cut him short, told him he had received orders from
the Emperor to acknowledge no other sovereign in Spain than Charles
IV. and put into his hands a proclamation in the name of that King,
declaring that his abdication had been compulsory, and requiring again
from his subjects that obedience which they owed to him as their lawful
monarch. O’Farrill replied, that none of the constituted authorities
would obey the proclamation, and still less would the nation: then,
said Murat, the cannon and the bayonet shall make them. But he appeared
to hesitate in his resolution of immediately publishing and enforcing
it, when the Spanish minister represented to him that the fate of
Spain did not necessarily depend upon that of Madrid, nor the Spanish
monarchy upon that of Spain; and that it never could be good policy
for the Emperor to act in a manner so suitable to the wishes of the
English. The result of the conference was, that the Junta agreed to
receive King Charles’s reclamation, to forward it to Ferdinand from
whom they held their authority, and await his answer. Before that
answer could arrive, Charles and the Queen were summoned to Bayonne.
♦THE JUNTA APPLY TO FERDINAND FOR INSTRUCTIONS AS TO RESISTING THE
FRENCH.♦
From the time when Ferdinand began his inauspicious journey, Cevallos
had every night dispatched an account of their proceedings to the
Junta; after his arrival at Bayonne it was soon found that his couriers
were intercepted. Cevallos complained to M. Champagny, and was told
in reply, that as the Emperor acknowledged no other King than Charles
IV. he could not admit in his dominions any act in the nature of a
passport given by Ferdinand; but the letters which, for this reason,
had been detained, had been put into the French post-office, and would
be safely delivered, as would any others which he might think proper
to send either by the ordinary post or the French courier. Cevallos
therefore from that time sent duplicates of his dispatches by various
conveyances, and succeeded in informing the Junta that Ferdinand was
actually a prisoner, and in conveying an order to them from Ferdinand,
whereby they were enjoined to do whatever they deemed expedient for
the service of the King and the kingdom, and authorized to act with as
full power as if he himself were on the spot. Nothing could be more
intelligible than such an order. Nevertheless, such was the timidity of
the better members, and the faithlessness of others, that instead of
acting upon it, they dispatched two confidential persons to inquire of
Ferdinand whether he would empower them to transfer their authority to
certain other persons, whom he should nominate, who, in case the Junta
should be completely under constraint, might remove to some place where
they could act at freedom? whether it was his will that hostilities
should be commenced, and when, and how? whether they should prevent the
entrance of more French troops by closing the passes of the Pyrenees?
and whether he thought it advisable to convoke a Cortes, addressing a
decree for that purpose either to the Council, or to any Chancery or
Audience in the kingdom, which might be free from the control of the
French? If the Cortes were to be assembled, they asked likewise what
subjects it should proceed to discuss?
♦ABSURDITY OF THEIR CONDUCT.♦
Public affairs, in the most momentous times, have often been conducted
with a degree of folly seldom discovered in the management of private
concerns; and this folly has so effectually done the work of treason,
that it has sometimes been mistaken for it. But it is scarcely
possible, even upon this plea, to excuse the Junta. When every hour
was of importance, they dispatched a messenger four hundred miles to
ask Ferdinand’s opinion upon points, on every one of which he would
have asked theirs had he been in Madrid; all which they were better
able to determine than he could be, and on which, in fact, he required
that information which they possessed. When it is considered how
preposterous it was to propose that the passes should be closed while
the French commanded them, and how perfectly they must have known that
Ferdinand was in no condition to plan the opening of a campaign, a
suspicion may well be entertained of the sincerity of the persons who
propounded such questions. Shrinking from responsibility, and appalled
at danger, they referred every thing to Ferdinand, and suffered events
to take their course. Meantime, if their own statement on such a point
may be received, they secretly prepared orders for the Spanish troops
to leave Madrid, even by dispersing, or by encouraging their desertion,
if there should be no other way; for assembling soldiers at appointed
places, collecting stores and ammunition, destroying the means of
transport near the fortresses and cantonments which the enemy occupied,
and spoiling the arms and artillery which could not be secured. Such
orders were certainly not in accord with the feelings of the men who
say that they prepared them: but they would have accorded entirely with
the spirit of the nation. ♦AGITATION OF THE PUBLIC MIND.♦ From the
time of Ferdinand’s departure, the anxiety and agitation of the people
in Madrid had hourly increased. They knew that he expected to meet
Buonaparte at Burgos, and the tidings that he had passed the frontier,
and proceeded to Bayonne, excited in them as much alarm as wonder.
