Museo Histórico Nacional, Santiago, Chile However Napoleon betrayed Spain and French troops also occupied Spanish territory. The Spanish monarchy co-operated because it hoped to secure Southern Portugal for itself.
Initially Spain was an ally of France and Napoleon sought co-operation from Spain for his invasion of Portugal. In 1807 Spain’s problems were compounded when Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops entered the Iberian Peninsula. In 1805 it became increasingly difficult for Spain to traverse the Atlantic and in 18 Britain attempted to take the port of Buenos Aires from Spain. The French Revolution, for example, brought about the end of the monarchy in France and provided a model of governance that inspired people in the Spanish empire. There were also changes in intellectual thought, which led to civil wars and the emergence of new forms of governance. There were major power struggles between European nations in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with the conflicts between them becoming increasingly globalized as they fought for overseas territories.
