Las compañías sueltas de extranjeros: una variante de los cuerpos de nación en el ejército borbónico (1753-1760)
[EN]After the Italian Wars of the 18th century (1717-1748), the foreign contingent within the Spanish army—previously a substantial component—underwent a complex process of reform, adaptation, and continuity that redefined its role. Alongside the foreign regiments, there were also so-called free for...
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2026 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Salamanca (USAL) |
| Repositorio: | GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/170537 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10366/170537 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | ejército borbónico regimientos extranjeros compañías sueltas reclutamiento piquetes América española siglo XVIII Bourbon Spain army 18th century foreign regiments foreign soldiers independent companies recruitment pickets Spanish America |
| Sumario: | [EN]After the Italian Wars of the 18th century (1717-1748), the foreign contingent within the Spanish army—previously a substantial component—underwent a complex process of reform, adaptation, and continuity that redefined its role. Alongside the foreign regiments, there were also so-called free foreign companies. Although they did not play a significant role within the army, it seems relevant to put them in context, taking into account their origins were not exclusively based on circumstantial or military criteria, but also on political ones, in a process that combined three realities: the new role of foreign regiments, the specific opportunities to recruit soldiers from other countries and the exploration of recruitment systems outside the Iberian Peninsula. Therefore, this research focuses on the reasons for creating independent companies between 1753 and 1760 and their evolution and functionality, which ranged from an auxiliary force for garrisons to reserve troops for foreign regiments or pickets for Spanish America defenses. |
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