Every evening an extraordinary courier arrived from that city; the
intelligence which he brought was never published in the Gazette, but
circulated as extracts from private correspondence: the first account
detailed nothing but the honours with which Ferdinand had been received
by the Emperor; subsequent ones were each more unsatisfactory than the
last; and the intentions of the tyrant became more and more apparent,
till it could no longer be doubted that Ferdinand was to be deprived of
his crown.
♦ORDERS FOR SENDING THE QUEEN OF ETRURIA AND THE INFANTE DON FRANCISCO
TO BAYONNE.♦
On the last day of April, Murat presented to the Infante Don Antonio
a letter from his brother King Charles, requiring him to send off to
Bayonne the Queen of Etruria[31] with her children, and the Infante
Don Francisco de Paula, Ferdinand’s youngest brother, ... the other
was already in the snare. The Junta were assembled at the time, and
proposed to make the demand known to Ferdinand, and await his pleasure;
but Murat replied, that this was unnecessary; the Queen of Etruria was
her own mistress, and Don Francisco being a minor, was bound to obey
his father. The Junta then said they would consult the Queen, who might
certainly go if she were so pleased, but to the departure of the young
Infante they could not consent. The Queen of Etruria will be remembered
hereafter among those high-born sufferers whose strange and undeserved
afflictions are recorded as examples of the instability of fortune. Her
only desire was to return to Tuscany; but she loved her parents, and
declared herself ready to obey their summons without hesitation, not
expecting farther perfidy from Buonaparte, even after the perfidious
manner in which she had been despoiled. With regard to the Infante, the
Junta were informed by Murat that he must go also, or force would be
used to make him. ♦THE JUNTA DELIBERATE CONCERNING THE INFANTE.♦ These
poor pageants of authority summoned to their assistance in this new
perplexity the chief persons of all the different councils, and held a
meeting that night, less with the hope of coming to any salutary and
dignified determination, than for the sake of finding in the exposure
of their own helplessness an excuse to themselves and others for
passive submission. One person proposed, that if force were employed
to remove the Infante, it should be resisted, and O’Farrill was then
called upon to relate what means of resistance could be calculated
upon. He entered into a mournful statement. There were 25,000 French
in, and immediately about Madrid, and they occupied the Buen Retiro and
the heights of the Casa del Campo, which were the strongest positions;
besides this force they had 10,000 men in Aranjuez, Toledo, and at the
Escurial. The Spanish troops in Madrid were only 3000, and the people
were unarmed and had never been disciplined in any militia service;
therefore to attempt resistance would be to deliver up the city to be
sacked. The effect of this representation, which might have dismayed
firmer hearts than those to which it was addressed, was strengthened
by the opportune arrival that night of D. Justo Maria de Ibar Navarro,
whom Ferdinand had dispatched to apprize the Junta of his situation,
and his resolution not to accede to any thing incompatible with the
dignity of the throne, and with his own just rights; but while the
event was undecided, he charged them carefully to preserve a good
understanding with the French, and to avoid any thing which might
increase his difficulties and even his personal danger. They agreed
upon the necessity of observing these instructions, glad that they were
thus instructed to do nothing, where they were incapable of perceiving
what they ought to do.
♦AGITATION OF THE PEOPLE OF MADRID.
MAY 1.♦
The courier who was expected on that evening did not arrive. Great
multitudes assembled the next day at the Puerta del Sol, and in the
streets near the post-office, anxiously waiting for the news which he
would bring. During the whole day it was apparent that some dreadful
crisis was coming on. The French made an ostentatious display of their
troops and their artillery, and on the part of the Spaniards the
ordinary duties and diversions of the Sabbath seemed to be suspended
in the general agitation that prevailed. Nothing was concerted among
them; no one knew what was to be done, nor what was to be hoped, but
that some great calamity might be looked for; and every man read in
the manner and countenance of others an apprehension and a feeling
of indignation like his own. Murat appeared in the streets at noon,
and was received with hisses and outcries. Evening came, and the
courier was not arrived. The French garrison were under arms all
that night, and their commanders, “cool spectators of these things,”
according to their own relation, saw the crisis approaching, and saw
it with pleasure. ♦MAY 2.♦ ♦DEPARTURE OF THE QUEEN AND THE INFANTE.♦
The following morning had been fixed for the departure of the Queen
of Etruria and the Infante D. Francisco de Paula, and many persons,
chiefly women, collected before the Palace to see them set off. Among
the many rumours, true and false, with which the city was filled, it
was reported that the Infante D. Antonio had been ordered by Murat
to join his brother and nephew at Bayonne, and leave him to act as
regent during his absence; that the Infante had refused to obey, and
that in consequence of his refusal Murat had recalled some troops to
Madrid which had been ordered to a different station, intending to
seize the Infante, and assume the government. Enough had transpired
to make this report probable: one of the carriages which drove up to
the gate was said to be for D. Antonio; and some of the populace being
determined that the last of the royal family should not be taken from
them without resistance, and that one especially who had been left to
represent the King, cut the traces, and forced it back into the yard.
