Wine and Warfare part 5: How the Barossa got its name

(TDB) - Wellington’s campaigns in Portugal and Spain are perhaps the most celebrated in British military history and the battles fought between 1808 and 1813 took place in vineyard areas and, sometimes, gave their names to them too – though not always in their original form.

In 1807 the French and their Spanish allies invaded Portugal which was stubbornly refusing to abide by Napoleon’s Continental System and continuing to trade with Great Britain; an ally since the Middle Ages.

By 1808 mounting civil unrest in Spain aimed at the corruption of the court of the French-backed Charles VI, broke out into open violence on 8 May.

Charles abdicated in favour of his son Ferdinand VII but Napoleon saw a chance to replace Europe’s last major Bourbon monarchy and put his own brother Joseph on the throne.

This threw the majority of Spain behind their deposed king and a violent war broke out which required Napoleon and an army of 100,000 men, veterans of Austerlitz, Jena and Friedland, to quell.

A small British force had landed in Spain early on in the war and after some initial success was forced to retreat through the mountains of Galicia in the depths of a bitter winter.

Sir John Moore the commander fought a desperate battle at Corunna in order to extricate his army safely which he did though at the cost of his life.

In 1809 the British returned this time under the command of General Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington), who had commanded the original expedition before being replaced when considered to junior for the role and then shipped home in near disgrace when his replacement allowed a large defeated French force to be transported to a friendly port with their arms and on ships provided by the Royal Navy.