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Battle of Medellín, Peninsular War: French forces under Marshal Claude Victor defeat the Spanish under General Gregorio

Battle of Medellín, Peninsular War: French forces under Marshal Claude Victor defeat the Spanish under General Gregorio Garcia de la Cuesta, killing or wounding 8,000 Spanish soldiers and opening the way to Southern Spain

The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by the Iberian nations Spain and Portugal, along with the United Kingdom, against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, it is considered to overlap with the Spanish War of Independence. It overlapped with the War of the Fifth Coalition (1809) and the War of the Sixth Coalition (1812–1814).

The war can be said to have started when the French and Spanish armies invaded and occupied Portugal in 1807 by transiting through Spain, but it escalated in 1808 after Napoleonic France occupied Spain, which had been its ally.

Historical Significance

The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by the Iberian nations Spain and Portugal, along with the United Kingdom, against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars.

Events Before

  1. African Benevolent Society (education) forms

    African Benevolent Society (education) forms

  2. Explorer William Clark (37) weds Julia Hancock in Fincastle, Virginia

    Explorer William Clark (37) weds Julia Hancock in Fincastle, Virginia

  3. Day depicted by Spanish painter Francisco Goya in his "The Third of May," which he paints in 1814

    Day depicted by Spanish painter Francisco Goya in his "The Third of May," which he paints in 1814

  4. Herman Daendels succeeds Albertus Wiese as Governor-General of Dutch-East Indies

    Herman Willem Daendels (21 October 1762 – 2 May 1818) was a Dutch military officer and colonial administrator who served as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1808 to 1811.

  5. Organizational meeting held in Edinburgh leads to the founding of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a Scottish lear

    Organizational meeting held in Edinburgh leads to the founding of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a Scottish learned society

Events After

  1. French church annuls marriage of Napoleon I and Empress Joséphine

    Joséphine Bonaparte was the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I and as such Empress of the French from 18 May 1804 until their marriage was annulled on 10 January 1810.

  2. French leader Napoleon I marries 2nd wife Marie-Louise of Austria

    French leader Napoleon I marries 2nd wife Marie-Louise of Austria

  3. Ludwig van Beethoven composes his famous piano piece "Für Elise"

    Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist.

  4. In the May Revolution, citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Spanish Viceroy Cisneros during Semana de Mayo

    In the May Revolution, citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Spanish Viceroy Cisneros during Semana de Mayo

  5. American army officer and future US President Zachary Taylor (25) weds Margaret Smith (21) near Louisville, Kentucky, at

    American army officer and future US President Zachary Taylor (25) weds Margaret Smith (21) near Louisville, Kentucky, at the bride's sister's home

More from the 1800s

The dissolution of the Dutch East India Company comes into effect

The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874.

Italian monk Giuseppe Piazzi discovers the dwarf planet Ceres

Giuseppe Piazzi was an Italian Catholic priest of the Theatine order, mathematician, and astronomer.

Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Roy

Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam

Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares Saint-Domingue (Haiti) independent from France, ending the 13-year-long Haitian Revolut

Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares Saint-Domingue (Haiti) independent from France, ending the 13-year-long Haitian Revolution; becoming the only state ever founded by formerly enslaved people and without slavery

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on March 28, 1809?
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by the Iberian nations Spain and Portugal, along with the United Kingdom, against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, it is considered to overlap with the Spanish War of Independence. It overlapped with the War of the Fifth Coalition (1809) and the War of the Sixth Coalition (1812–1814).
Why is Battle of Medellín, Peninsular War: French forces under Marshal Claude Victor... significant?
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by the Iberian nations Spain and Portugal, along with the United Kingdom, against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars.

Explore More

March 28 in HistoryYear 1809