The Correspondence of Thomas Jefferson
By Subject
BONAPARTE, NAPOLEON / AND MEXICO
I suppose Napoleon will get possession of Spain; but her colonies
will deliver themselves to any member of the Bourbon family. Perhaps
Mexico will choose its sovereign within itself. He will find them much
more difficult to subdue than Austria or Prussia; because an enemy
(even in peace an enemy) possesses the element over which he is to
pass to get at them; and a more powerful enemy (climate) will soon mow
down his armies after arrival. This will be, without any doubt, the
most difficult enterprise the emperor has ever undertaken. He may
subdue the small colonies; he never can the old and strong; and the
former will break off from him the first war he has again with a naval
power.
to John Armstrong, 5 March 1809
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