![Goya - Charge of the Mamelukes [1814]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7494/16061703312_eca14b3e61_o.jpg)
Goya witnessed first-hand the French occupation of Spain in 1808, when Napoleon used the pretext of reinforcing his army in Portugal to seize the Spanish throne, leaving his brother Joseph in power. Attempts to remove members of the Spanish royal family from Madrid provoked a widespread rebellion. This popular uprising occurred between the second and third of May 1808, when suppressed by forces under Maréchal Joachim Murat. This painting depicts the beginning of the uprising when the elite Mamelukes of the French Imperial Guard are ordered to charge and subdue the rioting citizens. The crowd sees the Mamelukes as Moors, provoking an angry response. Instead of dispersing, the crowd turned on the charging Mamelukes, resulting in a ferocious melee.
[Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid - Oil on canvas, 266 x 345 cm]