Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
But the Creoles still were not quite ready for revolution. Something
spectacular was needed in order to overcome the natural conservatism
of the colonial elites. It occurred in 1807 and 1808, when Napoléon's
armies invaded the Iberian Peninsula.
Napoléon in Iberia
In November 1807, Napoléon sought to protect Europe from his British
enemies by striking at Britain's ally, Portugal. The ministers of the
Portuguese royal court escaped and fled to Brazil under the protection
of a British naval escort, and the Portuguese royal family converted Rio
de Janeiro from a viceregal to an imperial capital. The trade of Portugal's
British allies enjoyed preferential status in Brazil, and imports of
English manufactured goods and the exports of Brazilian cotton, sugar,
and coffee prospered.
Politics were not so tranquil in the Spanish Americas, however,
especially after Napoléon turned on his incompetent ally. He invaded
Spain and imprisoned the entire Spanish royal family. French troops
overran much of the Iberian Peninsula and installed Napoléon's
brother as King Joseph of Spain. The once-powerful Spain was
reduced to occupation by foreign troops, and its once-autocratic and
omnipotent monarchs to captivity. Imperial Spain had become rotten
and weak over the course of three centuries and had mismanaged the
riches of its empire. The corruption and depravity of Spanish offi-
cials in the colonies undermined the imperial base beyond remedy.
Resistance in Spain, however, came ferociously from commoners who
carried out a bitter and bloody guerrilla war against the invading
French forces. The one country that rose to support Spain in its rebel-
lion against the occupation of its former ally, France, was its longtime
enemy, Great Britain. British warships and troops ultimately helped
Spanish guerrilla forces drive the French from Spain.
Elite Unrest in Spanish America
In the Río de la Plata, news of the capture of the Spanish king by French
troops made all the difference. The breach widened between Spanish-
born and native-born whites. It was a fairly rapid deterioration that
undid once and for all those ties of family, mutual economic benefit,
fear of domination by nonwhites, and allegiance to the king that had
bound together the Spaniards and the Creoles.
