The Battle of Évora (29 July 1808) saw an Imperial French division under Louis Henri Loison attack a combined Portuguese-Spanish force led by Francisco de Paula Leite de Sousa. Encountering Leite's smaller body of soldiers outside Évora, the French easily brushed them aside and went on to storm the city, which was held by poorly armed townsmen and militia. The French butchered the Portuguese defenders and brutally sacked the town.
Loison was known among the Portuguese as the Maneta (One-Hand), because of his amputated arm. From savage acts such as those committed at Évora, the saying ir para o Maneta (going to the One-Hand) appeared.
The clash occurred during the Peninsular War, phase of the Napoleonic Wars. Évora is located about east of Lisbon.
In November 1807, a French army led by Jean-Andoche Junot mounted a successful Invasion of Portugal supported by allied Spanish troops. For several months, the French were able to maintain themselves. However, the Spanish Dos de Mayo Uprising against the French in May 1808 was quickly followed by a Portuguese revolt. Abandoning the north and south regions of the country, the French concentrated their forces to hold central Portugal. Junot sent Loison east to relieve the garrison of Elvas Fortress. After defeating the Portuguese-Spanish force at Évora, Loison reached Elvas. But he was soon recalled to help repel a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley that had landed on the coast north of Lisbon.
Background
Emperor Napoleon concluded the Treaties of Tilsit in July 1807, ending the War of the Fourth Coalition. While the Kingdom of Prussia was humiliated, the Russian Empire became an ally of France. After his triumph, the emperor looked to the west where Portugal was the oldest continental ally of the United Kingdom. Portugal's Prince Regent John of Braganza had declined to join the Continental System against British trade. Furthermore, Napoleon resented Britain's trade with Portugal's colony in Brazil, wished to seize Portugal's shipping, and wanted to deny the Royal Navy the use of Lisbon's major port.
On 19 July, the French ambassador delivered an ultimatum to the Portuguese government. On 2 August, the 1st Corps of the Gironde Observation Army was established with General of Division Jean-Andoche Junot in command. At first the Prince Regent did not comply with all of Napoleon's terms. But as the menace of Junot's army increased, John caved in to nearly all of the emperor's demands. But by this time, Junot's 25,000-man army was on the march across Spain. Napoleon informed his lieutenant that the Portuguese had declared war on the United Kingdom, but that it was too late. The emperor wanted Junot in Lisbon by 1 December. Despite horrible weather, Junot fulfilled his master's instructions to the letter. The French Invasion of Portugal encountered no armed Portuguese resistance and Junot entered Lisbon with a flying column of 1,500 weary men on 30 November.
Following a previous arranged plan, the Prince Regent and his Court (including most of the Government's officials and their families, in a total of around 15,000 people) embarked in the Portuguese Fleet and escaped to Brazil, escorted by Admiral Sir Sidney Smith's Royal Navy squadron, shortly before the French arrived at Lisbon.
While Junot's soldiers saw no formal resistance, numbers of them had died from exposure during the march, while others had been lynched by angry Portuguese peasants. The first riot occurred in Lisbon on 13 December, but it was easily put down. Junot first disbanded the Portuguese Army, then ordered the imposition of heavy taxes, which angered the population.
Rebellion
By the spring of 1808, Junot's position in Portugal was relatively secure. He had been reinforced by 4,000 troops which more than replaced the men who died during the hard marches of the invasion. Of the three French-allied Spanish divisions that had supported Junot's invasion, General Solano's troops had returned to Andalusia. However, General Caraffa stayed on in the Lisbon area with 7,000 Spaniards and General Belesta occupied Porto (Oporto) with 6,000 more. Portugal remained quiet because her army was disbanded or integrated into the Portuguese Legion sent away from Portugal to fight for Napoleon, her ruling classes had mostly fled to Brazil, and her civil authorities submitted too readily to the French yoke.