Being however assured that D. Antonio was not to leave Madrid, they
permitted it again to be yoked and brought out. This occasioned so much
stir that Murat sent an aide-de-camp to inquire into the cause; the
people were disposed to treat him roughly, but some Spanish officers
interfered and rescued him from their hands. The carriages, with the
Queen of Etruria and her children, and her brother D. Francisco, then
set out; the latter, a lad of fourteen, is said to have wept bitterly,
and to have manifested the fear and reluctance with which he undertook
the journey. Men are never so easily provoked to anger as when their
compassion is excited. Just at this time, while their hearts were full,
the aide-de-camp whom they had maltreated returned with a party of
soldiers, and a scene of bloodshed presently began, ... in what manner
never will be known.
♦INSURRECTION OF THE PEOPLE.♦
The indignation and hatred of the Spaniards, which had so long been
repressed, now broke forth. As fast as the alarm spread, every man of
the lower ranks who could arm himself with any kind of weapon, ran
to attack the French. There is no other instance upon record of an
attempt so brave and so utterly hopeless, when all the circumstances
are considered. The Spanish troops were locked up in their barracks,
and prevented from assisting their countrymen. Many of the French
were massacred before they could collect and bring their force to
act: but what could the people effect against so great a military
force, prepared for such an insurrection, and eager, the leaders from
political, the men from personal feelings, to strike a blow which
should overawe the Spaniards and make themselves be respected? The
French poured into the city from all sides, their flying artillery
was brought up, in some places the cavalry charged the populace, in
others the streets were cleared by repeated discharges of grape-shot.
The great street of Alcala, the Puerta del Sol, and the great square,
were the chief scenes of slaughter. In the latter the people withstood
several charges, and the officer who commanded the French had two
horses killed under him: General Grouchy also had a horse wounded.
The infantry fired volleys into every cross street as they passed,
and fired also at the windows and balconies. The people, when they
felt the superiority of the French, fled into the houses; the doors
were broken open by command of the generals of brigade, Guillot and
Daubrai, and all within who were found with arms were bayoneted; and
parties of cavalry were stationed at the different outlets of Madrid
to pursue and cut down those who were flying from the town. A part of
the mob, seeking an unworthy revenge for their defeat, attacked the
French hospital; and some of the Spaniards who were employed within,
encouraged at their approach, fell upon the sick and upon their medical
attendants. But these base assailants were soon put to flight.
♦DEFENCE OF THE ARSENAL BY DAOIZ AND VELARDE.♦
At the commencement of the conflict Murat ordered a detachment of 200
men to take possession of the arsenal[32]. Two officers happened to be
upon guard there, by name Daoiz and Velarde, the former about thirty
years of age; the latter, some five years younger, was the person who
had been sent to compliment Murat on his arrival in Spain. Little could
they have foreseen, when they went that morning to their post, the fate
which awaited them, and the renown which was to be its reward! Having
got together about twenty soldiers of their corps, and a few countrymen
who were willing to stand by them, they brought out a twenty-four
pounder in front of the arsenal, to bear upon the straight and narrow
street by which the enemy must approach, and planted two others in
like manner to command two avenues which led into the street of the
arsenal. They had received no instructions, they had no authority for
acting thus, and if they escaped in the action, their own government
would without doubt either pass or sanction a sentence of death against
them for their conduct; never therefore did any men act with more
perfect self-devotion. Having loaded with grape, they waited till the
discharge would take full effect, and such havoc did it make, that
the French instantly turned back. The possession of the arsenal was
of so much importance at this time, that two columns were presently
ordered to secure it: they attempted it at the cost of many lives, and
the Spaniards fired above twenty times before the enemy could break
into the neighbouring houses, and fire upon them from the windows.
