On his arrival he perceived that Buonaparte was very ill acquainted with the real state of Spain and the spirit which possessed the Spaniards; but he perceived also, that, like the people whom he had provoked, he was fixed in his purposes, and resolute in going through with what he had once begun. Urquijo truly and fairly represented to him the general discontent, the activity of the clergy, and more especially the regulars, in exciting the nation to arms, the probability of an obstinate and bloody struggle, and the likelihood that Austria would take advantage of it to renew the war, and that Russia would not remain inactive. These representations made no impression upon Buonaparte; he let Urquijo understand that the Emperor of Russia had given his consent to the deposition of the Bourbons, and the substitution of one of his family, when the peace of Tilsit was concluded; he spoke with severe contempt of Charles and Ferdinand and their ministers, especially Godoy, who in the last transactions at Bayonne had seemed solicitous for nothing but his own pension; he said he could have no reliance upon that family; and as to the opposition of the Spaniards, he plainly declared, that if they refused to acknowledge his brother for their King, he would dismember their country, or make an absolute conquest of it. If this language had been addressed to Urquijo from a distance, a generous indignation, an honest impulse of national feeling, might have saved him from dishonour. But he was within the magician’s circle; the frankness of the Emperor made him forgive his former treachery; ... towards him there was no duplicity or reserve; and when Buonaparte said that his brother would select the best and ablest men in Spain for his ministers, and added that he reckoned upon him, ♦Nellerto. Mem. t. 2, Nos. 59, 67.♦ Urquijo confessed within himself, that though he desired repose, and foresaw danger, he should be compelled to accept of office.
♦Arrival of Joseph Buonaparte.
Mazarredo was appointed minister of the marine, Azanza minister of finance, and General Cuesta viceroy of Mexico. These appointments were made before Joseph’s arrival; and when he was within a day’s journey of Bayonne, Buonaparte issued a decree proclaiming him King of Spain and of the Indies, and guaranteeing to him the independence and integrity of his dominions in the four quarters of the world. Joseph Buonaparte was an inoffensive unaspiring man, who, if he had been permitted to continue in a private station, would have gone through life obscurely and not unworthily, loved and respected by his family and friends. He had made himself popular at Naples, though the people of that city were attached to their legitimate King; and being established there with little of the responsibility, and none of the cares of government, he very unwillingly obeyed Napoleon’s summons to Bayonne. Lucien’s advice accorded entirely with his own feelings; and he came still with an intention of refusing the crown of Spain; but Napoleon, who was sure of his obedience, cared little for his consent or inclination; and when he arrived on the evening after the proclamation, he was received as King. The Emperor went out to meet him, and brought him in great state to the Castle of Marrac. ♦The Notables receive him as King.♦ A deputation of the Grandees waited upon him, and the Duke del Infantado, at their head, assured him of the joy which they felt in presenting themselves before him. His presence, they said, was eagerly desired to fix all opinions, conciliate all interests, and re-establish that order which was necessary for the restoration of Spain. The Grandees of that country had been celebrated in all times for fidelity to their sovereign; and he would find in them the same fidelity and the same devotion. In like manner he was addressed by deputations from the Council of Castille, from the Councils of the Inquisition, the Indies, and the Treasury, and from the army. They told him the immensity of glory which was accumulated upon the head of his imperial brother had obscured that of all the heroes of antiquity; and that the choice which Napoleon had made of his august person, announced him to be endowed with those great qualities whereby thrones are supported and sceptres[40] established.
♦Address of the Notables to the Spanish nation.♦
Buonaparte required from these deputies, as their next service, an address to their countrymen, exhorting them to acknowledge the new King, and warning them of the evils of resistance, and the impossibility of making any successful opposition. “Dear Spaniards,” they said, “worthy compatriots, your families, your hearths, your fortunes, your property, your lives, are as dear and as precious to us as our own! We have been like you faithful and devoted to our former dynasty, till the term arrived which had been fixed by Providence, the absolute disposer of crowns and sceptres. The irresistible call of duty, and the desire of your welfare, has brought us to the presence of the invincible Emperor of France. We confess to you that the sight of his glory and his power might have dazzled us; yet we had determined to lay our supplications before him for the general good of our country. What was our surprise, when he prevented us, by proofs of benevolence and goodness, the more to be admired because of the greatness of his power! He has no other view than for our happiness. The sovereign whom he gives us is his august brother Joseph, whose virtues are the admiration of his subjects.” They proceeded to enumerate the blessings which he would confer upon them in the improvement of their finances, agriculture, and resources of every kind, the restoration of their military and naval strength, and the preservation of their religion in its exclusive purity. “And what,” they asked, “is the recompense which the great Emperor of the French requires from you in circumstances so important to the whole nation? That you remain quiet; that you take care of your families and your own concerns; that you do not abandon yourselves blindly to the dreadful disorders which are inseparable from popular commotions; that you wait with peaceable confidence that melioration of your fortune which you may expect from a virtuous monarch. Spaniards, look to yourselves and to your innocent children! What fruit can you hope to reap from the disturbances which rashness and malevolence are exciting? Anarchy is the severest of all chastisements which the Almighty inflicts upon mankind. No one disputes your courage; but without direction, without order, without unanimity, all efforts will be vain. The most numerous forces that you can embody would disappear before disciplined soldiers like smoke before the wind. Flatter not yourselves with the thought of possible success in such a contest; it is unequal in means if not in valour; you must be overcome, and then all would be lost. There is no safety for the state but in uniting ourselves with all our hearts to the new government, and assisting it in the work of regenerating the country. We are come to a miserable situation, brought to it by the capricious, indolent, unjust government under which we have lived for the last twenty years. It remains for us all to submit, and each to co-operate in his place for the formation of a new one, upon principles which will be the security of our liberties and rights and property. This is the desire of the invincible Napoleon, who occupies himself for our good, who wishes to deserve well of our nation, and to be called by our descendants the regenerator of Spain.”
♦Proclamation of the intrusive King.
The men who prepared this address to their countrymen, in obedience to Buonaparte’s commands, must have known with what scorn and indignation it would be received. The first act of the intrusive King was not likely to diminish those feelings; it was a decree in which, premising that he had accepted the cession of the crown of Spain made in his favour by his well-beloved brother the Emperor Napoleon the First, he nominated Murat for his Lieutenant-general. If Napoleon had considered the interest of his brother he would rather have recalled Murat with some implied displeasure, as if in putting so many Spaniards to death after the insurrection, he had acted with needless and unauthorized severity: but he had determined upon reducing the people to submission by intimidation and force. Joseph announced his accession by a proclamation of the same date. In opening to him so vast a career, Providence, he said, without doubt had judged of his intentions, and would enable him to provide for the happiness of the generous people whom it confided to his care. Aided by the clergy, the nobles, and the people, he hoped to renew the time when the whole world was full of the glory of the Spanish name. Above all, he desired to establish tranquillity and happiness in the bosom of every family by a wise social organization. The spirit of his government would be to improve the public good with the least possible injury to individual interests. It was for the Spaniards that he reigned, not for himself.
♦The Bishop of Orense’s reply to his summons.♦