''Afrancesado'' (, ; "

Francophile A Francophile is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, History of France, French history, Culture of France, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, lang ...

" or "turned- French", lit. "Frenchified" or "French-alike") refers to the Spanish and Portuguese partisan of Enlightenment ideas,

Liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

, or the French Revolution, that supported Napoleon's occupation as a means to implant these ideas in Spain. In principle, ''afrancesados'' were upper-and-middle class supporters of the French occupation of Iberia (

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

), preferring the reforms of the " enlightened despots"

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and his brother Joseph Bonaparte (installed by Napoleon as King of Spain) or, as a lesser evil, preferring to avoid the consequences of outright war with the greatest military power in Europe.Joes, Anthony James
''Guerrilla Conflict Before the Cold War'', pp. 109-110. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996.
Google Books. Retrieved 28 January 2019.

Spain

Origins

In Spain, the term ''afrancesado'' surfaced during the reign of

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

, and had a neutral meaning, being used to designate those who followed French fashions and customs. Subsequently, it became popular as a

pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...

reference to those members of the

Spanish nobility The Spanish nobility are people who possess a title of nobility confirmed by the Spanish Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, as well as those individuals appointed to one of Spain's three highest orders of knightho ...

and bureaucracy who swore allegiance to Joseph Bonaparte, installed as King of Spain by his brother, Napoleon. The term extended to cover a predominantly middle class intellectual, merchant, or manufacturer who saw the French as agents of change in the rigid structure of Spanish society, and who reacted against the perceived corruption and incompetence of Charles IV and the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...

in general (including Joseph's competitor Ferdinand VII).

Political program

King Joseph found himself at war with the majority of his subjects. He relied on the ''afrancesados'' to enforce a project that would gradually replace tradition and absolutism with a system Leandro Fernández de Moratín defined as based on ''razón, la justicia y el poder'' (

reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

, justice, and power). Progressive but not entirely liberal, this political creation was soon rejected by both

conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

and liberals (many liberals joined the '' guerilla'' against the occupation). The ''afrancesados'' were also weary of French designs: more favourable to the Revolution than of the

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

, they aimed to withdraw Spain from the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, and tried in vain to prevent Napoleon's separate administration of Spanish provinces (

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, and

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

) after 1809. The

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata or Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires ( or Virreinato de Buenos Aires or ) meaning "River of the Silver", also called the "Viceroyalty of River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in southern South America, was ...

had a French viceroy at the time,

Santiago de Liniers Santiago Antonio María de Liniers y Bremond, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, Order of Montesa, KOM, Order of Malta, OM (July 25, 1753 – August 26, 1810) was a Spanish military officer and a viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Alt ...

. However, his appointment took place before the Peninsular War, and France was not involved at all in it: it was instead a consequence of the failed British invasions of the River Plate. Napoleon and Joseph sent the Marquis of Sassenay to the zone, seeking support from Liniers to the new monarchy, but Liniers rejected it and confirmed his loyalty to the captive Ferdinand VII. Later, they also attempted to negotiate with the anti-French

Cortes of Cádiz The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional ''Cortes Generales, cortes'' (Spanish parliament), which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as a single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous o ...

which served as a parliamentary Regency after Ferdinand was deposedto maintain as much possible of Joseph's Bayonne laws of 1808 into Ferdinand's 1812 Constitution. Nonetheless, the Cortes voted to confiscate all assets of Joseph's court and of the ''afrancesados''.

Exile

After the Duke of Wellington's 1813 campaign and the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813), a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British, Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese and Spanish Empire, Spanish army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Marquess of Wellington bro ...

, all of Joseph's court and his collaborators (nobles, soldiers, jurists, writers, journalists, and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

clergy alike) took refuge to France with

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Jean-Baptiste Jourdan's forces. The total estimate of this exile is fluctuating between 4,000 and 12,000 persons at its peak. Ferdinand broke the terms of his agreement with Napoleon after his return from imprisonment at the Château de Valençay (May 4, 1814), and began a campaign of persecution, defining as ''afrancesados'' most of those who had not risen in combat against the French: ''colaboracionistas'' (servants of French interests), receivers of honours and distinctions handed by King Joseph, co-operating bureaucrats (those who had not resigned their positions during the occupation), or even those who were sought by the French as collaborators but had denied offers. The immense number of liberally-minded ''

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

s'' alarmed the authorities of the Bourbon Restoration in France, and they began steps to convince the Spanish government to pardon them. This came during the Liberal Triennium, as an amnesty decreed by liberal

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Evaristo Pérez de Castro; those that did return had to flee soon after the Quintuple Alliance intervention. On April 21, 1832, France ordered them to solve their highly problematic stateless condition by either settling in the country or leaving its territory. Joseph Bonaparte's great-great-grandson Frederick Joseph Benton (born in 1954) reviewed the ''afrancesado'' doctrine in 1999 but has done nothing to advance its cause.

Notable Spanish ''afrancesados''

* Francisco Amorós * Miguel José de Azanza *

Fernando Sor Fernando Sor (baptised 14 February 1778 – 10 July 1839) was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer of the Classical period (music), late Classical era and Romantic music, early Romantic era. Best known for writing solo classical guitar mu ...

* Javier de Burgos * François Cabarrus (considered an ''afrancesado'' in retrospect) * Fernando Camborda * José Antonio Conde * Guido Bellico * Leandro Fernández de Moratín * José Mamerto Gómez Hermosilla *

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...

* Alberto Lista * Juan Antonio Llorente * José Marchena Ruiz de Cueto * Francisco Martínez Marina * Juan Meléndez Valdés * Sebastián Miñano * Manuel Narganes *

Martín Fernández de Navarrete Martín Fernández de Navarrete y Ximénez de Tejada (November 9, 1765 – October 8, 1844), was a Spanish nobleman, naval officer, and historian. Today he is principally remembered for his historical research concerning the expeditions and sci ...

* Gonzalo O'Farrill * Cipriano de Palafox * Manuel José Quintana * Félix José Reinoso * Mariano Luis de Urquijo * Diego Pacheco Téllez-Girón Gómez de Sandoval * Juan Van Halen *

Francisco Antonio Zea Juan Francisco Antonio Hilarión Zea Díaz (23 November 1766 – 28 November 1822) was a Neogranadine journalist, botanist, diplomat, politician, and statesman who served as Vice President of Colombia under then President Simón Bolívar. He w ...

Portugal

The term ''afrancesado'' in Portugal is connected with liberal politicians who organised the Revolution of Porto, begun on August 25, 1820. Demanding the

rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

as opposed to William Carr Beresford's arbitrary regime, they called for the return of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

John VI - who had preferred to remain in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, where he had transferred the Portuguese court during the French invasion. French influence, already present during the War of the Oranges, had familiarised the ''afrancesado'' elite with principles such as the

separation of powers The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...

and parliamentarianism, which they demanded to have enforced in Portugal.

References

{{Reflist * Miguel Artola, ''Los afrancesados'', Madrid, 1989 * Juan Arzadun, ''Fernando VII y su tiempo'', Madrid, 1942 * Juan López Tabar, ''Los Famosos Traidores. Los afrancesados durante la crisis del Antiguo Régimen (1808-1833)'', Madrid, 2002 Spanish expatriates in France Groups of the French Revolution First French Empire Forced migrations in Europe Liberalism in Portugal Napoleonic Wars Age of Enlightenment 19th century in Portugal Portuguese expatriates in France Joseph Bonaparte Political terminology in Spain