In the autumn of 1807, Napoleon moved French troops through Spain to invade Portugal. On 29 November, the Portuguese court fled to Brazil, at that time a colony of the Portuguese Empire. The Portuguese fleet carrying the royal family had not fairly left the Tagus(1), when the French, with their Spanish auxiliaries, appeared on the hills above Lisbon. When the Portuguese saw themselves thus handed over to the invading armies, they offered no resistance.
It was on the occasion of this invasion that the Marquis of Alorna, commander at Elvas(2), returned the following laconic answer to the invaders, whose commander wrote to ask for safe passage and supplies, wishing at the same time to know if he and his troops would be received as friends or enemies: "We are unable to entertain you as friends or resist you as enemies."
一八零七年秋天，拿破崙遣法軍經西班牙入侵葡萄牙。十一月二十九日，葡萄牙朝廷逃往巴西：巴西當時為葡帝國殖民地。葡國艦隊載着王室，沿塔古斯河(1)而下，還未出海，法軍和輔助的西班牙部隊已見於俯臨里斯本的山上。葡國人眼看朝廷把他們拱手讓與入侵者，也就沒有抵抗。
這次侵略期間，埃爾瓦什市(2)指揮官阿羅納侯爵接到入侵部隊指揮官書信，問可不可以平安過境，並補給軍需；又問阿羅納會視他和他的軍隊為朋友還是讐敵。阿羅納的答覆十分簡潔：「友爾敵爾，均亦非吾曹所能也。」
（1）塔古斯河為愛比利亞半島最長河流，於里斯本西流入大西洋。
（2）埃爾瓦什市位在葡萄牙東部，接近西班牙邊境。