An open conflict. Controversy and new perspectives about the War of Independence

Abstract

The War of Independence in Spain marks the beginning of the end of the old regime and produces the start of the liberal revolution. This period of rupture also supposes a crisis for the colonial empire and the birth of new nations in Hispanic America. It was a conflict which had different aspects and many of its consequences affected the years to follow. Since its origin, it has been analysed from various perspectives and led to both political and historiographic controversy. This article addresses some of the most recent historiographic contributions, and was motivated by the commemoration of the second centenary. It focuses on four key aspects: the causes of the uprising; the role the war played in forming the modern Spanish nation; the revolutionary or counterrevolutionary character of the open political process in 1808; its aspects as a people’s war and the phenomenon of the guerrilla, and finally Bonaparte’s political project and the issue of the afrancesados and the cooperation of a sector of the society with the invader.