dint of arms, but by deceit and treachery, by taking advantage of our good nature and by converting the very persons who call themselves the heads of our government into instruments of those atrocious acts; persons, who either from the baseness of their sentiments, from shameful fear, or perhaps from other motives, which time or justice will unfold, hesitate not to sacrifice their country. It therefore became necessary to break the shackles which prevented the Spanish from displaying that generous ardour which in all ages has covered them with glory; that noble courage, with which they have always defended the honour of the nation, their laws, their monarchs, and their religion.

The people of Seville joined accordingly the 27th May; and, through the medium of all their magistrates, of all their constituted authorities, perfectly united, and of the most respectable individuals of every rank and description, this supreme council of government was formed, invested with all necessary powers, and charged to defend the country, the religion, the laws, and the king. We accept the heroic trust; we swear to discharge it, and reckon on the strength and energy of the whole nation. We have again proclaimed don Ferdinand VII. our king, again we swore allegiance to him, swore to die in his defence,-and this was the signal of happiness and union, and will prove so to all Spain.

A council of government had scarce been formed, when it violated the most sacred laws of the realm. A president appointed without any authority whatever, and who, had he possessed any lawful title, hastened to forfeit it. In

addition to his being a foreigner, which was a legal objection to his promotion, he acted with the ut most duplicity, and co-operated for the destruction of the very monarchy, from whom he received his appointment, and of the laws, which alone could sanction his authority. Under these circumstances we could not restrain our loyalty, and much less could we violate the sacred engagements, which we had before contracted, as Spaniards, as subjects, as Christians, as freemen, independent of all foreign authority and power.

Nor could the authority of the first tribunal of the nation, the council of Castile, check or controul our exertions. The weakness of that council became obvious from the wavering and contradictory proceedings it adopted. The most momentous and most critical situation in which the nation ever hath been placed, and in which the council should have displayed that heroic firmness, with which numberless motives and its own honour compelled it to act. The order tamely to submit to, and circulate and obey the act of abdication in favour of a foreign prince, was the consummation of its weakness, perhaps of its infamy, for that act was evidently void and illegal from want of authority in him who made it, because the monarchy was not his own, nor was Spain composed of animals subject to the absolute controul of their rulers; his accession to the throne was founded on his royal descent, according to his own confession, and on the fundamental laws of the realm, which invariably regulate the hereditary succession, and with regard to which the council is not invested with any other power than the sacred duty to enforce their observance.

observance. It is void on account of the state of violence and oppression in which it was made, and which is far more evident than the abdication itself; it is void, because the published act of abdication of king Ferdinand VII. and of his uncle and brother was made in the same state of violence and compulsion, as is expressly declared in the very act of abdication; it is void, because many royal personages, possessed of the right to claim the crown, have not relinquished that claim, but preserve it entire. Add to this the horrid treachery which has been employed to sacrifice and degrade the Spanish nation. It is to our alliance and our sacrifice that the French are indebted for what they call their triumphs: France withdrew our gallant troops from their native land, and sent them to the most distant countries; she made them fight for her interests, without having any occasion for them, for the obvious purpose of weakening us, and despoiling us of our strength. Her arinies afterwards entered Spain, under continual professions and of an anxious desire to promote our prosperity, and under the pretext of co-operating in expeditions against an enemy, of whom no farther mention is made. The people, by a generous effort, prevented the departure of their king, a measure which the French should have bailed with shouts of joy; but far from so doing, they kept a profound silence with regard to that departure, and what is still more, converted it into a motive to oppress us. France affected to perceive divisions in the nation which did not exist; the Spanish nation having never been more united in the love and defence of its king. The latter was decoyed into the

French territory by deceitful insinuations and professions; with a degree of generosity, of which perhaps there does not exist a prece dent, the king, with implicit reliance on those vain professions, threw himself into the arms of the French, who with the basest treachery, unprecedented in the annals of civilized nations, made him their prisoner, treated him in a manner the most disrespectful, and forced him to the deeds of horror, which all Europe has witnessed with astonishment, and every Spaniard with indignation and the most poignant grief. In a manner equally deceitful they invited the royal parents to their country, and compelled them to unjust and il legal acts; acts which must hand down their memory to the latest posterity branded with disgrace: they also dragged away the rest of the royal personages, to whom their tender age would have proved an inviolable shield, even among the most barbarous nations、

