In 1807 Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain and Portugal and installed his brother Joseph as Emperor.
Together with allies Portugal and England the Spanish fought back. This was known as the War of Independence, or, as we British know it, The Peninsular War.
[Wikipedia]
This alliance soon began to prevail and two stories being celebrated this coming weekend are testament to that success: Montejaque and Algarrobo, both villages in the province of Malaga in Andalucia.
La Batalla de La Puente, Montejaque
In 1810 a group of 700 French soldiers came upon Montejaque but were repelled by a ragbag of old men, boys and women.
The festival called La Batalla de la Puente commemorates this.
It starts today, Friday September 18th and runs until Sunday.
[Pueblea]
History
The British army, under Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, guarded Portugal and campaigned against the French alongside the reformed Portuguese Army and provided whatever supplies they could get to the Spanish, while the Spanish Armies and guerrillas tied down vast numbers of Napoleon's troops.
In 1812, when Napoleon set out with a massive army on what proved to be a disastrous French invasion of Russia, a combined allied army defeated the French at Salamanca and took the capital Madrid.
Montejaque [Facebook]
In the following year the Coalition scored a victory over Emperor Joseph Bonaparte's army at the Battle of Vitoria paving the way for victory in the war in the Iberian Peninsula.
More on this story:
Batalla de "La Puente" - andalucia.org
Batalla de la Puente - Montejaque - Eye On Spain
'Battle of the Bridge' historical re-enactment in Montejaque - Secret Serranía de Ronda - andalucialive.com
La Quema de Algarrobo
The "burning" of Algarrobo is a festival which commemorates the failed attempt in 1811 by French troops to burn down the town during the War of Independence.
Among other events, there are theatre performances and further events by guest associations, parades, craft markets a "tapas" route, exhibitions, workshops, competitions and musical performances.
[Andaluciamia]
[Facebook]
More on this story:
Algarrobo (Málaga) - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
Búsqueda en la BBDD de artículos publicados - Ayuntamiento de Algarrobo
Inicio - www.algarrobo.es
© The History Man MMXXVI
Pictures:
Britannica, Karl Smallman
Thanks:
Jennie Rhodes, Paul Whitelock, SUR in English, www.secretserrania.com
Tags:
Arthur Wellesley, Ayuntamiento de Algarrobo, Ayuntamiento de Montejaque, Batalla de La Puente, Britannica, Duke of Wellington, Jennie Rhodes, Joseph Bonaparte, Karl Smallman, Napoleon Bonaparte, Paul Whitelock, Quema de Algarrobo, SUR in English, The History Man, www.secretserrania.com