WI: Spanish Royal Family Flees to the Colonies

What if, like the Portuguese, the Spanish Bourbons fled to Mexico when Napoleon invaded Spain and set up shop there? Was this possible and if so what impact would this have on Napoleon, his ambitions, and Latin America?
 
What if, like the Portuguese, the Spanish Bourbons fled to Mexico when Napoleon invaded Spain and set up shop there? Was this possible and if so what impact would this have on Napoleon, his ambitions, and Latin America?

Napoleon) nothing really
Ambitions)The same
Latin America) doesn't rebel or at least not New Spain
 
What if, like the Portuguese, the Spanish Bourbons fled to Mexico when Napoleon invaded Spain and set up shop there? Was this possible and if so what impact would this have on Napoleon, his ambitions, and Latin America?

The Iguala Plan called for a Spanish prince to become a constitutional monarch in Mexico, but none would accept. The Bourbons seemed to be more absolutist than the Braganzas, especially that idiot Ferdinand VII (who tried to go back to absolutism against the LOYALISTS in Latin America).

If they get a few more brain cells and go to Mexico (and hopefully Ferdinand VII suffers a bizarre gila monster-related accident in the process), then the monarchy could probably survive. This may stop some of the other independence movement. No Spanish monarch had ever gone to the New World before, so such a step would be a massive publicity boost for the Bourbons. Even after independence in OTL, there were still a lot of conservative monarchists. Iturbide took advantage of this to become emperor, but he was not a Spaniard, so he didn't last long. A Bourbon would have more legitimacy to the Mexicans than a creole upstart.
 
The Iguala Plan called for a Spanish prince to become a constitutional monarch in Mexico, but none would accept. The Bourbons seemed to be more absolutist than the Braganzas, especially that idiot Ferdinand VII (who tried to go back to absolutism against the LOYALISTS in Latin America).

If they get a few more brain cells and go to Mexico (and hopefully Ferdinand VII suffers a bizarre gila monster-related accident in the process), then the monarchy could probably survive. This may stop some of the other independence movement. No Spanish monarch had ever gone to the New World before, so such a step would be a massive publicity boost for the Bourbons. Even after independence in OTL, there were still a lot of conservative monarchists. Iturbide took advantage of this to become emperor, but he was not a Spaniard, so he didn't last long. A Bourbon would have more legitimacy to the Mexicans than a creole upstart.

Or Ferdinand is caught by Nappy. And Carlos regains the throne
 
Or Ferdinand is caught by Nappy. And Carlos regains the throne

Please remember that as absolutist as Ferdinand was, his heir - Don Carlos - was even more so. In fact, D. Carlos was described as "more royal than the king, more Catholic than the pope". So, even if said gila monster/capture occurs, you'd be ending up with a Charles X of France-Miguel I of Portugal-type persona with foot-in-mouth disease in Mexico years earlier.
 
Please remember that as absolutist as Ferdinand was, his heir - Don Carlos - was even more so. In fact, D. Carlos was described as "more royal than the king, more Catholic than the pope". So, even if said gila monster/capture occurs, you'd be ending up with a Charles X of France-Miguel I of Portugal-type persona with foot-in-mouth disease in Mexico years earlier.

He meant Fernando's father Carlos IV. And really none of the Spanish Royals during the Napoleonic era were that impressive. None that I can think of that could act as Pedro I of Brazil.
 
Whoops:eek: I was thinking D. Carlos 'V'

Its fine, it happens to the best of us. But yeah I can't think of any Spanish Royal who would be a good candidate to temper Spanish attempts to restore Absolutism. Fernando and Carlos are out, but their younger brother Infante Francesco might work. I can't find much about him but his son became King-Consort of Spain so he most have sided with the moderates and Isabella II. But I noticed that four sons of Carlos IV and Maria Luisa ahead of both the conservative Infantes died in childhood. So maybe one of them could survive and end up more "Liberal", always a bit of an odd word to use for this era.
 
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