The French ruler summoned the Spanish nation before him; he chose such deputies as best suited his purpose; in a despotic manner of election of other deputies, appointed to deliberate in a foreign country on the most sacred interest of the nation, while he publicly declared a private and respectful letter, written to him by Ferdinand the Seventh, at the time when he was prince of Asturias, a criminal performance, injurious to the rights of sovereignty, although the same foreigner, who now affects to consider it as an offence, perhaps induced him to write it. It is indeed a heinous offence, it is rebellion, when an independent nation submits to the controul of a foreign prince, and discusses in his presence and under his decision its

most

most sacred rights and public welfare; and neither Seville, nor any Spaniard, will lower himself to a degree of disloyalty and meanness, which could induce him to a rebellion so atrocious, that even slaves would scorn to disgrace themselves by deeds of infamy like this.

He has resorted to many other indecorous means to deceive us. He has distributed seditious libels to corrupt the public opinion, in which under the strongest professions of respect for the laws, and for religion, he insults both, leaves no means untried, however infamous they may be, to bend our necks under an iron yoke, and make us his slaves. He carries his audacity and deceit the length of assuring the public, in one of his libellous publications, that the supreme pontiff and vicar of Jesus Christ approves and sanctions his proceedings, while it is notorious, that in sight of all Europe he has despoiled him of his dominions, and forced him to dismiss his cardinals, in order to prevent him from directing and governing the whole church, in the manner sanctioned by our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Spaniards, every consideration calls on us to unite and frustrate views so atrocious. No revolution exists in Spain; nor did we declare war against any power; our sole object is to defend what we hold most sacred, against him, who, under the cloak of alliance and friendship, intended to wrest it from us, and who, we have reason to fear, will despoil us, without fighting, of our laws, our monarchs, and our religion. Let us, therefore, sacrifice every thing to a cause so just, and if we are to lose our all, let us lose it fighting, and as brave men,

Join us, therefore, all; the people are ready to take up arms; let' us commit to the wisest among us in all the provinces of Spain the important trust to preserve the public opinion, and refute those insolent libels replete with the most atrocious falsehoods. Let every one combat in his way; and let even the church of Spain incessantly implore the assistance of the God of hosts, whose protection is secured to us by the evident justice of our cause.

There

And what do you fear? is not in Spain the number of the enemy's troops which they proclaim in order to intimidate us. Those who occupy part of our country are composed of different nations, dragged into service, and who anxiously desire to break their chains. The positions they have taken are exactly those in which they can be conquered and defeated in the easiest manner. They are besides weak and dismayed, because the consciousness of guilt makes a coward of the bravest man.

All Europe will applaud our efforts, and hasten to our assistance. Italy, Germany, and the whole North, which suffer under the despotism of the French nation, will eagerly avail themselves of the favourable opportunity held out to them by Spain, to shake off their yoke and recover their liberty, their laws, their monarchs, and all they have been robbed of by that nation. France herself will hasten to erase the stain of infamy which must cover the tools and instruments of deeds most treacherous and heinous. She will not shed her blood in so vile a cause. She has already suffered too much under the idle pretext of a peaco and happiness, which never came,

and

and can never be attained but under the empire of reason, peace, religion and laws, and in a state where the rights of other nations are respected and observed.

Spaniards, your native country, your property, your laws, your liberty, your kings, your religion, nay your hopes in a better world, which that religion alone can devise to you and your descendants, are at stake, exposed to great and imminent danger.

By command of the supreme council of government,

J. B. ESTELLER, Sec.
J. PARDO, Sec.
Seville, June 2, 1808.

DECLARATION

Of war against the emperor of France, Napoleon the First. Ferdinand the Seventh, king of Spain and the Indies, and in his name, to the Supreme Junta of both.

