♦August.
A month after the peace of Tilsit had been concluded, the French and Spanish embassadors jointly informed the court of Lisbon that it must shut its ports to England, arrest the English subjects, and confiscate the English property in Portugal, or expose itself to an immediate war with France and Spain; if these propositions were not complied with, they were instructed to leave the country in three weeks. Without waiting for the reply, Buonaparte seized the Portugueze ships in his harbours. The crisis was now manifestly at hand; there no longer remained a hope of purchasing farther respite, and in the state to which the army had been reduced by long misrule, resistance was not thought of. The court of Portugal was weak even to helplessness, but it had the advantage of perfectly understanding the character of the two powers between which it was compelled to choose; knowing that every forbearance might be expected on the part of England, and on the part of France every thing that was oppressive and iniquitous. ♦Middle course proposed by the Portugueze government.♦ In full reliance therefore upon the justice and long tried friendship of Great Britain, the Prince informed the French government that he would consent to shut his ports, but that neither his principles of morality nor of religion would permit him to seize the persons and property of the British subjects, in violation of treaties and of the law of nations. At the same time the English were apprized that they would do well to wind up their affairs as speedily as possible, and leave the kingdom. A Portugueze squadron happened to be cruising against the Algerines, and the necessity of keeping on good terms with England till this should have re-entered the Tagus, was urged as a reason for temporising awhile, to which Buonaparte, eager as he was for ships, was likely to listen more readily than to any other plea. ♦Champagny’s report, in L. Goldsmith, v. iii. p. 253–255.♦ It was held out to him also, that as hostilities must be expected from England in case the rigour of the terms upon which France insisted were enforced, it would be prudent to send out the young Prince of Beira to Brazil, while the seas were still open, that his presence might secure the fidelity of the colonies.
♦Preparation for occupying Portugal.♦
The Portugueze ministers at Paris and Madrid have been accused of having betrayed their country at this time; more probably they were deceived and perplexed, and knew not how to advise; and thus the Portugueze government was left to act without any other information of the proceedings of the two hostile courts, than what it obtained from common rumour, or through the circuitous channel of England. Buonaparte’s intention was to secure the persons of the royal family if possible, but at all events to take possession of Portugal: this point was essential to his ulterior views. For this purpose a force had been collected under the title of the Army of Observation of the Gironde, ... a title which may have been intended to intimidate the government of Spain, for it was not even pretended that France could have any danger to apprehend in that quarter. Junot, who had been embassador at Lisbon, was appointed to the command, and he was on the way to Bayonne before the term expired which had been allowed to Portugal to choose its part. The Prince was prepared to make every sacrifice of interest and of feeling, so he might thereby save the country from an attack: the misery which the expulsion of the English, and the consequent loss of a flourishing and extensive commerce, must bring upon Lisbon and upon the whole kingdom, was yet less dreadful than the horrors of invasion at a time when defence appeared impracticable. He determined therefore, at the last, to comply with the demands of the besotted court of Spain, and of the tyrant who directed its suicidal measures, but not till the last. The French and Spanish legations were suffered to retire, because nothing but the last extremity could induce him, even in appearance, to commit an act of cruelty toward the English. ♦The French and Spanish embassadors leave Lisbon.♦ When these legations withdrew, the British residents were at the same time preparing with all speed for their compulsory departure: and so little did the Prince feel assured that he could preserve the country in peace by total submission to the iniquitous terms which were pressed upon it, that circular instructions were dispatched to the bishops and the heads of the religious orders, requiring them to register the plate of the churches, and send it to Lisbon or other places appointed for security.
♦Secret treaty of Fontainebleau.♦
While the Prince and his ministers were in this state of lamentable suspense, a secret treaty between France and Spain for the partition of Portugal was signed at Fontainebleau. By this extraordinary treaty, the King of Etruria ceding his Italian possessions in full and entire sovereignty to Buonaparte, was to have the province of Entre Minho e Douro, with the city of Porto for its capital, erected into a kingdom for him, under the title of Northern Lusitania. Alentejo and Algarve were in like manner to be given to Godoy[16], in entire property and sovereignty, with the title of Prince of the Algarves; the other Portugueze provinces were to be held in sequestration till a general peace, at which time, if they were restored to the house of Braganza, in exchange for Gibraltar, Trinidad, and other colonies which the English had conquered, the new sovereign was, like the King of Northern Lusitania and the Prince of the Algarves, to hold his dominions by investiture from the King of Spain, to acknowledge him as protector, and never to make peace or war without his consent. The two contracting powers were to agree upon an equal partition of the colonial possessions of Portugal; and Buonaparte engaged to recognize his Catholic Majesty as Emperor of the Two Americas, when every thing should be ready for his assuming that title, which might be either at a general peace, or at farthest within three years therefrom; and he guaranteed to him the possession of his dominions on the continent of Europe south of the Pyrenees.
