ABDICATION OF CHARLES IV
Como los achaques de que adolezco no me permiten soportar por mas tiempo el grave peso del gobierno de mis reinos, y me sea preciso para reparar mi salud gozar en un clima mas templado de la tranquilidad de la vida privada, he determinado despues de la mas seria deliberacion abdicar mi corona en mi heredero y mi muy caro hijo el príncipe de Asturias. Por tanto es mi real voluntad que sea reconocido y obedecido como rey y señor natural de todos mis reinos y dominios. Y para que este mi real decreto de libre y espontánea abdicacion tenga su éxito y debido cumplimiento, lo comunicareis al consejo y demas á quien corresponda.
Dado en Aranjuez, á 19 de marzo de 1808.
Yo el rey.
A Don Pedro Cevallos.
V
THE SPANISH ARMY IN 1808
[Mainly from the table in Arteche, vol. i, Appendix 9.]
N.B.—The numbers are taken from returns made on various days between March and June, 1808. They include only rank and file. The officers should have been ninety-eight to a regiment of guards, seventy to a line regiment, forty-one to a light battalion, thirty-four to a militia battalion, forty-two to a cavalry regiment. But most corps were under strength in officers, no less than in men, in June, 1808, and Arteche, giving every regiment of infantry a complete staff of officers, is clearly over-estimating them. He gives e.g. 2,450 officers of line infantry, the possible maximum, while the Estado Militar for 1808 gives only 1,521 present; so with the militia he gives 1,887 officers, while apparently there were only 1,230 actually existing. It would seem that his gross total of 7,222 officers ought to be cut down to 5,911. For the rank and file we get:—