WI Napoleon DIDN'T invade Spain

...and kept it as his ally?
He had already successfully puppetized Spain to a considerable degree, why did he feel he had to backstab it and get direct control?

In hindsight we know that the guerrilla launched hell upon him and played a major role in his decline... but even without hindsight it seems like a dumb thing to do... Did he have any specific reason that I'm missing? e.g. Was Spain bound to switch sides or would it be a loyal ally to the end?
 
He didn't invade Spain, a lot of his troops were already there to invade Portugal, and Spain was sort of in the middle of a crisis because the king's son wanted to already be king, and the king ask Napoleon to decide what to do. I doubt Napoleon really understood to what he would expose himself by going "screw that, I put my brother on the throne" but he certainly believedd that would increase his influence in the Iberic peninsula, and clearly underestmated the attachment of the Spanish to their dynasty.
 
Spain was allways France's ally what happened is that Wellington's forces simply restored the rightful monarch of Spain to the throne.
 
Fair enough :)

- Not "invading" but "turning the transiting troops into occupying forces" and
- By "direct control" read "replacing a Bourbon with a Bonaparte" (+military direct occupation)

The WI stands though.
 
Fair enough :)

- Not "invading" but "turning the transiting troops into occupying forces" and
- By "direct control" read "replacing a Bourbon with a Bonaparte" (+military direct occupation)

The WI stands though.

Well for us Portugal it wouldn't be funny. But I don't see a Bonapartist Spain surviving past Waterloo.
 
Well for us Portugal it wouldn't be funny.

Yeah, we're screwed... at least in the short term.

I was thinking on the following effects:
- The Spanish Empire will carry on being attacked by the British. Portugal-in-exile (Brazil) - possibly with British help - will attack the Platine region after swallowing the French Guiana.
- Spanish Americans will not feel the political vacuum that sped the independentist movement. They will actually carry on having the British as a common enemy.
- Any alternate Peninsular campaign will be much MUCH harder for the Anglo-Portuguese.
- If Napoleon still considers a crazy invasion of Russia, he'll have much more resources for this and may come back victorious.

It's been suggested that due to his personality Napoleon would always find a way to overstretch and eventually fall.

Either if Napoleon falls or not we can see the following happen to Spanish America: instead of having most of it going the independence route we'd see that:
- part would carry on being under Spanish control
- other parts are conquered by the British and Portuguese
- and only a handful of provinces will go the independence route

If Napoleon survives, France will carry on being the continental power and Britain the power of the seas.
 
I think the only possible way is Nappy ignoring Portugal, or the Spanish king growing a frigging brain and saying NO! to French troops crossing Spain.

Once the troops are in, Nappy "emperor´s" character makes a treason and a coup impossible to evade IMHO...
 
Depends what Boney does with the troops that don't get used up in Spain.

He seems to have had his eye on Turkey, and with no Spanish commitments might have marched on Constantinople. Maybe Joseph becomes King of Byzantium instead of Spain.

This could actually shorten the wars if it leads to a Franco-Russian bustup sooner than OTL. And the Congress of Vienna has to sort out the Balkans as well as all the rest. That could be interesting.
 
But was Spain reliably following 'the Continental System'? If not, then does Boney actually decide to accept that lack of compliance with his wishes?
 
Depends what Boney does with the troops that don't get used up in Spain.

He seems to have had his eye on Turkey, and with no Spanish commitments might have marched on Constantinople. Maybe Joseph becomes King of Byzantium instead of Spain.

This could actually shorten the wars if it leads to a Franco-Russian bustup sooner than OTL. And the Congress of Vienna has to sort out the Balkans as well as all the rest. That could be interesting.

Oh... Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Albania... So many thrones to divide among so many princes in need of compensation. I imagine that if Napoleon kicks the Turks out of Europe, no Congress of Vienna will ever restore them to Europe.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
If Napoleon had not gotten bogged down in Spain, it's doubtful that Austria would have attempted to take on the French in 1809. This leads to massive butterflies, especially in terms of Napoleon's marriage to Marie-Louise and his efforts at a dynastic alliance with the Hapsburgs.
 
Haha, "Screw that, I am putting my brother on the throne."

It was a messy situation, and if Napoleon let the Spanish royals squabble and shrugged off Portugal, he very likely could have remained master of Europe beyond 1815.
 
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