2 May – Dos de Mayo Uprising, the people of Madrid rebel against the occupation of the city by French troops, provoking a brutal repression by the French.
5 May – Napoleon forces the Spanish royal family to abdicate and hands the throne to his brother Joseph.
25 May – Asturias rises up in arms, casting out its French governor.
17 April – Bayonne decree, ordering the seizure of American vessels in France.
18–22 July – Peninsular War: Battle of Bailén, Spanish forces surround the French and compel the surrender of almost 18,000 men. It was the worst disaster suffered by the French during the Iberian campaign.