But at the same time there was that portion of the Spanish population that supported the French (one of them being Goya) and in the areas the French did pacify the local governments had considerable autonomy. What else has to be taken into consideration is the nature of Spain itself which may or may not have been a 'unified' country under the Bourbon monarchy. Catalonia certainly was separatist in nature with its own language and the manner in which Spain had been governed under the Bourbons was interesting and deserves a study in itself.

Ireland was conquered by the British and was treated as a conquered country, especially for the Catholic majority. I would suggest that the terms 'legal' and 'recgonized' regarding the governments of the time takes in considerable latitude. There's a reason many Irishmen left to fight for other countries especially against the British. Then we can always go back a little and discuss the treatment of Scotland after the '45...especially the use of German mercenaries as the British did against the Americans from 1776-1783.

Sincerely,
Kevin