ABSTRACT
In deciding to overthrow the Bourbons, Napoleon had been convinced that Spain would at worst witness only sporadic disorders but in this he was seriously mistaken. The whole of the Napoleonic empire suffered from the grievances that have just been outlined, resistance being widespread. Resistance could take many forms and for a variety of reasons it was far more likely to be passive than it was to be violent. To the extent that popular resistance assumed a military form, then, it therefore hardly marked the emergence of a new spirit in Europe. To quote Herbert Fisher, ‘The Spanish rising was the first example of a long series of popular and nationalist movements which ultimately shattered the Napoleonic empire.’ Although resistance broke out in the immediate aftermath of the French invasion of Naples early in 1806, there had been little reason to expect any great display of loyalty.
