Hey @Zack White , newcomer to the forum here. In one of your brilliant Napoleonicist podcasts, you mentioned a peace that Britain proposed to Napoleon regarding the Iberian Peninsula, and the recognition of the Portuguese and Spanish crowns. Can you elaborate on this and was it a peace proposal just regarding Portugal and Spain or also regarding Britain?
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Hi Daniel, welcome to the forum, and thank you for your kind words regarding the Napoleonicist - I'm glad you're enjoying them!
Regarding the peace overtures in 1812, they were one of a series of occasional attempts that were made over the course of the war (debatable whether either side really had their heart in it). The aim was for an end of hostilities between Britain, France, Spain and Portugal, and the basic British principle was that the Portuguese and Spanish monarchies would be recognised as they were prior to Napoleon's interventions in 1807 and 1808. If I remember it rightly, Napoleon was prepared to recognise the Portuguese, but no the Spanish (in effect he was conceding nothing - the British had defacto ensured the integrity of Portugal by 1811 anyway. Discussions had really ground to a halt by the time that Napoleon embarked on the Russian campaign - it is thought that he planned to send a reply attempting to dictate terms to the British from Moscow. Obviously the 1812 campaign changed everything.
Not sure if that helps?