Madrid: from the Americas to Amazon
We left our trawl through the History of Madrid in 1800. As we wander back into the heart of the city we will do a bit more. In 1807 Charles IV agreed to let French troops enter France. As you may have guessed, the French decided to stay. On 2nd May 1808 they entered Madrid. The Madrilenos revolted and the French did beastly things - as Goya recorded. By 1812 things were going against the French and an Anglo-Portuguese force engaged in a short siege which ended with the French kicked out. This did not last long. Marshall Soult returned and Wellington quit. This annoyance did not last long and in 1814 Ferdinand VII was back and showing he had learnt nothing. Madrid did the things that a good capital should do. The Lhardy patisserie opened as did the Teatro Royal Opera house. The Naval Museum was founded, presumably to take advantage of the copious waters of the local rivers and the National Library was added, giving everyone a chance to find where the nearest sea was. Of real...