The importance of Portugal to France lay in its continued resistance to the implementation of the imposed continental system, whereby Napoleon sought to block Great Britain from access to continental markets.2 Furthermore, France had not given up its ambition to invade Great Britain. After Trafalgar, the French engaged in a naval rebuilding programme but at the same time perceived the potential benefit of securing the only two remaining navies other than the Royal Navy in western Europe, both representing neutral powers.3 The French failed to secure the Danish fleet when the British pre-empted Marshal Bernadotte’s invasion by itself acquiring twenty-nine ships of the line and frigates following the bombardment of Copenhagen in late August and early September 1807. Napoleon was also prepared to invade Portugal, should that country fail to comply with French demands.
In the summer of 1807, France gave Portugal an ultimatum to seize British property, to close its ports to British shipping and to declare war on Great Britain. Portugal tried to appease Napoleon while keeping Great Britain onside but ultimately this proved impossible.4 Deeming the Portuguese response inadequate, Napoleon determined to send a French army under Marshal Junot to invade the country. Prior to this invasion, the British envoy to Lisbon, Lord Strangford, had negotiated in August an arrangement whereby the Governor of Madeira would surrender when British forces appeared off the island; subject to the Portuguese government being informed first of the intention to send an expedition to Madeira. Separately, in October 1807 the British Foreign Secretary George Canning, and the Portuguese envoy to London, Domingos António de Sousa Coutinho, drew up a secret agreement providing for the occupation of Portuguese possessions only on notice and for a British fleet to escort the Portuguese court to Brazil should that prove necessary.5 In Britain, however, there remained both unease and uncertainty as to Portuguese intentions both prior to and subsequent to these agreements. This was not just because of the apparent desire of the Portuguese to appease Napoleon, but also because of the existence of a pro-French faction in the Portuguese government.
When Portugal succumbed entirely to France’s demands on 20 November, expelling Britons, seizing property and closing Portuguese ports to British vessels, it seemed as if the British fleet off the Tagus under Rear Admiral Sidney Smith might be called upon to undertake offensive operations against Portugal rather than come to the defence of that kingdom.6 His orders provided for the destruction of the Portuguese fleet and the bombardment of Lisbon if necessary, and on 16 November Smith called on Prince João to remind him of what had happened to the Danes at Copenhagen. On 24 November, following receipt the previous day of the news that Junot and the French army had crossed the Portuguese frontier and was at Abrantes, the decision was taken by João and his advisers to move to Brazil; an outcome that determined the Portuguese Empire would remain an ally of Great Britain.
The Portuguese royal family, the court and much of the administrative apparatus left Lisbon for Rio de Janeiro in a massive fleet of some fifty ships carrying reputedly 15,000 people a couple of days prior to Junot’s arrival in the Portuguese capital.7 In addition to ships of the Portuguese navy, it was protected by a Royal Navy convoy under Admiral Sidney Smith with nine ships of the line.8 In concept this was no last-minute flight but the adoption of a well-thought-out strategy followed by the Portuguese court when all attempts to remain neutral failed to secure that status.9 Repair work on the Portuguese fleet had commenced in August. When the moment came for embarkation on 27 November, notwithstanding a system of permits and allowances, many could not obtain passage and on Junot’s arrival on 29 November much of value was simply sitting abandoned on the Lisbon docks.10 The French General watched helplessly as the fleet sailed down the Tagus estuary and out of sight on its long seven-week voyage to São Salvador (Bahia) and Rio de Janeiro.
By virtue of the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau, Napoleon initially agreed to carve up Portugal with Spanish assistance. The treaty envisioned three separate states: In the north a new kingdom centred on Porto and to be known as the Kingdom of Northern Lusitania was proposed to compensate the Spanish Bourbon King of Etruria for the loss of his kingdom to France. In the centre, a French dependency to include Trás-os-Montes, Beira and Portuguese Estremadura would be centred on Lisbon, and in the South a promised principality for the Prime Minister of Spain, Manuel Godoy, the ‘Prince of the Peace’, was to be made up of the Alentejo and the Algarve.
The treaty enabled Junot’s army to march through Spain with Spanish approval. Even so, because of the duress placed on Junot to move with speed to capture both the Portuguese royal family and its navy, the French force straggled piecemeal into Lisbon on 29 November with three Spanish armies under Taranco (Porto), Carafa (Lisbon) and Solano (Algarve), respectively, following it into Portugal some days later.11 The presence of these Spanish forces in Portugal helped maintain Junot’s rule there until the late spring of 1808.
Prior to the departure of the Portuguese court to Brazil, the Regent had provided for Portugal to be ruled by a Regency Council. Initially this was made up of the Marquês de Abrantes (Pedro de Lancastre da Silveira Castelo Branco Sá Meneses); the Marquês de Olhão (Francisco de Melo da Cunha de Mendonça e Meneses); ‘The Principal’ Sousa Coutinho; Pedro de Mello Breyner; Tenente-General Francisco Xavier de Noronha; and the Conde de Sampãio, but its composition changed from time to time and in particular Dom Miguel Forjaz, who had started as Secretary to the Council, came to wield considerable influence. The Regent’s instructions to the Council and the army were not to resist the French forces, but within a short time Junot was to replace the Regency Council with one of his own on which served a number of members of the previous council.
The archipelago of Madeira is located approximately 32° North and 16° West. Discovered and colonised by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century, it lies just over 500-kilometres from the African coast and in the early nineteenth century remained an important point of replenishment for those sailing to India, the East Indies, Southern Africa, South America and the West Indies. It was strategically important in time of war. The capital and main port, then, as now, was Funchal. In 1801 British troops under Lieutenant General Clinton had occupied the two forts guarding the harbour of Funchal. The garrisoning of these forts had been undertaken jointly with the local Portuguese forces. No attempt was made on that occasion to interfere with the civil administration of the island and it was made clear to the Portuguese government that the occupation would end once peace was achieved with France. Nevertheless the Portuguese were still intensely irritated by this episode. The occupation lasted only six months and the troops were withdrawn on 19 January 1802 during the negotiations leading to the Peace of Amiens, effective on 27 March 1802.
Months before Junot’s invading army had crossed into Portugal, orders had been given for 3,000 men to be detached from Sir John Moore’s army returning from Sicily for the purpose of securing Madeira, but lack of knowledge of the whereabouts of this army led to William Carr Beresford being appointed in mid November to command a force of approximately 3,600 men for that purpose, though instructions were given to keep the destination of this small army secret. He was given a briefing document outlining the characteristics of the Governor of the island and other influential persons in Madeira, together with an assessment as to whether they were likely to serve a British administration. Beresford sought clarification as to the civil rank he was to hold along with the salary he should draw in respect of that position.12 In response he was informed he should assume the position of Lieutenant-Governor at a salary of £3,000 per annum.13 His small staff included a number of those who had served with him in the 88th regiment and who were to serve again with him later in the war.14
Escorted by a fleet under Admiral Hood (comprised of four ships of the line, four frigates, one brigantine and fifteen transports), the force made up of the 3rd and 11th regiments left Plymouth on 29 November (ironically the day Junot entered Lisbon).15 It arrived off the island of Porto Santo, part of the Madeiran archipelago, shortly before Christmas 1807. The frigate Comus had been sent ahead to the island of Madeira to collect intelligence and its crew ascertained that the island had received news of the flight of the Portuguese court to Brazil and that no attack on the island was anticipated.16 On 24 December in mid afternoon, Beresford sent ashore Captains Nurse and Murphy of the 88th regiment demanding that the Governor, Pedro Fagundes Bacelar d’Antas