Aranjuez Uprising of 1808

Aranjuez Uprising of 1808

 

national disturbance in Spain, beginning on the night of Mar. 17, 1808, in the city of Aranjuez, where the Spanish court was located, and spreading to Madrid. An expression of protest against the abuses and antinational policy of the Bourbons, it was aimed directly at Godoy, the prime minister of Charles IV, who was considered the chief perpetrator of the recently begun occupation of Spain by French forces. The Aranjuez uprising resulted in the retirement of Godoy and the abdication, on Mar. 19, 1808, of Charles IV in favor of his son Ferdinand.