Excerpts: Napoleon's Peninsular War and its Consequences for Spain

Napoleon's Iberian Campaign, known as the Peninsular War was a catastrophic disaster for Spain - not only in terms of the casualties and sheer destruction, but also for the political divisions is stoked within the country. Many favoured the progressive social reforms that accompanied the Napoleonic Code of Law, which others saw their national identity, monarchy and religious culture subsumed by a foreign French influence. Moreover, the inability of the mother country to oversee and manage its own affairs, only highlighted its complete impotence in managing the affairs of its colonies, who increasingly came to see a need for greater autonomy, or even outright independence. This excerpt is part of our longer two-part documentary on the Libertador: Jose de San Martin, part one of which you can view here: https://youtu.be/G7HbH9dgu_M
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