El siglo XIX

• Autores: Hugo O'Donnell y Duque de Estrada
• Localización: Presencia irlandesa en la Milicia Española / coord. por Hugo O'Donnell y Duque de Estrada, 2014, ISBN 978-84-9781-912-1, págs. 107-134
• Idioma: español
• Enlaces
  • Texto Completo Libro (pdf)
• Resumen

  • AbstractStudies on the Irish units that served for Spain in the 19th century only span a little less of the first two decades, as in 1818 the three remaining regiments were disbanded. At this time ends a service that had lasted at least more than a century. From that moment on, nothing will be said about Irish forces in Spain for the whole century, not even in 1835, during the First Carlist War, when political circum-stances �rapprochement between the liberal Spanish and English governments� and also the economic situation �nation-wide fam-ines� led to a new recruitment of mostly Irish soldiers. The Irish men who enlisted in the Dublin office for a period of two years will make up the core of the so-called �British Legion�, more so than the Scottish recruited in Glasgow or the English in Liverpool, but they will lack the character and continuity of their predecessors. They will be Irish men embedded into British units and, although governed and paid by the Spanish Army, will be more similar to the thousands of Irishmen who fought a quarter of a century before in Wellington�s expeditionary army, wearing British uniforms and under the command of another Irishman, George de Lacy Evans, a veteran from the aforesaid war and bearer of a family name connected to the traditional regiments that had taken part in it. But this period, however short, is extremely important for several reasons.

    Firstly, during this time, circumstances arose that would lead to a new historical era; therefore, many of the characteristics of the preceding period would change in all respects. Secondly, the Irish units would live, playing a leading role, the century�s most significant national and international period of war, namely the Peninsular War (1808-1814). And lastly, it is surprising the number of �Irishmen� cadets or young officers that later stood out in the battlefields, or who mainly came from families that had commanded or had served in such units, giving rise to some of the most relevant military and even political lineages that have reached the 20th century, within an institution so vocational by its very nature, as well as traditional and enduring.

    Once the constitutional regime was definitively established, origins and genealogy lost their importance, as it is no longer the case of a social group living on a foreign land that requires a common nexus and linkage to their Irish ancestors. An additional reason is that modern world no longer attributes so much value to parental legacy but rather to what they are and their actions demonstrate, entering into this new era like the rest of Spaniards. This is also the case for other non-native military families, such as the Swiss or Neapolitans that decided to remain in Spain. There will no longer be common reactions or attitudes to a sole stimulus but rather personal choices.