The Anglo-Spanish War was fought between 1796 and 1802, and again from 1804 to 1808, as part of the Coalition Wars. The war ended when an unexpected alliance was formed between both countries when the alliance was signed between Great Britain and the Spanish Bourbon dynasty, when Napoleonic France invaded Spain in the French invasion. The Anglo-Spanish alliance eventually ended in military victory against Napoleonic France, instrumental in ending Napoleon's reign and dominance over Europe.

Manuel de Godoy y Álvarez de Faria Rios, 1st Prince of the Peace, 1st Duke of Alcudia, 1st Duke of Sueca, 1st Baron of Mascalbó, was the First Secretary of State of the Kingdom of Spain from 1792 to 1797 and then from 1801 to 1808, and as such, one of the central Spanish political figures during the rise of Napoleon and his invasion of Spain. Godoy came to power at a young age as the favourite of King Charles IV and Queen Maria Luisa. He has been partly blamed for the Anglo-Spanish War of 1796–1808 that brought an end to the Spanish Empire. Godoy's unmatched power ended in 1808 with the Tumult of Aranjuez, which forced him into a long exile, dying in Paris in 1851.