Velarde was killed by a musket-ball. Daoiz had his thigh broken; he
continued to give orders sitting, till he received three other wounds,
the last of which put an end to his life. Then the person to whom he
left the command offered to surrender: while they were making terms a
messenger arrived bearing a white flag, and crying out that the tumult
was appeased. About two o’clock the firing had ceased every where,
through the personal interference of the Junta, the council of Castille
and other tribunals, who paraded the streets with many of the nobles,
and with an escort of Spanish soldiers and imperial guards intermixed.
It might then have been hoped that the carnage of this dreadful day
was ended; the slaughter among the Spaniards[33] had been very
great; this however did not satisfy Murat; conformably to the system
of his master, the work of death was to be continued in cool blood.
♦EXECUTIONS BY SENTENCE OF A MILITARY TRIBUNAL.♦ A military tribunal
under General Grouchy was formed, and the Spaniards who were brought
before it were sent away to be slaughtered with little inquiry whether
they had taken[34] part in the struggle or not. Three groupes of forty
each were successively shot in the Prado, ... the great public walk of
Madrid. Others, in like manner, were put to[35] death near the Puerta
del Sol, and the Puerta del S. Vicente, and by the Church of N. Señora
de la Soledad, one of the most sacred places in the city. In this
manner was the evening of that second of May employed by the French
at Madrid. The inhabitants were ordered to illuminate their houses, a
necessary means of safety for their invaders, in a city not otherwise
lighted; and through the whole night the dead and the dying might be
seen distinctly as in broad noon-day, lying upon the bloody pavement.
When morning came the same mockery of justice was continued, and
fresh murders were committed deliberately with the forms of military
execution during several succeeding days.
♦THE INFANTE D. ANTONIO SENT TO BAYONNE.♦
On the night of the third, the Comte de Laforest, and M. Freville, had
a private conference with the Infante D. Antonio; and the Infante,
whether inveigled by their persuasions, or influenced by his own fears
after the dreadful scenes which had been exhibited, informed the Junta
in the course of that night, that he should set off at daybreak for
Bayonne, to share the fate of his family. They represented to him,
that his presence in Spain would be infinitely more useful to the
interest of the Bourbons, than it could possibly be in Bayonne; but
he replied that his word was given, and his resolution fixed, and
accordingly at daybreak he departed. ♦MURAT CLAIMS A PLACE IN THE
JUNTA.♦ Murat had shown some little degree of respect toward this
personage; as soon as he was gone, he informed the Junta that he should
think proper to assist at their deliberations in future. O’Farrill
and Azanza protested against his intrusion, and would have retired
from the nominal authority which they held; they soon however assented
to the will of the majority, pleading in excuse for their assent an
unwillingness to appear as if they consulted their own interests alone,
and a fear lest others should imitate the example of resignation, and
then the capital of the kingdom would be left at the discretion of a
hostile power, without any native authorities to protect it; ... a poor
apology this, when they were mere instruments of that power.
♦EDICTS FOR PRESERVING PEACE IN THE CAPITAL.
MAY 5.♦
Murat now affected to soothe and conciliate the people. He told them
in his proclamations that thenceforth their tranquillity would be
undisturbed, a blessing which they would owe to the loyalty of their
character, and which would be assured to them by the confidence that
the laws inspire; for in obedience to the dictates of humanity, he
said, the military commission was suppressed. From this time every
inhabitant, whatsoever his rank, who might have given cause for being
seized by the French troops, provided[36] he had not borne arms against
them, should be immediately delivered over to his proper judges, and
tried by them: even in the excepted case, a judge nominated by the
competent tribunal of the land should assist in regulating the process
against the accused, till sentence was pronounced. No countrymen, or
strangers, or ecclesiastics, should be molested on account of their
dress. This alluded to an order which had been issued, prohibiting
the cloak, lest arms should be concealed under it; but the cloak is
so universally worn by the Spaniards, that the prohibition was thus
modified on the third day after it had been issued, and repealed
altogether on the following. Carriers, it was said, who were employed
in bringing provisions to the town, should from that time be subjected
to no vexation, neither should their carriages and beasts be detained;
and only half the cattle of the muleteers should be put in requisition
even in the most urgent necessity, and then they should be paid for at
the regulated price, and not detained longer than three or four days.
