Once again, Navarrese port, 1805-1814.
On September 16, 1805, the Navarrese Diputación ed the king to annex Irún and Fuenterrabía to Navarre, reflecting the great importance of having a seaport for Navarre. The king agreed by royal order on September 26 of the same year. On October 10, the Navarrese commissioner, Miguel Escudero, took possession of Hondarribia. The Guipuzcoan Diputación submitted several petitions to the monarch, protesting the annexation, but they were ignored by the king, who ratified the September 26 order (doc. in CCPV, t. III, fol. 494). However, Guipuzcoa continued to try to recover the lost territories, and finally, on August 18, 1814, the Viceroy of Navarre, Count of Ezpeleta, communicated to the Navarrese Diputación the royal decision to return the territories to Guipuzcoa, which took place shortly afterward.
Under French control, 1808-1813.
The town was occupied in the name of Joseph I in 1808. On March 11, 1813, Sergeant 1st D. Fermín Leguía, accompanied by fifteen guerrilla fighters, took the castle of Fuenterrabía, surprising its French garrison at night. He seized the weapons and ammunition he could, rendered the rest unusable, and set fire to the bastion, which was destroyed three-quarters. After the Battle of San Marcial, the French abandoned the town.
Carlist Wars.
The Carlists occupied the city without difficulty, allowing prominent liberal figures to flee to San Sebastián, Hendaye, or other safe locations, including Mayor J. M. Benigno Iriarte. After the arrival of the British Legion, the rebel situation in the area became more difficult. On May 18, 1837, the Carlist garrison of Fuenterrabía capitulated to the attacks of Schelly, combined with those of the Hernani line prepared by Espartero, while the bulk of the Carlist army was on the royal expedition. During the Second Carlist War, the city was not a particular focus of Carlist interest, although their troops besieged Irún and dominated Jaizkibel. At the end of this war, with the abolition of the foral , its commercial importance declined.