War of the Oranges

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The Guerra das Laranjas (en: War of the Oranges)was a brief conflict in 1801 in which France and Spain fought against Portugal.

In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte and his ally, Spanish minister Manuel de Godoy ultimatively demanded Portugal, British ally since the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373, to enter into an alliance with France in the war against Britain and to cede to France the major part of its national territory. Portugal refused, and in April of 1801 French troops arrived in Portugal. On May 20 they were bolstered by Spanish troops under the command of Manuel de Godoy. In a battle that was disastrous for Portugal, Godoy took the town of Olivenza, near the Spanish frontier. Following his victory, Godoy picked oranges at nearby Elvas and sent them to the Queen of Spain with the message that he would proceed to Lisbon. Thus, the conflict became known as the War of the Oranges.

In June 1801, after Olivenza, Portugal negotiated a treaty with France and Spain called the Peace of Badajoz. Portugal agreed to close its ports to British ships, pay France an indemnity of 15 million livres tournoises, accept the Guiana borders as far as the mouth of the River Arawani, in favor of France, and cede Olivença on a 'perpetual' basis to Spain. The peace treaty stipulated that the breach of any of its articles would lead to its cancellation.

After the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, in which the French lost to Britain, the government of Portugal restored relations with its old ally. This led to the Peninsular War, in which France declared the Peace of Badajoz treaty cancelled, again marching on Portugal from 1807 to 1810.

[edit] References

• War of the Oranges. In Encyclopædia Britannica, 2005 (Encyclopædia Britannica Premium).