At those gates where carriers had suffered arbitrary detention in order
to be searched and stript of their arms, instructions should be given
to prevent abuse: but it was necessary, the edict said, to repeat the
injunction against introducing fire-arms or other prohibited weapons:
these were to be deposited at the gate.
♦CIRCULAR LETTER OF THE INQUISITION.♦
The Holy Office, as that execrable tribunal impiously styled itself,
which has been the disgrace and the bane of every country wherein
it was established, lent its last aid toward the degradation of
Spain. ♦MAY 6.♦ Four days after the insurrection, a circular letter
was addressed by the Inquisitor-general, in the name of the Supreme
Council, to all its subordinate tribunals. That insurrection, the
anniversary of which, hopelessly as it began, and disastrously as it
terminated, will be celebrated in after ages by the Spaniards as a day
of proud and pious commemoration, ... one of the most solemn in their
calendar, ... was called by the Inquisition a disgraceful tumult,
occasioned by the evil intentions or the ignorance of thoughtless men,
who under the mask of patriotism and loyalty were preparing the way for
revolutionary disorders. The melancholy consequences which had already
occurred, rendered, it was said, the utmost vigilance necessary on
the part of all the magistracies and respectable bodies, to prevent
the renewal of such excesses, and to preserve tranquillity; the
nation being indeed bound to this good behaviour, not only by its own
interests, but by the laws of hospitality toward a friendly army which
injured no one, and which had given the greatest proofs of good order
and discipline. It became therefore the duty of the well-informed to
enlighten the people, ... to deliver them from their dangerous error,
and to show them, that tumultuary proceedings could only serve to throw
the country into confusion, by breaking those bonds of subordination
upon which the peace of the community depends, ... by destroying the
feelings of humanity, and by annihilating all confidence in government,
from which alone the direction and impulse of patriotic feeling ought
to proceed. “These most important truths,” said the address, “can by
no persons be impressed upon the minds and hearts of the people with
more effect, than by the ministers of the religion of Jesus Christ,
which breathes nothing but peace and brotherly love among men, and
subjection, honour, and obedience to all that are in authority: and as
the Holy College ought to be, and always has been, the first to give
an example to the ministers of peace, it accords with our duty and
office to address this letter to you, that you may co-operate in the
preservation of the public tranquillity. You are required to notify
the same to all the subordinate officers of your respective courts,
and also to the commissioners of districts, that all and each of you
may with all possible zeal, vigilance, and prudence, co-operate in the
attainment of so important an object.”
♦THE JUNTA DISCHARGED FROM THEIR AUTHORITY BY CHARLES’S REASSUMPTION.♦
On the 7th the decree arrived from Bayonne, by which Charles
announced the reassumption, of his authority, and appointed Murat
lieutenant-general of the kingdom. A proclamation came with it,
exhorting the Spaniards to trust in the experience of their old
King, to obey the authority which he had received from God and his
ancestors, to imitate his example, and to believe that there could
be no prosperity or salvation for Spain, save in the friendship of
her ally the great Napoleon. The next courier brought Ferdinand’s act
of resignation to the Father-king, and dispatches whereby the Junta
were discharged from their allegiance to him, and instructed to obey
the orders of Charles IV. They were thus relieved from a situation in
which, if it would have been difficult for any men to have acted well,
it was scarcely possible to have acted worse: for they had never been
ignorant of Ferdinand’s real situation, and they had received from him
discretionary powers which would have authorized the most patriotic and
determined measures.
♦MEANS OF RESISTANCE AUTHORIZED BY FERDINAND.♦
A day or two after the reassumption of the Father-king had been
announced in Madrid, there arrived Ferdinand’s answer to the
preposterous questions which the Junta had proposed. However great
the previous and the subsequent errors of this unhappy Prince, he was
not wanting on this occasion to himself or to his country. He told
the Junta that he was not in a state of freedom, and being therefore
incapable himself of taking measures either for his own preservation
or that of the monarchy, he invested them with full power to remove
whithersoever they might deem most advisable, and exercise all the
functions of sovereignty in his name, as representatives of his
person. He instructed them to commence hostilities as soon as they
should know that he was proceeding into the interior of France, which
he would not do unless he were compelled; and he enjoined them to
prevent in the best manner they could the introduction of more French
troops into the Peninsula. This was the substance of one decree. A
second, which accompanied it, was directed to the Junta, and as they
had suggested, to any chancery or audience of the kingdom, in case they
should not be in a situation to act when it arrived. In this Ferdinand
declared it to be his royal will that the Cortes should be assembled
in whatever place might be deemed most convenient; that they should
occupy themselves exclusively at first in attending to the levies and
subsidies necessary for the defence of the kingdom, and that their
sittings should be permanent.