France, under the government of the emperor Napoleon the First, has violated towards Spain the most sacred compacts-has arrested her monarch-obliged him to a forced and manifestly void abdication and renunciation; has behaved with the same violence towards the Spanish nobles whom he keeps in his power-has declared that he will elect a king of Spain, the most horrible attempt that is recorded in history-has sent his troops into Spain, seized her fortresses and her capital, and scattered her troops throughout the country- has committed against Spain all sorts of assassinations, robberies, and unheard-of cruelties; and this he has done with the most enormous ingratitude to the services which the Spanish nation has rendered France, to the friendship it has shewn her,

thus treating it with the most dreadful perfidy, fraud, and treachery, such as was never committed against any nation or monarch, by the most barbarous or ambitious king or people, He has, in fine, declared, that he will trample down our monarchy, our fundamental laws, and bring about the ruin of our holy catholic religion. -The only remedy, therefore, for such grievous ills, which are so ma◄ nifest to all Europe, is in war, which we declare against him.

In the name therefore of our king, Ferdinand the Seventh, and of all the Spanish nation, we declare war, by land and sea, against the emperor Napoleon the First, and against France; we are determined to throw off her domination and tyranny, and command all Spaniards to act hostilely against him, to do him all possible damage according to the laws of war, to place an embargo upon all French ships in our ports, and all property and effects, in whatever part of Spain they may be, whether belonging to the government or to the individuals of that nation. In the same manner we command, that no embarrassment nor molestation be done to the English nation, nor its government, nor its ships, property, or effects, nor any individual of that nation; we declare that there shall be open and free communication with England: that we have contracted, and will keep, an armistice with her; and that we hope to conclude a durable and lasting peace.

Moreover, we protest we will not lay down our arms till the emperor Napoleon the First has restor ed to Spain our king, Ferdinand the Seventh, and the rest of the royal family, and has respected the rights of the nation which he has

violated

violated, as well as her liberty, integrity, and independence. And this we declare with the understanding and accordance of the Spanish nation.

We command that the present solemn declaration be printed, posted, and circulated, among all the people and provinces of Spain and America, that it may be known in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Given in the royal palace of Alcozar, at Seville, this oth of June,

1808.

hereof.-Given at our imperial palace at Bayonne, June 6, 1808. (Signed) NAPOLEON. H. B. MURAT, minister of state.

PROCLAMATION.

Bayonne, June 23.

Joseph, king of Naples and Sicily, to the people of the kingdom of Naples:

Providence, whose designs are

Napoleon, by the grace of God, emperor of the French, king of Italy, protector of the confederacy of the Rhine, to all men to whom these presents shall come, sends greeting:

The Junta of the state, the council of Castile, the city of Madrid, &c. &c. having notified to us by their addresses, that the well-being of Spain requires a speedy stop to be put to the provisional government; we have resolved to proclaim, and we do by these presents proclaim our well-beloved brother Joseph Napoleon, the present king of Naples and Sicily, to be king of Spain and India. We guarantee to the king of Spain the independence and integrity of his states in Europe as well as in Africa, Asia, and America; charging the lieutenant-general of the kingdom, the ministers, and the council of Castie, to cause this proclamation to be expedited, and publicly announced, according to the usual custom, that none may plead ignorance

1808.

--

throne of Spain and the Indies, we have found ourselves in the cruel predicament of withdrawing ourselves from a people who had so many claims to our attachment, and whose happiness was our most gratifying hope, and the only object of our ambition. He who alone can read the hearts of men can judge of the sincerity of our sentiments, in opposition to which we have yielded to other impres➡ sions, and accepted a kingdom, the government of which has been put into our hands, in virtue of the renunciation of the rights to the crown of Spain, which our illustrious brother his majesty the emperor of the French and king of Italy had acquired.

In this important situation, considering that institutions are alone capable of duration, we reflected, with regret, that your social constitution was still imperfect, and thought that the further we had removed from you, so much the more incumbent upon us was it to secure your present and future welfare by all the means in our power. For these reasons we have put the last hand to our labours, and fixed the constitutional statute upon principles already partially (P) adopted,