♦Ferdinand is required to renounce the throne for himself and all his family.♦
Ferdinand was not long suffered to remain uncertain of his fate. Buonaparte, as if to prove to the world the absolute callousness of his heart, ... as if he derived an unnatural pleasure in acting the part of the deceiver, ... invited him to dinner, ... sent his carriage for him, ... came to the coach steps to receive him, ... again embraced him, and led him in by the hand. Ferdinand sate at the same table with him as a friend, a guest, and an ally; and no sooner had he returned to his own residence, than General Savary, the same man who, by persuasions and solemn protestations, had lured him on from Madrid, came to inform him of the Emperor’s irrevocable determination, that the Bourbon dynasty should no longer reign in Spain; that it was to be succeeded by the Buonapartes; and therefore, Ferdinand was required, in his own name, and that of all his family, to renounce the crown of Spain and of the Indies in their favour.
♦Conversation between Buonaparte and Escoiquiz.♦
On the following evening Escoiquiz was summoned to Buonaparte’s cabinet in the Palace of Marrac, which had been built as a residence for the Queen-dowager, Mariana of Neuburg, widow of that poor prince Charles II. A curious conversation ensued. The Corsican began by saying, that from the character which he had heard of this canon, he had long wished to talk with him respecting Ferdinand. “All Europe,” said he, “has its eyes upon us. My armies being at this time in Spain, it will be believed that the violent proceedings at Aranjuez, which have given to all courts the evil example of a son conspiring against his father and dethroning him, were my work. I must avoid this imputation, and make the world see that I am not capable of supporting an attempt equally unjust and scandalous. Consequently I could never consent to acknowledge Prince Ferdinand as King of Spain, unless his father, who has sent in a formal protest against the pretended abdication, should in full liberty renew that abdication in his favour. But on the other hand, the interests of my empire require that the house of Bourbon, which I must ever regard as the implacable enemy of mine, should no longer reign in Spain. This is your interest also; rid of a dynasty whose latter kings have caused all those evils by which the nation is so exasperated, it will enjoy a better constitution under a new race; and being by these means intimately connected with France, it will be always secure of the friendship of the only power whose enmity could endanger it. Charles himself, knowing the inability of his sons to hold the reins of government in times so difficult, is ready to cede to me his own rights and those of his family. I will therefore no longer suffer the Bourbon family to reign; but for the esteem which I bear toward Ferdinand, who with so much confidence has come to visit me, I will recompense him and his brothers as far as possible for what my political interests require that they should lose in their own country. Let him cede all his claims to the crown of Spain, and I will give him that of Etruria, in full sovereignty for himself and his heirs male in perpetuity, and advance him as a donation a year’s revenue of that state, to establish himself in it. I will give him also my niece in marriage. If this proposition be accepted, the treaty shall immediately be made with all solemnities; but if not, I will then treat with the father, and neither the Prince nor his brothers shall be admitted as parties, nor can they expect the slightest compensation. To the Spanish nation I shall secure their independence and total integrity under the new dynasty, with the preservation of their religion, laws, and customs; for I want nothing for myself from Spain, not even a village. If your Prince does not like this proposal, and chooses to return to Spain, he is free! he may go when he pleases! but he and I must fix a time for his journey, after which hostilities shall commence between us.”
Escoiquiz replied to this extraordinary speech by entering into an elaborate apology for the transactions at Aranjuez, to which Buonaparte listened with great patience, observing only from time to time, that however these arguments might appear to those persons who were intimately acquainted with the character of Charles and his Queen, it must ever be impossible to make the rest of the world believe that an abdication made under such circumstances of public and notorious force, was in any thing different from a deposal. But be that as it might, the interests of his house and of his empire required that the Bourbons should no longer reign in Spain; and then, Escoiquiz says, taking him by the ear, and pulling it with the best humour in the world, he added, “If all which you say were true, canon, I should still repeat ... bad policy. Exposed as I am every moment to a renewal of the war in the north, I should never have my back secure while the Bourbons occupied that throne; and Spain, with a man of talent at its head, could give me the greatest annoyance.” The canon again entered into a long reply, showing how completely the court of Spain had abandoned the Bourbons of France and of Naples, imputing the wish to join with Prussia wholly to Godoy, and observing that a marriage into the august imperial family would secure the attachment of Ferdinand. All Europe, he said, had fixed their eyes upon Bayonne; the Spaniards were looking with inconceivable impatience for the return of their young and beloved monarch, flattering themselves that Buonaparte would be to him both as father and mother, ... for it had been Ferdinand’s fate only to know his parents by the unnatural hatred which they had borne towards him. There would be no bounds to their gratitude, if, according to his imperial promise, he should honour the capital with his presence, bringing back with him the young King. The whole nation would receive him on their knees, would bless him, and would never forget his goodness; and Spain, thus restored to strength, would become a more efficient ally to France than she had ever yet been, and afford her the only means for reducing England to reason. But if the Emperor persisted in his present intentions the Spaniards would vow an inextinguishable hatred against him. Experience might show how deeply such feelings took root in the Spanish heart. An age had now elapsed since the war of the succession, and yet the rancour which had then been felt in Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia, against the Bourbon family, against France, and even against the Castilians, had never been wholly allayed till the recent accession of Ferdinand. But if this feeling had arisen in a question merely of doubtful right, what would it be if the people saw themselves deprived of a King whom they adored, to have a stranger set over them in his place? The Spaniards must be exterminated before such a King could be established upon his throne.
