The war of the oranges

Have you ever heard of the War of the Nights? Naranjas?

The War of the Oranges was not a citrus battle like the one that takes place every year in the town of Ivrea, Italy.

In 1801 Spain was forced to confront its neighbor Portugal. Napoleon wanted to force Portugal to break the traditional alliance with England and dragged Spain, governed by the minister Manuel Godoy, by signing the Treaty of Madrid. As Portugal did not yield to Franco-Spanish pressure, the War of the Oranges was unleashed.

When the Spanish army besieged the city of Elvas - where the Portuguese had taken refuge - the soldiers took branches of oranges and Godoy sent one to Queen Maria Luisa, Godoy's lover. Hence the name of this short conflict that lasted only 18 days.

Fortification of Elvas - numismatica-visual.es

If you want to order Valencian oranges online at home, visit our web page citrusricus.com. To learn more about this world as well as to know all the news and interesting recipes, become a fan in our Facebook or subscribe to our blog.

Cover photo by http://www.elconfidencial.com/