♦THE JUNTA RESOLVE THAT THEY HAVE NO LONGER AUTHORITY TO OBEY THESE
INSTRUCTIONS.♦
These decrees were dated on the 5th, a few hours only before Ferdinand
was confronted with his parents, and exposed to those outrages and
threats which extorted from him his renunciation. The messenger took
a circuitous route, and travelled on foot, for the sake of security;
he did not reach Madrid therefore till after Charles’s reassumption of
the crown had been officially announced there; and the Junta gladly
perceived that the instructions which enjoined them to obey the orders
of the father, discharged them from the duty of obeying the son in
this instance, Ferdinand being no longer King, and they no longer his
servants. By proposing the questions they had gained time for events
to take their course, and relieve them, as they vainly hoped, from
responsibility and danger. Other hope or motive in proposing them
they could have none: and having so far succeeded, they concealed the
dispatches for a time, and afterwards destroyed them. To have acted
upon them now, they alleged, would have endangered Ferdinand[37] as
well as themselves.
♦ADDRESS FROM FERDINAND AND THE INFANTE, EXHORTING THE PEOPLE TO
SUBMISSION.♦
The abdications both of the son and father had now been made public,
and the people of Madrid, the blood of their townsmen still fresh in
their streets, and the yoke upon their necks, read the address by which
their late sovereign enjoined them to submit to the will of the Emperor
Napoleon. That no colour of authority for the intended usurpation might
be wanting, the names of Ferdinand, his brother Don Carlos, and the
Infante Don Antonio, were affixed to a proclamation from Bourdeaux,
condemning the spirit of resistance which had shown itself, absolving
the people from all duties towards them, and exhorting them to
obedience to France. In this address, the Infantes were made to say,
that, “being deeply sensible of the attachment displayed towards them
by the Spaniards, with the utmost grief they beheld them on the point
of being plunged into anarchy, and threatened with all the dreadful
calamities consequent thereupon. Aware that these might proceed from
the ignorance in which the people were, both as to the principles of
the conduct pursued by their highnesses, and the plans formed for the
benefit of their country, they found themselves under the necessity of
making an effort to open their eyes, by salutary counsel, in order to
prevent any obstruction to the execution of those plans; and thus to
give them the dearest proof of their affection. The circumstances under
which the Prince assumed the government; the occupation of several
provinces, and of all the frontier fortresses, by French troops; the
actual presence of more than 60,000 of that nation in the capital and
its environs; and many other circumstances known only to themselves,
convinced them that, surrounded by difficulties, they had only chosen,
among various expedients, that which was likely to produce the least
evil; and, as such, they resolved upon the journey to Bayonne. On
their arrival, the Prince, then King, was unexpectedly apprised
that his father had protested against his act of abdication. Having
accepted the crown only under the impression that the abdication
was voluntary, he was no sooner informed of such a protest than his
filial duty instantly determined him to give back the throne. But a
short time after, the King his father abdicated it in his own name,
and that of his whole race, in favour of the Emperor of the French,
in order that the Emperor, consulting the good of the nation, should
determine the person and race which should hereafter occupy it. In this
state of things, considering that any attempt of the Spaniards for the
maintenance of their rights could tend only to make streams of blood
flow, and to render certain the loss of at least a great part of her
provinces, and all her colonies: ... being further convinced, that the
most effectual means of preventing these evils was, that their royal
highnesses, for themselves, and all connected with them, should assent
to the renunciation; taking also into consideration, that the Emperor
engaged, in this case, to maintain the independence and integrity of
the Spanish monarchy, and its colonies, without retaining the smallest
of its dominions for himself, or separating any part from the whole;
that he engaged to maintain the unity of the Catholic religion, the
security of property, and the continuance of the existing laws and
usages which have for so long a time preserved the power and honour
of the Spanish nation ... they conceived that they were affording the
most undoubted proof of their affection towards it, by sacrificing
their individual and personal interests for the benefit of that nation,
and by this instrument assenting, as they already had assented in a
particular treaty, to the renunciation of all their rights to the
throne.... They accordingly released the Spaniards from all their
duties in this respect, and exhorted them to consult the interest of
their country, by conducting themselves peaceably, and by looking for
their happiness to the power and wise arrangements of the Emperor
Napoleon.... The Spaniards might assure themselves that, by their zeal
to conform to those arrangements, they would give their Prince and the
two Infantes the strongest proof of loyalty, in like manner as their
royal highnesses gave them the greatest example of paternal affection,
by renouncing their rights, and sacrificing their own interests for the
happiness of the Spaniards, the sole object of their wishes.”