To this Buonaparte replied, that he was assured of the only power which could give him any uneasiness; the Emperor of Russia, to whom he had imparted his plans at Tilsit, having approved of, and given his word not to oppose them. As for the Spaniards themselves, they would make little or no opposition. The nobles and the rich would certainly remain quiet for fear of losing their property, and would exert all their influence to quiet the people. The clergy and the friars, whom he would make responsible for any disorder, would for their own sake, and for the like motives, do the same. The populace might excite tumults here and there, but a few severe chastisements would make them return to their duty. Countries in which there were many friars were easily subdued; ... he had had experience of this: and if the opposition were general, the result must be the same, even if it should be necessary to sacrifice 200,000 men. Escoiquiz made answer, that in that case the new dynasty would be placed upon a volcano; ... 200,000 or 300,000 men would be required to keep the provinces down, and the Monarch would reign in the midst of carcasses and ruins, over a race of indignant slaves, ready upon the slightest occasion to break their chains. And of what utility would such an alliance prove? Spain, ruined, deserted, and deprived of her colonies, would become a burden to France. Buonaparte upon this observed, that the canon was proceeding too fast in taking it for granted that Spain would lose her colonies: he on his part had well-founded hopes of preserving them. “Do not suppose,” said he, “that I have been sleeping. I have communications with Spanish America, and have sent frigates to those coasts to maintain them.” Escoiquiz replied, that America even now was held by no other bond than the slight thread of habit; the least disgust, even under Ferdinand himself, would break the connexion, and beyond all doubt the whole of the colonies would separate themselves from the mother country rather than acknowledge the new dynasty. What too would be the effect of such a measure upon the European powers, and how might England be expected to act? Would not England regard it as the most favourable of all events? would it not at once open the whole commerce of America to her, and with the treasure from thence derived, enable her to purchase all the people of Europe, and arm them against France: and even to stir up domestic movements against the Emperor, which would be yet more perilous, for money was the most powerful of engines? Buonaparte then put an end to the conference by observing that they did not agree in the principles upon which they reasoned; that he would think again upon the matter, and on the morrow communicate his irrevocable determination.
♦Second conference with Escoiquiz.♦
On the morrow accordingly Escoiquiz was again summoned, and the irrevocable determination was announced that the Bourbon dynasty must cease to reign upon the Spanish throne: that if Ferdinand would accede to the proposed exchange, Etruria should be given him; but that if he refused, the King his father would make the cession, Etruria would remain annexed to France, and he would lose all compensation. Escoiquiz, after touching again upon his yesterday’s argument, began to lament the disgrace which would fall upon the advisers of Ferdinand, and especially upon himself as being supposed to have most influence with him. For even, he said, if it should be known that the Prince, before he consulted them, had determined upon this journey, and yielding to the solicitations of the embassador had given his word to set out, the nation would always accuse them for not having dissuaded him from it. Buonaparte seems in these conferences to have considered Escoiquiz not as a statesman, but as a good easy man of letters, whom a little flattery would win to his wishes. He argued with him, therefore, in the same temper as on the preceding day; and giving him another pull by the ear, said to him at last with a smile, “So, then, canon, you will not enter into my ideas.” The canon replied, “On the contrary, I wish with all my heart that your Majesty would enter into mine, ... though it should be at the cost of my ears,”—for the Emperor was pulling there somewhat too forcibly.
♦Cevallos is required to discuss the terms of renunciation with M. Champagny.♦
But Buonaparte, when he found that Ferdinand was not to be cajoled into the cession, laid by the semblance of these gracious manners, and proceeded in the temper of a tyrant to effect the usurpation which he had begun. Cevallos was now summoned to the palace, to discuss the terms of the renunciation with the French minister for foreign affairs, M. Champagny. The Spaniard assumed a firm and manly tone; he complained of the perfidy which had been practised, protested in Ferdinand’s name against the violence done to his person, in not permitting him to return to Spain; and, as a final answer to the Emperor’s demand, declared that the King neither could nor would renounce his crown; he could not prejudice the individuals of his own family, who were called to the succession by the fundamental laws of the kingdom: still less could he consent to the establishment of another dynasty, it being the right of the Spanish nation to elect another family whenever the present should become extinct.