ABSTRACT
Castlereagh undoubtedly took this view and referred to recognition in 1822 as "a matter of time and circumstance". In 1823, however, France precipitated events. Her Government thought that the constitutionalists in Spain were too violent and were endangering peace. The French Bourbon Louis XVIII thought it a duty to prevent the Spanish Bourbon Ferdinand VII from being bullied into too extreme a constitution. So a French army crossed the Pyrenees to "free" the Spanish King. This action was a menace to peace and was regarded with great jealousy by England. But Canning said England would not fight if three conditions were observed. France was not to remain permanently in Spain; she was not to violate the territorial integrity of Portugal (which England was pledged to defend); and she was not to attempt to appropriate any part of the Spanish Colonies to herself.