♦JOSEPH BUONAPARTE CHOSEN BY HIS BROTHER FOR KING OF SPAIN.♦
When the Emperor Napoleon had resolved upon dethroning the Spanish
Bourbons, it was his wish to have made Lucien Buonaparte King of
Spain, the ablest of his brethren, and the only one who was unprovided
with a kingdom. His first elevation to the consulship, which was the
passage of the Rubicon in his career, had been chiefly brought about
by Lucien’s intrepidity and talents. But Lucien, who fancied himself
the abler, as in some respects he was indeed the wiser man, had
not obtained that ascendancy in his brother’s councils to which he
thought himself in many ways entitled; as a lover of constitutional
freedom, he heartily disapproved the system which Napoleon pursued,
and was therefore in some degree estranged from him, though the bond
of fraternal feeling had not been broken. Having in his diplomatic
employments found means to amass a princely fortune, he was then
residing at Rome, happy in his family and in his pursuits, collecting
pictures, and busy in the composition of a long and elaborate poem.
This condition of honourable and enviable privacy Buonaparte hoped
he might be induced to relinquish for the throne of Spain and of
the Spanish Indies. But Lucien knew something of Spain and of the
Spaniards, whereas the Emperor had neither taken into consideration
the nature of the country nor the character of the people; and even
if the injustice and odium of the usurpation had not determined his
refusal, the insecurity of such a throne might have decided him, and
the certainty that he who accepted it must submit to be the mere
instrument of Napoleon’s ambition. The choice therefore then fell upon
his brother Joseph, who was reigning not without some popularity at
Naples, over a kingdom which had long been grievously misgoverned, and
which had submitted in fair war to the right of conquest. He too, by
Lucien’s earnest advice, declined the odious elevation; but while he
pursued his journey to Bayonne, whither he had been summoned, intending
to persist in his refusal, the Emperor, who would take no denial from
him, proceeded in his arrangements, well knowing that he would submit
to that ascendancy which so few were capable of resisting.
♦ADDRESSES FROM THE JUNTA AND THE COUNCIL OF CASTILLE TO BUONAPARTE.
MAY 13.♦
Murat, who was the person intended to succeed at Naples, intimated
to the Spanish Junta whom they were to expect for their new King,
and procured from them an address upon that subject to the Emperor.
Convinced, they said, that the condition of Spain required the
closest connexion with the political system of the empire, which he
governed with so much glory, they considered the resignation of the
Bourbons as the greatest proof of kindness to the Spanish nation which
their sovereign had ever given. “Oh! that there were no Pyrenees!”
exclaimed these sycophants and slaves. “This was the constant wish
of good Spaniards; because there could be no Pyrenees, whenever the
wants of both countries should be the same, when confidence should
be restored, and each of the two nations have received, in the same
degree, the respect due to its independence and worth. The interval
which yet separates us from this happy moment cannot now be long. Your
Imperial Majesty, who foresees all things, and executes them still
more swiftly, has chosen for the provisional government of Spain, a
Prince educated for the art of government in your own great school. He
has succeeded in stilling the boldest storms, by the moderation and
wisdom of his measures. What have we not, therefore, to hope, now
that all Spaniards unite in devoting to him that admiration to which
he has so many claims! The Spanish monarchy will resume the rank which
belongs to it among the powers of Europe, as soon as it is united by
a new family compact to its natural ally. Whoever the Prince may be
whom you destine for us, chosen from among your illustrious family,
he will bring that security which we need so much. The Spanish throne
rises to a greater height. The consequences resulting from its relation
to France, are of an importance commensurate with the extent of its
possessions. It seems, therefore, that the throne itself calls for your
Majesty’s eldest brother to govern it. Surely it is a happy presage,
that this arrangement, which nature has confirmed, so well corresponds
with the sentiments of reverence and admiration, with which the actions
of this Prince, and the wisdom of his government, had inspired us.”
