| Treaty of Peace between Spain and Portugal. | |
|---|---|
 Castle of Olivenza, ceded to Spain by Portugal | |
| Context | Portugal cedes the border town ofOlivenza to Spain and closes its ports to British shipping |
| Signed | 6 June 1801 (1801-06-06) |
| Location | Badajoz, Spain |
| Negotiators | |
| Parties | |
TheTreaty of Badajoz is apeace treaty of the 19th century signed bySpain andPortugal on 6 June 1801. Portugal ceded the border town ofOlivenza to Spain and closed its ports to British military and commercial shipping.
On the same day, Portugal signed a separate Treaty of Badajoz withFrance, whichNapoleon, thenFirst Consul of France, refused to sign. An amended version was agreed in September 1801, which is known as theTreaty of Madrid; France received large parts of Portuguese South America in what is now Brazil plus a payment of 20 millionfrancs.[a]
For much of the 18th century, Spain andFrance were allies but after theexecution of Louis XVI in 1793, it joined theWar of the First Coalition against theFrench First Republic. After being defeated in theWar of the Pyrenees, Spain left the Coalition and made peace with France by the 1795Peace of Basel.
UnderCharles IV, government was controlled by Chief MinisterManuel Godoy, as the King spent most of his time hunting.[2] Driven by Godoy, Spain agreed to an alliance with France in the August 1796Second Treaty of San Ildefonso anddeclared war on Britain, then engaged in the 1798-1802War of the Second Coalition.
Portugal had also joined the First Coalition but unlike Spain did not make peace with France. It was in a difficult position. Napoleon demanded they support his economic blockade by closing their ports to British shipping[b] but their economy was dependent on trade withBrazil.[3] These links could easily be cut by a hostileRoyal Navy while Britain was also the main market for Portuguese agricultural products.[c] Economic self-interest meant Portugal inclined towards Britain but needed support; between 1791 and 1801, the British government supplied money, supplies and a force of 6,000 soldiers under GeneralCharles Stuart.[4]
Stuart captured the Spanish island ofMenorca in 1798, previously occupied by Britain from 1708 to 1782 and whose recovery was the major achievement of Spain's participation in the 1778-1783Anglo-French War. The loss undermined Godoy, who had been removed as Chief Minister in 1797 and promoted toCaptain-General. British troops were withdrawn from Portugal in early 1801; Godoy returned as Chief Minister and in May, Spain invaded Portugal in theWar of the Oranges. The main focus was the siege of the Portuguese townElvas but neither side pursued the war with much enthusiasm. When a French army corps entered North-Eastern Spain to 'support' their Spanish allies, the two quickly came to terms.
There was also limited action in South America where Spain and Portugal had been arguing for 300 years over the delineation of borders in theRío de la Plata region.[5] These had been fixed by theFirst Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1777 and the1778 Treaty of El Pardo but war in Europe gave both sides an excuse to improve their positions. A Spanish attempt to seizeMato Grosso in modern Brazil was repulsed while the Portuguese captured theMisiones Orientales, allocated to Spain in 1778.[d] Although not referenced in the Treaty of Badajoz, this territory has been part of Brazil sinceindependence from Portugal in 1822.[6]
On 6 June, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Badajoz, the main provisions being the transfer of Olivenza to Spain and the banning of British ships from Portuguese ports. Although possession of Olivenza had never been disputed by Spain since theTreaty of Alcañices in 1297, Olivenza thereafter came under Spanish control.[7]
On the same day, Portugal signed a second Treaty of Badajoz with France, represented by Napoleon's younger brotherLucien Bonaparte, granting France substantial territorial gains in South America. The modern border betweenFrench Guiana and Brazil is theOyapock River, which was agreed in 1713. The proposed Treaty moved it south tothe Araguari or Amapá River, taking in large parts of Northern Brazil.[8] Portugal also agreed to close its ports to British shipping, pay an indemnity of 20 million francs and allow the import of French goods.
However,Napoleon refused to ratify the Treaty, claiming Lucien Bonaparte who signed it and his Foreign MinisterTalleyrand who agreed to the terms had both been bribed by the Portuguese.[e][9]
To minimise the impact of the ban on using Portuguese ports, in July a British force occupied the island ofMadeira; this was used by theRoyal Navy to assemble convoys of merchant shipping that were then escorted into British ports.[10]
However, Britain and France were already negotiating theTreaty of Amiens which ended the War of the Second Coalition in March 1802 and re-opened Portuguese ports. Spain also suspended the1796-1808 Anglo-Spanish War and there was a pause until Britain and France recommenced hostilities in 1803.
Spain declared war on Britain in December 1804. Portugal remained neutral until Spain and France signed the 1807Treaty of Fontainebleau dividing Portugal between them. The Treaty of Badajoz contained a clause stating any breach of its terms rendered it void; Portugal declared the Treaty of Fontainebleau constituted such a breach and nullified the agreement. The subsequent invasion of Portugal by Spanish forces also constituted a breach of the treaty's terms. For these reasons Portugal disputes Spanish sovereignty over Olivenza, the other being that its occupation contravenes the 1815Treaty of Vienna.[11]
In 2003, José Ribeiro e Castro, a PortugueseMEP raised the matter with theCouncil of Europe but while it remains an issue, it has not disrupted relations between the countries. In 2008, Olivenza and a number of other Portuguese and Spanish towns became part of theEuroregion of Extrem-Alentejo.[f][12]
