Goya, an account of his life and worksCalvert, Albert Frederick
History
Goya, an account of his life and works
Calvert, Albert Frederick
Goya, Francisco, 1746-1828
In 1803 Goya was fifty-seven years old. The corruption in high places,
against which he had hurled his darts, was fast driving Spain into the
grasp of the world-power which was menacing all Europe. Napoleon’s
ambitious designs embraced the mastership of the Peninsula, and he was
already maturing his plans to that end. In 1803 the English and French
were again at war. Napoleon demanded, under the treaty of St. Ildefonso,
that Spain should declare war against England. Godoy strove fiercely to
resist the will of the tyrant. Napoleon ordered the dismissal of Godoy.
Spain purchased her neutrality in hard cash, and Godoy was retained. In
1804 Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor, and the neutrality of the
Spaniards was reduced to such a farce beneath the grinding importunities
of the imperial ally that Pitt declared war against Spain in December of
that year. The battle of Trafalgar was fought on October 21, 1805, but
before the end of the year Napoleon had entered Vienna and won the
battle of Austerlitz. Before the awful menace of his growing power,
Godoy sued for the favour of the conqueror in gold drawn from the
Spanish funds. The Emperor accepted the money without relaxing his
animus against the despised favourite, who was forced to approach
England with proposals for an anti-French coalition. His overtures were
ignored. The Queen and the King heaped new honours upon the Prince of
the Peace, but his end and that of his august patrons was near.
Ferdinand’s party was working the country into a ferment of hatred
against Godoy, and Napoleon’s inflexible aversion sealed his doom. In
1807 Ferdinand truckled to the ‘Scourge of Europe’ by asking for a lady
of Napoleon’s family for a wife, while Godoy urged upon Napoleon the
occupation of Portugal as a preliminary to the introduction of French
troops into Spain. In October 1807 Portugal proving refractory, Junot
and a strong force encamped on Spanish soil and were made welcome by the
Prince of the Asturias and the Prince of the Peace, both of whom
regarded the invasion of the French as a friendly move, in support of
their respective interests.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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