The Council of Castille were implicated in the shame of this address.
Their wisdom, it was said, obliged them to give all their support to
these principles, and they united in the expression of the wish of the
Supreme Junta.
♦ADDRESS FROM THE CITY OF MADRID.
MAY 15.♦
An address was also framed in the name of the city of Madrid, to Murat,
as “Lieutenant-general of the kingdom of Spain.” “That city,” it said,
“thinking it certain that the Emperor of the French intended to place
the crown upon the head of his illustrious brother Joseph Napoleon,
King of Naples; and being distinguished for its love of its sovereigns
and its obedience to them, could not omit joining its homage to that of
the Supreme Junta and of the Council, and requested his Highness would
notify the same to the Emperor. The city also availed itself of that
opportunity to assure him of its respect and submission.” Graves could
hardly yet have been dug for those who were massacred, and the places
of execution were still covered with flakes of blood, when the existing
authorities thus fawned upon Murat, and praised his moderation: and
this address was presented in the name of the city, where mothers,
widows, and orphans, were cursing him and the tyrant his master in
every street, and well nigh in every house! ♦MAY 22.♦ A letter was
also obtained from the Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo, the last of the
Bourbons who remained in Spain. “The resignation of Charles,” he said,
“and the confirmation of that act, by the Prince and the Infantes,
imposed upon him, according to God’s will, the pleasing duty of laying
at the Emperor’s feet the assurance of his homage, fidelity, and
reverence. May your Imperial and Royal Majesty (he added) be graciously
pleased to look upon me as one of your most dutiful subjects, and
instruct me concerning your high purposes, that I may be furnished with
the means of manifesting my unfeigned and zealous submission.”
The next demand of Murat was that the Council of Castille should send a
deputation of its members to repeat what their address had expressed,
and renew their petition that the Emperor would deign to nominate the
King of Naples, Joseph Napoleon, to the throne of Spain. This also was
obeyed, the Council, like the Junta of Government, being now in a state
of habitual submission to his supreme commands. ♦ASSEMBLY OF NOTABLES
CONVOKED AT BAYONNE.♦ ♦MAY 25.♦ An Assembly of Notables was then,
first by a circular decree from Murat, and afterwards by Buonaparte
himself, in virtue of the right which had been ceded to him, convoked
to meet at Bayonne on the 15th of June, charged with the wishes, the
demands, and wants and complaints of those whom they represented, that
they might fix the bases of the new constitution by which the monarchy
was thenceforth to be governed. Till that should be effected Murat
was to continue in the exercise of his power as Lieutenant-general of
the kingdom; the course of justice was to proceed as usual, and the
existing ministers, the council of Castille, and all other authorities,
religious, civil, and military, were confirmed for as long a time as
might be necessary. ♦PROCLAMATION OF BUONAPARTE TO THE SPANIARDS.♦ This
edict was accompanied by a proclamation in that peculiar style which
Buonaparte affected: “To all who shall see these presents, health!
Spaniards, after a long agony your nation was perishing. I saw your
evils. I am about to remedy them. Your greatness, your power, are part
of mine. Your Princes have ceded to me all their rights to the crown of
the Spains. I will not reign over your provinces, but I will acquire
an eternal title to the love and gratitude of your posterity. Your
monarchy is old; my mission is to rejuvenize it. I will improve all
your institutions, and I will make you enjoy, if you will second me,
the benefits of a reformation without destruction, without disorder,
without convulsions. Spaniards, I have convoked a general assembly of
deputies from your provinces and towns. I myself well know your wishes
and your wants. Then I will lay down all my rights, and will place your
glorious crown upon the head of one who is my other self, guaranteeing
to you a constitution which conciliates the sacred and salutary
authority of the Sovereign, with the liberties and the privileges of
the people. Spaniards, remember what your fathers were; behold what
you yourselves are become! The fault is not yours, but that of the
bad administration which has governed you. Be full of hope and of
confidence in the existing circumstances, for it is my wish that your
latest descendants shall preserve my memory, and say of me, he was the
regenerator of our country.”
But these vain promises and hypocritical professions were too late.