Napoleonic Wars · 1807-1814

Spain and Portugal against Napoleon

Napoleon's armies march into Portugal and Spain, the Portuguese court flees to Brazil, and Spaniards rise up in a "little war" that gives the world the word guerrilla. Students see how a war in Iberia shook two empires.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1808 to AD 1815
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Napoleon's armies march into Portugal and Spain, the Portuguese court flees to Brazil, and Spaniards rise up in a "little war" that gives the world the word guerrilla. Students see how a war in Iberia shook two empires.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why Napoleon invaded Portugal and Spain in 1807-1808.
  • Describe how ordinary Spaniards, guerrillas and a British army fought the French.
  • Connect the war in Iberia to the independence of Latin America.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1808

The peninsula

Open the map in 1808 and zoom in on Spain and Portugal. Find Madrid, Lisbon and Cádiz. Which mountain range separates the peninsula from France?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1808

A court crosses the ocean

Zoom out over the Atlantic. Find Lisbon, then Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The whole Portuguese court made this voyage in 1807-1808. Why rule from a colony rather than be captured at home?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1815

Spain's empire

Open the map in 1815 and zoom out over the Americas. Spain still holds New Spain, New Granada and Peru. Now drag the slider to 1880. What happened to them?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did Napoleon want to control Portugal, a small country far from France?
  2. Napoleon replaced the Spanish king with his own brother Joseph. Why did that make so many Spaniards angry?
  3. Guerrilla fighters ambushed French soldiers, and the French took harsh revenge. How does a war fought among civilians differ from a battle?
  4. Goya painted The Third of May 1808 about executions in Madrid. How can a painting shape how a war is remembered?
  5. When Spain had no king of its own, its colonies set up their own governments. Why did that lead to independence?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Rule History as Napoleon Bonaparte. Before the 1812 round, tell students that in 1808 he also sent large armies into Spain and Portugal. Discuss: can an empire fight two big wars at the same time?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.