HISTORY OF EUROPE. 1G3 



ployed for several months at Fer rol 

 in fitting out the Spanish ships 

 there, and they had been sent 

 about the end of October, 1809, 

 to Cadiz. This was one of the 

 effects of sir John Moore's march 

 through the north of Spain. The 

 number of ships, Spanish and 

 French, that escaped to Cadiz 

 after the battle of Trafalgar, was 

 seven of the line ; eight were se- 

 cured at Ferrol ; and five French 

 men of war of different rates de- 

 volved to the possession of the 

 Spaniards at the commencement 

 of hostilities ; making in all twenty 

 ships of the line. This force was 

 put under the direction of the 

 English admiral Purvis, who rode 

 at anchor with his squadron, five 

 ships of the line, which was soon 

 reinforced by three more, in the 

 harbour of Cadiz. British troops 

 from Gibraltar and Lisbon were 

 received into the Isle of Leon ; 

 and an English garrison of 1,200 

 men was admitted into Ceiita, to 

 co-operate with the Spanish garri- 

 son there, which amounted nearly 

 to an equal number. 



The threatening aspect of affairs 

 had by this time produced a gene- 

 ral anxiety for the establishment 

 of a vigorous government. Great 

 hopes were entertained by the 

 whole nation from the meeting of 

 the Cortes ; but perils so immi- 

 nent did not admit of a moment's 

 dela}', and the public mind was too 

 much agitated to be restrained 

 within the limits of any legal forms. 

 No sooner was it known that the 

 Supreme Junta had fled from Se- 

 ville, than the people of Cadiz took 

 up arras, and having set at liberty 

 the conde de Montijo and don 

 Francisco Palafox, who had been 

 imprisoned on a charge of conspi- 



racy against the government, they 

 surrounded the Junta, demanding 

 the immediate appointment of a 

 regency, and exclaiming against 

 the Supreme Junta as traitors to 

 their country, who had abandoned 

 the passes of the mountains to the 

 French, and then fled to Cadiz 

 with the money they had received 

 from America. The Junta refused 

 to nominate a regency, but admit- 

 ted Montijo and Palafox as mem- 

 bers of their own body, and ap- 

 pointed the marquis of Romana 

 commanderof the army of Castille, 

 in place of the duke of Parque. 

 At Xeres de la Frontiera, the 

 archbishop of Laodicea, president 

 of the Junta; Valdez, formerly 

 minister of marine ; and Ovaglie, 

 one of the deputies of Estrama- 

 dura, were seized by the populace, 

 and might have been put to death, 

 had not some persons who had in- 

 fluence with the mob got them 

 shut up in the Carthusian convent, 

 and detained them there as prison- 

 ers of state. On the news of these 

 excesses, general Castanos, who 

 was at the Isle of Leon, exerted 

 himself to procure their liberation, 

 whicli was effected ; but perceiv- 

 ing that their authority was now 

 completely at an end, they had no 

 sooner joined the other members 

 of the Junta in that isle, than they 

 appointed a regency, composed of 

 the bishop of Orense ; Saavedra, 

 the minister of finance ; Castanos, 

 capt.-generalofAndalusia;Escano, 

 minister of marine ; and Fernan- 

 dez de Leon, minister of the In- 

 dies. But this last member appears, 

 in about two weeks thereafter, to 

 have quitted this station to make 

 way for the admission of Miguel 

 de Ardizabal y Uribe. To these 

 five persons they transferred the 

 M 2 



