1808 in France

"See also:"
1807 in France,
other events of 1808,
1809 in France.

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Events from the year 1808 in France.

Events

*22 January - The Bragança Portuguese Royal Family arrives in Brazil, having fled the French army.
*2 February - French troops occupy Papal States (Vatican).
*February - Under the pretext of reinforcing the Franco-Spanish army occupying Portugal, French troops begin filing into Spain.
*29 February - A French column, disguised as a convoy of wounded, takes Barcelona by convincing the authorities to open the city's gates.
*23 March - Madrid is occupied by French forces.
*2 May - Dos de Mayo Uprising, the people of Madrid rebel against the occupation of the city by French troops, provoking a brutal repression by the French.
*5 May - Napoleon forces the Spanish royals to abdicate and hands the throne to his brother Joseph.
*25 May - Asturias rises up in arms, casting out its French governor.
*4 June - Peninsular War: Battle of El Bruc, Spanish victory over French forces.
*12 June - Peninsular War: Battle of Cabezón, decisive French victory over Spanish forces.
*15 June - Peninsular War: Siege of Saragossa begins, as French forces repeatedly attack the city.
*14 July - Peninsular War: Battle of Medina del Rio Seco, crushing defeat of Spanish army by the French.
*18 July-22 July - Peninsular War: Battle of Bailén, Spanish forces surround the French and compel the surrender of almost 18,000 men, the worst disaster and capitulation of the war.
*30 July - Peninsular War: French forces massacre the population of Évora.
*13 August - Peninsular War: Siege of Saragossa ends in defeat for the French who were forced to lift the siege and retreat.
*17 August - Peninsular War: Battle of Roliça, British victory over the French, first battle fought by the British army during the war.
*20 August - Peninsular War: Battle of Vimeiro, Anglo-Portuguese victory over French forces.
*30 August - Peninsular War: Convention of Sintra signed, by which the defeated French are allowed to evacuate their troops from Portugal without further conflict.
*27 September - Congress of Erfurt, between Emperor Napoleon I and Tsar Alexander I begins.
*14 October - Congress of Erfurt ends.
*31 October - Peninsular War: Battle of Pancorbo, indecisive battle between French and Spanish forces.
*5 November - Peninsular War: Battle of Valmaseda, Spanish victory over French forces.
*7 November - Peninsular War: Battle of Burgos, French victory over Spanish forces.
*10 November-11 November - Peninsular War: Battle of Espinosa, French victory over Spanish forces.
*23 November - Peninsular War: Battle of Tudela, French victory over Spanish forces.
*30 November - Peninsular War: Battle of Somosierra, outnumbered Spanish force fails to prevent Napoleon from moving on Madrid.
*1 December - Peninsular War: French patrols reach the outskirts of Madrid.
*4 December - Peninsular War: Madrid surrenders and French enter the city for the second time that year.
*21 December - Peninsular War: Battle of Sahagún, British victory over French forces.

Births

January to June

*4 February - Charles-Pierre Denonvilliers, surgeon (d.1872).
*26 February - Honoré Daumier, printmaker, caricaturist, painter and sculptor (d.1879).
*20 March - Antoine Étex, sculptor, painter and architect (d.1888).
*20 April - Napoleon III of France, first President of the French Republic and the only emperor of the Second French Empire (d.1873).
*15 May - Marie Dominique Bouix, Jesuit canon lawyer (d.1870).
*22 May - Gérard de Nerval, poet, essayist and translator (d.1855).
*30 May - Felix-Joseph Barbelin, Jesuit influential in the development of the Catholic community in Philadelphia (d.1869).
*8 June - Etienne-Paulin Gagne, poet, essayist, lawyer, politician, inventor, and eccentric (d.1876).
*13 June - Patrice de Mac-Mahon, duc de Magenta, general and politician, first president of the Third Republic (d.1893).

July to December

*5 July - Jacques Claude Demogeot, man of letters (d.1894).
*30 August - Jean-Charles Chenu, physician and naturalist (d.1879).
*28 September - Jean Pierre Pellissier, missionary to Southern Africa (d.1867).
*2 November - Jules Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly, novelist and short story writer (d.1889).

Deaths

*26 April - Jean-Baptiste Pillement, painter and designer (b.1728).
*30 May - Louis-Charles, Count of Beaujolais, younger brother of King Louis-Philippe I of the French (b.1779).
*10 June - Jean-Baptiste de Belloy, Archbishop of Paris and Cardinal (b.1709).
*17 June - Louis-Joseph de Laval-Montmorency, Cardinal (b.1724).
*23 July - François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, composer and violinist (b.1741).
*6 September - Louis-Pierre Anquetil, historian (b.1723).

References