1808 in France
See also: 1807 in France, other events of 1808, 1809 in France.
Events from the year 1808 in France.
Events
- 22 January - The Bragança Portuguese Royal Family arrives in Brazil, having fled the French army.
- 2 February - French troops occupy Papal States (Vatican).
- February - Under the pretext of reinforcing the Franco-Spanish army occupying Portugal, French troops begin filing into Spain.
- 29 February - A French column, disguised as a convoy of wounded, takes Barcelona by convincing the authorities to open the city's gates.
- 23 March - Madrid is occupied by French forces.
- 2 May - Dos de Mayo Uprising, the people of Madrid rebel against the occupation of the city by French troops, provoking a brutal repression by the French.
- 5 May - Napoleon forces the Spanish royals to abdicate and hands the throne to his brother Joseph.
- 25 May - Asturias rises up in arms, casting out its French governor.
- 4 June - Peninsular War: Battle of El Bruc, Spanish victory over French forces.
- 12 June - Peninsular War: Battle of Cabezón, decisive French victory over Spanish forces.
- 15 June - Peninsular War: Siege of Saragossa begins, as French forces repeatedly attack the city.
- 14 July - Peninsular War: Battle of Medina del Rio Seco, crushing defeat of Spanish army by the French.
- 18 July-22 July - Peninsular War: Battle of Bailén, Spanish forces surround the French and compel the surrender of almost 18,000 men, the worst disaster and capitulation of the war.
- 30 July - Peninsular War: French forces massacre the population of Évora.
- 13 August - Peninsular War: Siege of Saragossa ends in defeat for the French who were forced to lift the siege and retreat.
- 17 August - Peninsular War: Battle of Roliça, British victory over the French, first battle fought by the British army during the war.
- 20 August - Peninsular War: Battle of Vimeiro, Anglo-Portuguese victory over French forces.
- 30 August - Peninsular War: Convention of Sintra signed, by which the defeated French are allowed to evacuate their troops from Portugal without further conflict.
- 27 September - Congress of Erfurt, between Emperor Napoleon I and Tsar Alexander I begins.
- 14 October - Congress of Erfurt ends.
- 31 October - Peninsular War: Battle of Pancorbo, indecisive battle between French and Spanish forces.
- 5 November - Peninsular War: Battle of Valmaseda, Spanish victory over French forces.
- 7 November - Peninsular War: Battle of Burgos, French victory over Spanish forces.
- 10 November-11 November - Peninsular War: Battle of Espinosa, French victory over Spanish forces.
- 23 November - Peninsular War: Battle of Tudela, French victory over Spanish forces.
- 30 November - Peninsular War: Battle of Somosierra, outnumbered Spanish force fails to prevent Napoleon from moving on Madrid.
- 1 December - Peninsular War: French patrols reach the outskirts of Madrid.
- 4 December - Peninsular War: Madrid surrenders and French enter the city for the second time that year.
- 21 December - Peninsular War: Battle of Sahagún, British victory over French forces.
Births
January to June
- 4 February - Charles-Pierre Denonvilliers, surgeon (d.1872).
- 26 February - Honoré Daumier, printmaker, caricaturist, painter and sculptor (d.1879).
- 20 March - Antoine Étex, sculptor, painter and architect (d.1888).
- 20 April - Napoleon III of France, first President of the French Republic and the only emperor of the Second French Empire (d.1873).
- 15 May - Marie Dominique Bouix, Jesuit canon lawyer (d.1870).
- 22 May - Gérard de Nerval, poet, essayist and translator (d.1855).
- 30 May - Felix-Joseph Barbelin, Jesuit influential in the development of the Catholic community in Philadelphia (d.1869).
- 8 June - Etienne-Paulin Gagne, poet, essayist, lawyer, politician, inventor, and eccentric (d.1876).
- 13 June - Patrice de Mac-Mahon, duc de Magenta, general and politician, first president of the Third Republic (d.1893).
July to December
Deaths
References