A secret convention, which was concluded at the same time, agreed upon the means for carrying this nefarious treaty into effect. Twenty-five thousand French infantry and 3000 cavalry were to enter Spain, and march directly for Lisbon; they were to be joined by 8000 Spanish infantry and 3000 cavalry, with 30 pieces of artillery. At the same time 10,000 Spanish troops were to take possession of the province between the Minho and Douro, and the city of Porto; and 6000 were to enter Alentejo and Algarve. The French troops were to be maintained by Spain upon their march. As soon as they had entered the country (for no opposition was expected), the government of each portion of the divided territory was to be vested in the Generals commanding, and the contributions imposed thereon accrue to their respective courts. The central body was to be under the orders of the French Commander-in-chief. Nevertheless, if either the King of Spain, or the Prince of the Peace, should think fit to join the Spanish troops attached to that army, the French, with the General commanding them, should be subject to his orders. Another body of 40,000 French troops was to be assembled at Bayonne, by the 20th of November at the latest, to be ready to proceed to Portugal, in case the English should send reinforcements there, or menace it with an attack. This army, however, was not to enter Spain till the two contracting parties had come to an agreement upon that point.
This nefarious treaty, whereby the two contracting powers disposed of the dominions of two other sovereigns, with whom the one was connected by the nearest and closest ties of relationship and alliance, and both were at peace, was carried on with a secresy worthy of the transaction. D. Eugenio Izquierdo, an agent of Godoy’s, was employed to negotiate it unknown to the Spanish embassador in France, and the whole business is said to have been concealed from the ministers[17] in both countries. It was signed on the 27th of October. The convoy with the English factory on board had sailed from the Tagus on the 18th, and never had a day of such political calamity and general sorrow been known in Lisbon since the tidings arrived of the loss of Sebastian and his army. ♦The English residents expelled from Lisbon.♦ Their departure was followed by a proclamation for the exclusion of British commerce: it had ever, the Prince said, been his desire to observe the most perfect neutrality during the present contest; ♦Edict for the exclusion of British commerce. Oct. 22.♦ but that being no longer possible, and having reflected at the same time how beneficial a general peace would be to humanity, he had thought proper to accede to the cause of the Continent by uniting himself to the Emperor of the French and the Catholic King, in order to contribute as far as might be in his power to the acceleration of a maritime peace. Whatever hopes he might have indulged of satisfying France by this measure were soon dissipated, when the Portugueze embassadors at Paris and Madrid, having been formally dismissed, arrived at Lisbon. The former of these, D. Lourenço de Lima, is said to have travelled night and day, for the purpose of dissuading the Prince from removing to Brazil, ... a measure which the French apprehended, and which of all others would oppose the greatest obstacles to their projects. D. Lourenço is said to have represented that this step would make him the victim of the perfidious counsel of England, and at the same time provoke the utmost wrath of the great Napoleon. That emperor, he assured the Prince, had the highest respect for his virtues, and harboured no hostile intentions against him: he would be completely satisfied if Portugal would only sequester the British property, and arrest the few British subjects who remained. To this last sacrifice the Prince now consented, trusting to the generosity of England, and probably also, as has been well observed by a Portugueze historian, ♦Neves, i. 151.♦ secretly resolving to indemnify the sufferers whenever it should be possible, ... for this is consistent with his character. ♦Edict for registering the persons and property of the English.♦ Under these feelings he issued an edict for registering all English persons and property which were still to be found in his dominions. The order was reluctantly given, and leniently carried into effect; but it compelled the British minister, Lord Strangford, to take down the arms of Great Britain from his house: ♦The British minister leaves Lisbon.♦ he demanded his passports, and went off to a squadron under Sir Sidney Smith, which had been ordered to cruise off the mouth of the Tagus, and Lisbon was then declared to be blockaded.
♦November.