Joseph Ier et les afrancesados
Xavier Abeberry Magescas
The afrancesados ministers encouraged Joseph Bonaparte to pay lip service to Napoleon’s proclamations on the regeneration, integrity and independence of Spain after the change of dynasty. But in the face of resistance from the patriotic camp, it was the “conquest” of Spain by the imperial army that alone enabled Joseph to remain on the throne. Contrary to the advice of a French party assembled with the support of Laforest among ministers and counsellors of state, he refused to bow to the demands of the Napoleonic federative system and attempted in vain to raise his own army. He managed to avoid the annexation of part of the country, but at the cost of its militarisation. His political experience prompted him to appoint a Council of state and table a great deal of legislative activity, though the non-implementation of the decrees prevented him from winning the hearts of his subjects.