Dos de Mayo Uprising

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Dos de Mayo
Part of the
Spain
40°25′N 3°42′W / 40.417°N 3.700°W / 40.417; -3.700
Result

French victory

Belligerents First French Empire France
Spain
Commanders and leaders First French Empire Joachim Murat
Casualties and losses 31 killed, wounded or captured[1]
150 dead[2]
31 dead, 114 wounded[3] 200 killed, wounded or captured[1]
200 dead, 200 wounded, 300 executed[3]
Peninsular war
: Spain
200km
125miles
Toulouse
12
Battle of Toulouse (1814) on 10 April 1814
Vitoria
11
Battle of Vitoria on 21 June 1813
Tordesillas
10
Battle of Tordesillas (1812) from 25 to 29 October 1812
Burgos
9
Siege of Burgos from 19 September to 21 October 1812
Salamanca
8
Battle of Salamanca on 22 July 1812
Ciudad
7
Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1812) from 7 to 20 January 1812
Talavera
6
Battle of Talavera on 27–28 July 1809
Corunna
5
Battle of Corunna on 16 January 1809
Tudela
4
Battle of Tudela on 23 November 1808
Bailén
3
Battle of Bailén from 16 to 19 July 1808
Valencia
2
Battle of Valencia from 26 to 28 June 1808
Madrid
1
Map
  current battle
  Wellington in command
  Wellington not in command

The Dos de Mayo or Second of May Uprising took place in Madrid, Spain, on 2–3 May 1808. The rebellion, mainly by civilians, with some isolated military action[4] by junior officers, was against the occupation of the city by French troops, and was violently repressed by the French Imperial forces,[5] with hundreds of public executions.

Background

Pedro Velarde takes his last stand
.

The city had been under the occupation of

Ferdinand VII, and at the time of the uprising both were in the French city of Bayonne at the insistence of Napoleon. An attempt by the French general Joachim Murat to move Charles IV's daughter and her children along with his youngest son to Bayonne sparked a rebellion.[7]

Social aspects

The Dos de Mayo was among the few spontaneous popular uprisings of the war, launched without significant fore-planning, funding, or leadership by government elites. While elements within the Spanish military and state bureaucracy did envision military action to expel the French from the country, Murat's hold on Madrid was held to be unassailable in the short term. The two most senior uniformed leaders involved in the Dos de Mayo, Daoíz and Velarde y Santillán, were caught unprepared by the actions of the laboring poor: Velarde, a 28-year-old artillery captain, was secretly plotting a campaign elsewhere in the country, but considered a direct attack on the Spanish capital impractical – drawn to the sound of gunfire, he joined the fighting contrary to his own military instinct, and would perish leading the defense of the Monteleón artillery barracks.[8]

Beginning of the uprising

On 2 May a crowd began to gather in front of the Royal Palace in Madrid. Those gathered entered the palace grounds in an attempt to prevent the removal of Francisco de Paula. Marshal Murat sent a battalion of grenadiers from the Imperial Guard to the palace along with artillery detachments. The latter opened fire on the assembled crowd, and the rebellion began to spread to other parts of the city.[3]

What followed was street fighting in different areas of Madrid as the poorly armed population confronted the French troops. Murat had quickly moved the majority of his troops into the city and there was heavy fighting around the

There were Spanish troops stationed in the city, but they remained confined to barracks. The only Spanish troops to disobey orders were from the artillery units at the

Luis Daoíz de Torres and Pedro Velarde y Santillán are still commemorated as heroes of the rebellion. Both died during the French assault of the barracks, as the rebels were reduced by vastly superior numbers.[3]

Impact of the uprising

The Heroes of the Second of May memorial, Madrid

The repression following the crushing of the initial rebellion was harsh. Marshal Murat created a military commission on the evening of 2 May to be presided over by

General Grouchy. This commission issued death sentences to all of those captured who were bearing weapons of any kind. In a statement issued that day Murat said: "The population of Madrid, led astray, has given itself to revolt and murder. French blood has flowed. It demands vengeance. All those arrested in the uprising, arms in hand, will be shot."[10]

All public meetings were prohibited and an order was issued requiring all weapons to be handed in to the authorities. Hundreds of prisoners were executed the following day, a scene captured in a famous painting by Goya,

French-speaking madrileños were able to avoid execution by pleading in words intelligible to their executioners.[11]

On the same 2 May, in the nearby town of Móstoles, the arrival of the news of the repression prompted Juan Pérez Villamil, who was secretary of the Admiralty and prosecutor of the Supreme War Council, to encourage the mayors of the town, Andrés Torrejón and Simón Hernández, to sign a declaration of war calling on all Spaniards to rise up against the invaders. The name of this declaration was "Bando de los alcaldes de Móstoles" or "bando de la Independencia" which means "Edict of the Independence".

Analysis

The Dos de Mayo uprising, together with the subsequent proclamation as king of Napoleon's brother Joseph resulted in a rebellion against French rule. While the French occupiers hoped that their rapid suppression of the uprising would demonstrate their control of Spain, the rebellion actually gave considerable impetus to the resistance.[12]

Aftermath

The Dos de Mayo uprising put

Action of Valdepeñas
.

The Invasion of Portugal had started with the occupation of Lisbon in 1807. But the Dos de Mayo uprising started a rebellion in Portugal with the Combat of Padrões de Teixeira.

The British intervention started with the Battle of Roliça led by Wellington.

The Spanish conventional warfare started with the Battles of El Bruch.

Napoleon started his invasion of Spain with the Battle of Zornoza.

In popular culture

The Second of May is now a public holiday in the Community of Madrid. The place where the artillery barracks of Monteleón was located is now a square called the Plaza del Dos de Mayo, and the district surrounding the square is known as Malasaña in memory of one of the heroines of the revolt, the teenager Manuela Malasaña, who was executed by French troops in the aftermath of the revolt.[3]

Several memorials to the heroes of 2 May are located over the city, including the Monumento a los Caídos por España (Monument to those who fell to their deaths for Spain).

Notes

  1. ^ a b Glover 2003, p. 51.
  2. ^ Chandler 1966, p. 610.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Esdaile 2003, pp. 37–40.
  4. ^ Diego García 2007, p. 17.
  5. ^ Diego García 2007, p. 19.
  6. ^ Oman 1992, p. 43.
  7. ^ Oman 1992, p. 60.
  8. ^ Fraser 2008, pp. 56–57.
  9. ^ Fremont-Barnes 2002, p. 71.
  10. ^ Cowans 2003.
  11. ^ Fraser 2008, p. 66.
  12. ^ Esdaile 2003, p. 46.

References

See also

Further reading

  • Gates, David (2001). The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. Da Capo Press. .

External links

Preceded by
Invasion of Portugal (1807)
Napoleonic Wars
Dos de Mayo Uprising
Succeeded by
Battles of El Bruch