ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Chronology of events of the Peninsular War

You see, a long time ago, there was something called the Peninsular War. This was a big fight between some countries called France and Spain. The war started in the year 1808 and lasted for 6 years until 1814.

It all began when the French ruler, Napoleon Bonaparte, decided to invade Spain because he wanted to control it. The Spanish people didn't like this idea and they fought back. They formed their own army and fought the French in a lot of big battles.

Spain wasn't the only country that wanted to stop France. Other countries like Portugal and England joined in too because they didn't want France to get too powerful.

The fighting went on for a really long time and there were a lot of battles. Sometimes the Spanish and their allies would win, and other times the French would win. One of the biggest battles was the Battle of Trafalgar, which happened in 1805 before the Peninsular War actually started. In this battle, the British navy defeated the French navy.

But even though the Spanish and their allies won some battles, the French were still really strong. The Spanish king had to go into hiding, and the French took control of a lot of important cities in Spain.

Finally, in the year 1814, the French were defeated and they went back to their own country. The Spanish people were really happy to be in control of their own country again.