The so-called Affair of the Escorial has long been familiar in its broader aspects. Late in 1807 Charles IV discovered that his son and heir Fernando and a group of powerful nobles were plotting to overthrow his chief minister Godoy so as to impose the prince upon the government. Ferdinand abjectly admitted his guilt; he was pardoned; and a fruitless trial of his fellow conspirators closed the affair. This book is the most detailed reconstruction of the whole business. Using the original documentation in Madrid, Francisco Martí has made a valuable addition to the literature on the subject as far as the facts are concerned. On the interpretive side, however, its merits are less substantial.
Martí first surveys the primary sources of information and presents the chief personalities involved—the king and queen, Godoy, Ferdinand, and the latter’s quondam tutor, the canon Escoiquiz, the real brains and principal activist of the conspiracy. The genesis of the Affair is found in aristocratic opposition to Godoy’s “ministerial despotism” and to his ambitions for further power. The author believes that he planned with Napoleon’s help either to gain the Spanish throne for himself or to set up an easily controllable regency of some minor Infante, excluding the Prince of Asturias. Through the complex intrigues of Escoiquiz and the Fernandino clique and the involved machinations of the French ambassador, Beauharnais, we move to a fateful volte face—Godoyistas and Fernandinos exchange roles in looking to Napoleon as their deus ex machina. Then comes the exposure of the plot; Ferdinand confesses and names his accomplices. Finally a court tries the latter, but, despite pressure from Godoy, refuses to convict them.
Martí rightly sees the Causa de El Escorial as no mere family quarrel or palace intrigue, but the first act of a tragedy soon to be followed by the uprising at Aranjuez, Godoy’s downfall, Charles’ first abdication, and finally the twin abdications of son and father, the real end of the Antiguo Régimen in Spain. Behind the abortive plot Martí finds aristocratic determination to unseat the largely bourgeois-oriented regalism and absolutism of Charles III and Godoy, and to restore noble participation in the central government. But this argument, although basically sound, is weakened by failure to deal with the fundamental split between conservatives of the Duke of Aranda’s old party, to which the conspirators belonged, and the numerous lesser nobles and luces looking to Godoy or even beyond him to the program of the French Revolution.
In the absence of a bibliography it is difficult to be certain, but the book appears to make little use of Herr, Sarrailh, Lovett, Carr, or other recent specialists. Also its manifest sympathies for Fernando and its sometimes weak criticism of Godoy further limit its effectiveness. Disappointing also is the virtual silence concerning the role of the Church, except as regards Escoiquiz’ ecclesiastical status. Here again, as with the nobility, a division between conservatives and liberals might be expected.
Passing reference is made to the reception of the news about the plot in Mexico City—where the horror-stricken audiencia burned the dispatches—and to the influence of the Affair in further loosening colonial ties with the metropolis; but these American repercussions are not elaborated upon.