Bayonne dynastic crisis: Ferdinand VII's abdication and the Bayonne Statute

Background. Following the Mutiny of Aranjuez of 17 March 1808, which removed the king's minister Manuel de Godoy, Charles IV abdicated on 19 March 1808 after a popular riot at Aranjuez. On 5 May 1808, Charles IV renounced his rights to the Spanish Crown in favor of Napoleon. Ferdinand VII abdicated on 6 May 1808, opening the way for Napoleon to designate a new monarch for Spain.

Abdication and Transfer. Ferdinand VII abdicated on 6 May 1808, and Napoleon thereafter kept him under guard in France for six years at the Château de Valençay. On 4 June 1808 Napoleon designated his brother Joseph as king of Spain, and Joseph was proclaimed king at Madrid on 25 July. After the Battle of Bailén proved that the Spanish could resist the French, the Council of Castile reversed itself and declared null and void the abdications of Bayonne on 11 August 1808.

Bayonne Statute. The Bayonne Statute, also known as the Bayonne Constitution or Charter, was approved in Bayonne, France, on 6 July 1808. It served as the intended basis for Joseph Bonaparte's rule as King of Spain. Few provisions were implemented due to the ongoing Peninsular War, which consumed Joseph's reign with conventional and guerrilla warfare.

Political Consequences. Joseph's arrival as a foreign sovereign sparked a massive Spanish revolt against French rule and the beginning of the Peninsular War. Ferdinand VII reigned as a prisoner of Napoleon, in absentia, or without effective sovereignty during the period of Spanish liberalism from 1808 to 1813. On 14 January 1809, the British government acknowledged Ferdinand VII as king of Spain.