News of the Abdications of Bayonne shook Spanish colonial societies to their foundations. Within a few years, the nations of South and Central America would be on the road to independence.

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We examine Spanish America on the eve of the Wars of Independence.

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Josephine was the great love of Napoleon's life, but in late 1809, he had their marriage annulled -- how had it come to this?

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We examine Napoleon's private life, with a special focus on the most important person in it: the charming and controversial Empress of the French, Josephine.

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In the summer of 1809, General Sir Arthur Wellesley led a small British army into Spain. While the war raged on, Napoleon was also picking a political fight with a powerful enemy: the Roman Catholic Church.

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Iberia, 1809: the Aragonese capital of Zaragoza was under siege once again. To the west, the French prepared another invasion of Portugal. Meanwhile, in London, the British leadership debated a renewed commitment in this theater of the war.

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Throughout 1809, small groups of brave (or foolish) German patriots tried to stir up nationalist uprisings against France. Meanwhile, in Iberia, a very ugly war dragged on with no end in sight.

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Late 1809: Napoleon negotiated a punitive peace treaty with Austria and survived a strange assassination attempt. Meanwhile, the British launched a surprise invasion of the continent and dealt with political controversies at home.

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After his victory at Wagram, Napoleon pursued the Austrians. Peace was in the air, but the war would end on an almost unbelievably dramatic note in the middle of a Bohemian thunderstorm.

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In the summer of 1809, Napoleon crossed the Danube again to confront Archduke Charles and the Habsburg field army and avenge his defeat at Aspern-Essling.

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